Digital Food Network Tastemade Premieres First Feature Film

Digital food and lifestyle network Tastemade, which rose to renown via short-form online cooking shows — and subsequently segued onto television — has debuted its first feature film.

The company’s inaugural documentary, Funke, chronicles the Los Angeles chef and restaurateur Evan Funke and his journey to master the art of handmade pasta, per Variety. The film premiered this week at the Los Angeles Film Festival, and Submarine Entertainment — a sales, production and distribution company — is currently seeking distribution for the project.

Funke was directed by frequent Tastemade contributor Gabriel Taraboulsy, who was a fan of Funke’s recently-shuttered restaurant, Bucato

. For the film,Taraboulsy followed Funke — who began his career at Spago — as he preps his comeback via a new hotspot dubbed Felix on Abbot Kinney Boulevard. The film also jets to Bologna, Italy, where Funke visits with the pasta expert who helped school him in age-old techniques and traditions.

“I hope telling the story of one of its good restaurants helps Los Angeles ascend even quicker,” said Taraboulsy of the city’s restaurant scene. “I want to help get it the attention its chefs deserve.”