Hard to Swallow

A food show not about food - following Nigerian chef/writer Tunde Wey across America as he investigates the ways food culture and power are shaped by race and class. With unsparing interviews, poetic narration and a self-reflexive storyline, Tunde reveals his own hypocrisies while calling out others, prompting viewers to rethink their own position in systems of power. Unlike any food show before, and despite the chef’s exceptional taste, this show may be… Hard To Swallow.

EPISODE 1: THIS IS BLACK PEOPLE’S SHIT
Who are the kingmakers of New Orleans cuisine and how have they excluded Black chefs from their ranks? In Episode 1, Tunde reflects on the erasure of Black chefs from New Orleans’ food culture even as tourism and hospitality hold up the city’s economy. Tunde also examines how post-Katrina development, fueled by federal recovery dollars, drove gentrification in the city at the expense of Black New Orleanians, and ironically, food spaces are at the vanguard of that movement. The expert for the episode is an award-winning journalist whose investigation of a food hall guides the episode, but when his interview takes an unexpected turn, the expert himself becomes the subject of examination. Behind-the-scenes moments from the production of the show frame the episode, revealing origins and intentions behind the project.

EPISODE 2: THERE’S NO AUTHORITY WITHOUT HYPOCRISY
Tunde visits Chef Syrena Johnson and revisits his conversation with the journalist, reflecting further on the first episode’s interwoven storylines. Quickly the story shifts to Detroit, Tunde’s first home in America. With an expired student visa, Tunde opened his first restaurant in 2013 when foodie culture was still nascent in Detroit. His experimental restaurant, (revolver), was an incubator for many other restaurateurs that have since transformed Detroit’s culinary landscape. In Episode 2, he returns to see how white developers, restaurateurs, nonprofits and big businesses have used food spaces to rebrand the city from failing to chic, and his own
contribution to that narrative. Meanwhile, Tunde and Theo, the show’s co-director, are approached by their Hollywood heroine and start pitching this show to streamers.

EPISODE 3: A GREAT WHITE HOPE
Tunde visits two of Detroit’s mayors: Dennis Archer, who blames Detroit’s collapse on his notorious successor Kwame Kilpatrick; and Mike Duggan, the first white mayor in fifty years. After Tunde challenges the two mayors, the tables turn and Tunde becomes the subject of scrutiny at the first test screening of this docu-series. A critical audience dissects the cinematicdecisions, illuminating a lacking analysis of gender issues in Detroit’s political story. In Episode
3’s self-reflexive timeline, Tunde and Theo’s Hollywood dreams hang in the balance and Tunde’s brother makes a comedic cameo.

EPISODE 4: THEY’RE NOT THE OSCAR COMMITTEE
Tunde’s Nigerian food pop-ups in Detroit marked his professional entry into cooking, which coincided with leaving his restaurant, (revolver), after a dispute with his partner. Tunde takes his Nigerian pop up dinners on the road, exploring America for the first time while racking up publicity and strange encounters, before Episode 4 screeches to a halt on the eve of his big
break. Back in the present timeline, Tunde and Theo process the feedback from their first test screening, and discuss the state of the media landscape with an ally in the industry before their star-studded screening in New York.

EPISODE 5: HONEY , IT’S PROBABLY A PORNO
Tunde catches up with a vendor from the St. Roch Market, whose successful juice stand blossomed into several locations. But before Tunde can finish his lecture on racial disparity to the well-meaning white man, he interrupts himself from the editing suite, visibly frustrated by his own line of questioning. Ben, who documented much of Tunde’s early career, joins Tunde and Theo in the editing suite to watch his footage of Tunde's pop up tour a decade ago. Tunde reminisces about the nerve-wrecking moments and crucial conversations that Ben miraculously captured during that pivotal time. An unexpected invitation makes the final test screening a celebration, setting up a dramatic season finale in France.

EPISODE 6: YOU’RE IN THE SHOW NOW
The season finale of Hard T o Swallow centers on an allegation of racism at the show’s world premiere in Cannes. A week of extravagant dinners and dizzying photoshoots against the lush views of the French Riviera culminate in the red carpet premiere. The festivities continue into the premiere afterparty where things turn sour when members of the Hard To Swallow team are accosted. The fallout from the incident is intense, tedious, and thoroughly documented, but the understanding of the story is up for debate. Noone is safe in this project, as Theo’s motivations come into question and Tunde’s evolving perspective begins to contradict his prior statements.
In the end, the only answer is a second season.

CANNESERIES 2024, SeriesFest 2024 (Best Direction, Caz Matthews Fund)