Eleanor Mailloux was born on a ballroom floor during a fire and never stopped dancing.
“Born in a Ballroom” is a love letter to one woman, one restaurant, and one Appalachian village in West Virginia that refused to disappear.
Trailer for “Born in a Ballroom”
You Can’t Make This Sh*t Up
- Eleanor was born on the actual ballroom floor of a neighbor’s plantation home after her family’s cabin caught fire during labor.
- The town of Helvetia, WV, was so remote it took three days by sled or horseback to reach a hospital—so they didn’t try. The ballroom birth was the only option.
Watch “Born in a Ballroom”
You can watch “Born in a Ballroom” for free on Fubo, Plex, and Fawesome. Check JustWatch for the latest options. I also found this link to the full doc on YouTube.
Ratings:
- My Rating: 90/100
- IMDB Rating: 8.7/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 100/100 (Users), n/a (Critics)
Director’s Note: Jonathan Lacocque and Clara Lehmann co-directed this 70-minute doc. They use old interviews, home footage, and vivid seasonal snapshots of Helvetia, WV, to weave together Eleanor’s legacy.
Release Date: 2019
My Review of “Born in a Ballroom”
The Setup
This is the story of Eleanor Mailloux, who was literally born on a ballroom floor after her family’s house caught fire in 1917. She grew up to become a world traveler, teacher, and co-founder of The Hütte—a Swiss restaurant in the remote village of Helvetia, West Virginia (pop. 59).
The film stitches together archival footage, community interviews, and Eleanor’s own voice to show how she helped preserve the town’s Swiss heritage through food, culture, and what she called “hospitality with purpose.”
More Highlights from the Doc
- Eleanor co-founded The Hütte restaurant and ran it for decades, often working 14-hour days, cooking from scratch, and refusing to compromise on tradition—even as she welcomed visitors from across the country.
- The film follows The Hütte through the four seasons, showing how the restaurant adapts and thrives even in the dead of winter when tourists vanish.
- Eleanor got famous for the Swiss cookie Pfeffernusse (recipe here!) that appeared on the Andrew Zimmerman TV show “Bizarre Foods”.
- Eleanor worked for the Red Cross overseas before returning to her hometown. She brought back global experiences but focused them on reviving her own small corner of the world.
- Locals talk about Eleanor like she was royalty—part entrepreneur, part folklorist, and part town therapist.
- The Hütte’s décor is a time capsule: hand-stitched linens, cuckoo clocks, and 40-year-old recipes made with butter, cream, and care.
- The film also captures Fasnacht, the pre-Lenten masked celebration that keeps Helvetia’s Swiss roots alive.
Lesser-Known Details from the Doc
- Helvetia was settled by Swiss and German immigrants in 1869—but many residents didn’t speak English fluently until the 1930s. Eleanor helped bridge that language and culture gap as a teacher.
- The name “The Hütte” literally means “The Hut” in German. It started as a small tea room and evolved into a full-service restaurant known nationally—thanks in part to a feature on “Bizarre Foods” with Andrew Zimmern.
- When Eleanor died in 2011 at age 93, the town held a dance in her honor—true to her motto: “I was born in a ballroom, and I’ve been dancing ever since.”
- Even though she had no formal training as a chef, Eleanor became a master of Swiss comfort food—making dishes like bratwurst, rösti, and sauerbraten from handwritten family recipes.
- Most of the film’s archival footage was sourced from Eleanor’s personal collection and from local TV reports dating back to the 1980s.
Wrap Up
If you love food, folklore, or fierce women who build something out of nothing—this one’s for you. Eleanor preserved a culture and built a home people still return to, season after season.
Thanks for reading!
Heather Fenty, Guest Writer, Daily Doc