Pressure Cooker

Pressure Cooker is far from a TV chef reality show and is about as real as it gets. The culinary class at northeast Philadelphia’s Frankford High school is run by teacher, Wilma Stephenson. The term ‘run’ is an understatement. She puts the batteries in the backs of underprivileged youth so that they can compete for scholarships to attend the best culinary schools in the country and graduate with top honors. She does this with the use of tough love and drill instructor-like tactics, and bake sales to get these kids over a half million dollars in scholarships in one year. Wilma’s unorthodox method of teaching is balanced out by the love that she shows the children. She teaches them how to carve a potato into a seven-sided football shaped tourne, how to dress for the prom and how to not be “so ghetto!

Wilma’s authoritative voice and tone resonates, but the students are truly the stars of this documentary. Fatoumata, an immigrant of Mali, tells a story of having to walk 20 miles daily to school in her home country and how cooking at Frankford is her escape from her strict father, who doesn’t allow her to attend the senior prom. Erica, who comes from a broken home, takes on the mother role in the care of her blind little sister. Tyree is trying to juggle the culinary arts with high school football and has the job of getting his mother and little sister out of the hood.

Directors Jennifer Grausman and Mark Becker captured the essence of great teaching and ambition, and make this documentary one of the most important movies in 2009. I dare you to walk away from this movie not hopeful, inspired and wanting to go home and practice cutting tournes.