Claus Meyer & Michael Lei Talk 'A Taste Of Sky' & New York Food Scene

(CBS Local)-- Claus Meyer and Michael Lei come from two different worlds, but together they teamed up to for a groundbreaking project.

The world renowned chef Meyer is known for bringing his Nordic cuisine around the world and to the Big Apple with the Great Northern Food Hall and Agern. He first met the young filmmaker Lei four years ago who told he wanted to make a film about his restaurant for underprivileged youth in Bolivia.

"I didn't really take it in in the beginning," said Meyer in an interview with CBS Local. "There had been a decent amount of attention for the project in Bolivia because it was a spectacular endeavor. I didn't even know if these guys could execute it and follow through. I was happy for Bolivia and it was only later that I got more involved."

The restaurant named Gustu, which is located in Bolivia's capital city La Paz, has connected people all around the world.

As time went on, Lei and Meyer got to know each other better and the filmmaker shared the footage of what he shot during his backpacking trip in Bolivia. The USC film school graduate was convinced this could be a documentary.

"Seeing the generational aspect of how Claus was affected by this chef in his youth and then seeing how that was translated on in this endeavor in Bolivia was very exciting," said Lei. "It was inspiring to see because it has very strong impacts that are affecting Bolivia and the students from that project."

New Yorkers will have the opportunity to learn all about Gustu this weekend in "A Taste Of Sky," which premieres Friday night at the Tribeca Film Festival. It has always been a dream for Lei to premiere a film at Tribeca, especially since he grew up in New York for a little bit. While Meyer has been all over the world, this experience in Bolivia will always hold a special place in his heart.

"It went from this being a vague idea to a concrete location with real people and real chefs coming down from Denmark," said Meyer. "That part of it was really exciting. Then of course, going back and being apart of the first graduation one and a half years later was another amazing moment.