Five films. One kitchen. A growing body of work built around the food, craft and character of one of Dublin’s most respected fine dining restaurants.
Chapter One by Mickael Viljanen is one of Ireland’s most respected fine dining restaurants, located in the heart of Dublin. The collaboration began with a self-initiated spec piece, created after a conversation with Juba Paridi. That first film centred around the Unforgettable Dining Experience and opened the door to a wider body of work around the restaurant’s food, drinks, service and creative process.
Rather than treating each film as a separate job, the work developed as a series of visual chapters. Some focused on the precision and craft behind Mickael Viljanen’s desserts. Others captured the atmosphere and ritual around signature drinks. Together, they form a growing visual record of the restaurant’s world, from the kitchen to the dining room.
Chapter One already carries an extraordinary reputation. The creative challenge was not to make the restaurant look premium. It already is. The challenge was to create films that felt aligned with the level of the room, the service, and the food. Nothing too loud. Nothing too glossy for the sake of it.
This was the first piece created around Chapter One and came from a self-initiated approach by Van Rose. The idea came from a conversation with Juba Paridi and grew into a high-end commercial spec film built around what it actually feels like to dine at Chapter One.
Not just the food. The wider experience: the arrival, the service, the attention to detail, the atmosphere, and the sense of occasion that belongs to a restaurant operating at this level.
The film leaned into mood, pacing, detail and atmosphere. The goal was to create something that communicated the Chapter One experience without over-describing it. Polished but not forced. Refined but never stiff.
The Apple Tarte Tatin film was created as a short documentary-style piece around Chapter One’s take on a French cuisine classic. The purpose was to let Chef Mickael Viljanen break down the anatomy of the dish, from the idea behind it to the details of execution.
This was about showing more than the finished plate. The film gives the audience access to the thinking behind the dish, the way elements are built up, and the level of craft behind what appears simple at the table. Patience, technique and a very specific idea of what the dish should be.
The tone was quiet, close and observational. The camera focused on hands, textures, preparation and plating. Chef Mickael’s explanation of the dish framed the piece, while the edit gave it room to breathe and let the craft come through naturally.
This film continued the documentary-style approach, this time focused on the Tarte Soufflé of Valrhona Guanaja Chocolate. Chocolate can easily become heavy on camera. The goal was to show the refinement, structure and delicacy behind the dish rather than simply the richness of the ingredient.
The film focused on the balance between technique and pleasure. It showed the care behind the dessert, the role of texture, and the precision required to make something indulgent feel controlled and elegant. Chef Mickael’s interview framed the dessert in his own words, while the visuals supported the tone of the dish throughout.
The shoot was built around close detail, movement, plating and the final reveal. The challenge was to let the dessert carry the film without forcing it.
This piece focused on Chapter One’s Gin Martini, created in partnership with Skellig Gin and featuring Juba Paridi. Compared with the dessert films, this was a more direct social-style piece, while still keeping the premium tone of the restaurant.
The aim was to capture the ritual of preparing a signature drink without making it feel like a standard cocktail reel. Precision, service, the character of the ingredients, and Juba’s presence behind the bar bring a human element to the preparation that lifts it beyond product content.
Clean framing, controlled movement, glassware, pouring, garnish and the small gestures that make the drink feel intentional. The piece was kept in 16:9 while still being suitable for social use.
This piece captured Chapter One’s approach to Irish Coffee, made with Jameson Whiskey and featuring Juba Paridi. The goal was to show a familiar drink treated with the same attention and intention found throughout the restaurant.
Rather than presenting it as a casual after-dinner drink, the film framed it as part of the Chapter One experience. The method, the detail, and the personality behind the preparation gave it the same weight as the food films, just with a lighter energy.
Texture, temperature, glassware, pour, cream and movement. The energy sits more social than the dish documentaries, but without losing the premium feeling that runs through all of the work.
The work for Chapter One sits at the intersection of food, craft and atmosphere. Fine dining can feel distant from the outside. These films bring the viewer closer to the people, the technique and the intention behind the experience.
Rather than forcing a narrative onto the work, the story comes from the process itself. A dessert being built. A drink being prepared. A service moment unfolding. A chef explaining why something exists in a particular way. The films reveal enough of the process to make the audience appreciate the final result more deeply.
The visual style is polished but controlled. Soft movement, close detail, careful pacing and natural atmosphere reflect the level of the restaurant without making the content feel overly produced. Chapter One does not need to be exaggerated. The value is already there in the discipline, the environment and the people. The role of the film is to translate that into a visual language that feels honest to the place.
Alongside the Chapter One body of work, Van Rose also created content for OuiChef featuring Chef Mickael Viljanen. The piece focused on craftsmanship, collaboration and the relationship between a chef and the tools they rely on at the highest level.
This sits in a different context to the Chapter One films, but it belongs to the same creative ecosystem: work built around Mickael’s precision, reputation and approach to his craft.