Aug 22, 2026
Coldwater Kitchen shares a groundbreaking story about the power of cooking, connection and comeback. For 30 years, soft-spoken chef Jimmy Lee Hill has run a highly regarded culinary training program out of a prison in Coldwater, MI, offering incarcerated men a renewed sense of purpose through the craft of fine dining — everything from foie gras to lobster.
This James Beard Foundation Award-winning documentary follows Chef Hill and three of his students — one facing a life sentence, another battling an opioid addiction, and a third returning to the city where he once dealt drugs — as they navigate the woes of incarceration and the difficulties of transitioning back into society.
The event will include a screening of the documentary, a conversation with the filmmakers and film stars, and a dessert prepared by the men whose stories are told in the movie.
Dining option is available, which offers a lite, multi-course tasting and a welcome beverage. Dining ticket holders will be provided assigned seating based upon party sizes; we will seat groups together to the best of our ability.
A cash bar will be available throughout the show. COH Accessibility information.
NOTE: You will leave the City Opera House website to purchase tickets.