Tom Levi, founder of Toronto restaurant The Hummussiah, takes us through his story and the struggles he faced leading up to the grand opening of his first restaurant. The story begins with how Tom found solace in hummus as a passion during an extremely difficult time in his life, and so began to study it religiously. Now a unique craftsman in his own right, the film follows how the restaurant has changed over time and how the pandemic forced the restaurant to make some ambitious changes to stay ahead of the competitive Toronto restaurant scene.

Using lavs and a boom mic, I captured and sorted each audio take, organizing them to match the appropriate video file. During recording, I was actively mixing audio levels using a multi-channel recorder to ensure everything could be heard clearly and the clips weren’t peaking. This was especially vital during scenes shot in the kitchen or while preparing food. It was important here to unplug fridges and anything else that would produce a distracting hum. Also proving a challenge was the scene shot in front of the restaurant, where gusty winds necessitated precise lav placement.,

After all the audio had been captured and the video was delivered to me, I began working with the director (Anirudh Anand) to establish an overarching narrative. It became vital to select each clip and position it within the narrative to support the intended perception of the restaurant and the history and values of those who operate it. I intercut most of the interview footage with shots of the chefs preparing various dishes off the menu to keep the viewer engaged.