“Susan Feniger: Forked” is a story of resilience with the backdrop of food. Add a dollop of cooking – and a dash of the food history (in and out of the media) – and you have a recipe for success.

Chef and restaurateur Susan Feniger is the subject of the documentary, produced and directed by her life partner, filmmaker Liz Lachman.

“This is about what it takes to create and see a project through,” Lachman told the Journal. “[To] go on that journey and be willing to just see what comes in life.”

Adds Feniger, “It’s about the human spirit.”

The film starts and ends with cooking history and the trailblazing roles Feniger and her long time cooking/restaurant/media partner Mary Sue Milliken (“Too Hot Tamales,” Border Grill) had in the industry. However, its primary focus is The STREET restaurant, Feniger’s first solo project, which was open from 2009 to 2013.

At the time, Lachman recorded the process of designing, prepping and opening The STREET; she didn’t know she was shooting a movie.

However, when she revisited the footage at the beginning of this process, Lachman, who primarily does narrative films, noted it had all the elements of a “culinary disaster film.” There are lots of challenges that come when building a restaurant.

“It’s about someone [getting] hit with problem after problem and still [coming] through in the end.,” Lachman said.

In many ways it’s also a cautionary tale.

“The restaurant business is so difficult, particularly now,” Finegar said. “But if you’re going to go into it, it’s about being passionate about it, loving what you do.”

While the basics were there, when Lachman reviewed the scenes with Feniger cooking and testing recipes, she realized she didn’t shoot them well.

“And I thought, it’s because I don’t really care about the food that much,” Lachman said. “I had to go back in and shoot beautiful food sequences.”

Side note: There has been quite the food learning curve between Feniger and Lachman who have been together for 28 years.  When they met, Lachman barely salted her food.

Lachman’s mother never cooked, whereas Feniger got her love of cooking from her mom; when she was young Feniger would hang out with her in the kitchen.

“In high school I was an Ayn Rand freak, and I thought I’d be a business person. Then I was a psych major, and then I thought I’d want to be a therapist,” Feniger said. “And once I worked in a kitchen, that was it. I fell in love with the kitchen. Everything about it.”

One of the couple’s favorite foods is Spiced Millet Puffs, which is like a rice crispy treat, but with puffed millet. Recipe is below.

“They’re so yummy, because it’s that sweet, savory thing that’s so typical of Southeast Asian food,” Feniger said. “They are a great little snack and a surprise.”

That sequence in the film pops off the screen.

“The millet puffs is one of the things that we did to music with a lot of slow motion, gorgeous shots,” Lachman said.

When asked about the original plan for the film, Lachman said she didn’t really have one.

“I stopped filming when STREET opened,” she said. “As a matter of fact, [I didn’t shoot] the opening night party … so we did some fancy footwork in the film to create a moment of dreaminess, because this is Susan’s dream coming to fruition.”

Lachman originally thought that would be the end of the film.

“As time went on, before I actually made this movie, things shifted a lot in the world and in Susan’s take on STREET and her whole adventure, so it gave me more story,” she said.

After Mary Sue Milliken’s son, who is about 30, saw this film at the friends and family screening, he called Feniger and said he and his partner couldn’t stop thinking about it. He told her, ‘It makes us wanna live our lives with more passion.’

“I wasn’t even trying for that,” Lachman said. “If that’s what comes from this, I’m thrilled.”

Feniger absolutely loves her career, which is something else that shines through “Forked.”

“I get a ton of satisfaction from my career,” she said. “The actual kitchen part, the feeding part, not the meetings. The hospitality part is just something that clicked for me when I first started, and it’s been 40 plus years.”

Learn more at forkedthefilm.com. And follow @SusanFeniger and @LizLachman on Instagram.

For the full conversation, listen to the podcast:

Spiced Millet Puffs

On the streets of India and Asia, chaat stands are everywhere, serving small savory bites of all different types of snacks. Some of these snacks are puffed grains, like rice or millet, filled with a spiced mixture. Although the spices vary, the combinations can include spices like cumin, curry leaf, turmeric and coriander; the scents fill the air and make it an amazing walk for your nose! When we started to play with ideas for a great snack for STREET, Kajsa Alger happened to be making Rice Krispy treats with her son, Seth, and. . .Voila! Sweet and savory, a combination used all over the world.

Makes 70 mini puffs

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 (5 ounce) bag mini marshmallows (3 cups)

½ cup dried currants or raisins

1 Tablespoon whole cumin seed

1 teaspoon whole fennel seed

1 teaspoon black mustard seeds

¼ teaspoon cayenne chile powder

¼ teaspoon ground turmeric

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon chopped curry leaf (optional)

3 cups puffed millet

In a large skillet or shallow saucepot, place the butter and cook over medium heat until frothy.

Add the marshmallows and, as they start to melt, push and stir with a rubber spatula, so that it doesn’t burn to the bottom of the pan. You can lower the heat slightly if you need to.

When the marshmallows are halfway melted, add the cumin seed, fennel seed, black mustard seed, cayenne, ground turmeric, dried currants or raisins, salt and curry leaf, and stir well so that the spices toast and mix with the marshmallow. Add the millet, remove from heat, and stir until all of the millet is mixed and evenly coated in the spiced marshmallow mix. Pour the mixture out into a bowl.

Immediately start rolling into very small balls. If you find that the mixture is sticking to your hands too much, you can dampen them slightly with cold water to make the mixture easier to work with.

Place the balls in a bowl and serve immediately. They can also be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Debra Eckerling is a writer for the Jewish Journal and the host of “Taste Buds with Deb.” Subscribe on YouTube or your favorite podcast platform. Email Debra: tastebuds@jewishjournal.com.