1. And then
On Mash’an recently stepped into the big shoes that Chef Einav Azgouri left behind in Bushwick. Before that he flirted with brunch at the Lighthouse Hotel, devised decadent burgers for Little Burger Shop, ran the kitchen and grew vegetables at Rooftop Mundo 2000 and studied and worked in London. Meshan is also Urbano, an alter ego of a mad culinary scientist with a molecular laboratory and meals for the top millennials, and MESHUGA (in a coat) – a researcher of ancient recipes who records and recreates traditional dishes from the pre-globalization era. The ability to create contemporary food on the one hand and to go down to the roots of culinary traditions on the other hand marks Meshan as a chef who is expected to reach greatness.
2. Alon Peled
Peled broke into the consciousness of the city’s gluttons about two years ago, when Seger chased Seger. In the meantime, he used the time to send a crispy chicken sandwich from his home in Florentine that was rotten to the core. But the chicken did not stand alone in the battle: it was wrapped in a Japanese milk bun smeared with brown butter, Japanese coleslaw and sophisticated sauces based on fermentation that reflected knowledge and understanding. In terms of culinary education, Peled grew up in the best places in the city: OCD, Baruzi, Ya-Fan and Ivy. About a year ago, in collaboration with Aviv Cohen, he opened La Kal Burger, a hipster smashburger eatery. Recently, the two received the management of the restaurant part of David Tor’s AKA44 project, an expression of confidence in a project with a lot of stars and a budget. Although Peled is no longer completely unknown, the big break is still ahead of him.
3. Dana Lee Berman
Berman already four years ago won the title of the most promising chef at the Time Out food awards ceremony. Nevertheless, she is in no hurry. Her resume includes the Cordon Bleu in Australia (an outstanding graduate, no less), Jamie Oliver’s restaurant in Australia, Omar Miller’s dining room restaurant, Taizo, Pronto (Su Chefit), Bar A Vin (actual chef alongside Einav Azgouri) and more, data An opening that guarantees success everywhere. In the reality show “The Next Restaurant” Barman impressed the judges with his vision for a Northern Italian style restaurant. Now that the wedding bells have died down, she may be free to fulfill her and our dream.
4. Dean Shoshani
Dean Shoshani closed Mr. Something Lounge, his Japanese restaurant in Old Jaffa. Those who had time to visit her were impressed by the talent, depth, techniques and imagination that Shoshani lavished on each dish at the tasting dinner he served. However, despite the view of the harbor, the ancient building and the meticulous cuisine (“During the evening we ate good food, and at some points even great food“, our reviewer wrote), the environment did not dampen the story Shoshani wants to tell. Now he is looking for a place to open his own restaurant, and you can bet with a fair degree of certainty that tourists from Japan will also come to eat at his place.
5. Priel where he is
In which she is the classic example of an ancient soul, a beautiful 24-year-old woman with mama’s hands. In the kitchen of Bottrega, her market restaurant in Carmel, she chops vegetables with supreme concentration and puts out pots of food with the taste of grandmothers with an original twist. She received her professional education in Shevo Bazoura, in an original twist in the plot that she told at the audition for the chef game: she worked as a housekeeper in the house of the owner Elran Azora, arrived at his request to clean the restaurant and the rest is history. Whether you win a reality show or not – Shabu’s path to success is already paved.
6. Alex Weiner
Weiner lives and breathes the Carmel Market. A little over a year ago, he opened Diverso here, a small boutique pizzeria and one man show. Although it’s pizza and seemingly simple specials that are added to the menu from time to time, don’t let that fool you: Diverso is totally a chef’s restaurant. Weiner makes everything by hand, from the dough stage to the toppings, as he learned under the light of Yossi Shetrit (Kitchen Market, Meshia) and in the meticulous bars of the Imperial Group. Will he make the necessary leap and leave the comfort zone of the Carmel market to his own restaurant? Not sure. One way or another, we will continue to gnaw on the wonderful pizza and hope that maybe one day it will please and fulfill the expectations on a larger scale.
7. Ofek Luzon Fund
Ofek-Luzon managed to get us to audition for the current season of The Chef Games. In front of the cameras, she made a moser tartar with pakora and a curry sauce inspired by her Indian origins. But on a daily basis, the style in which she cooks is completely different: Ofek-Lazon worked at Dalal, Kathit and the Social Club and today she is at the culinary forefront of the Pastel restaurant, following the vision of chef Gal Ben-Moshe’s stately kitchen. “I’m looking for my place in the world of kitchens. Today there are very few women leading the Israeli kitchen. The men rule and there’s no real reason for that,” she said at the audition, which caused disagreements among the judges. “I want to be part of the lineage of strong and brave women who do it.” And as a mother of three who works full time and doesn’t discount herself, we believe she can.
8. Gore Hertz fan
The male half of the pair of sous chefs at the Pastel restaurant continues a path of haute cuisine that began at the acclaimed Italian bar Cicetti and at the George and John restaurant, under the baton of Chef Tomer Tal. Gor Hertz is the dream of every chef, a skilled professional who is endowed with extreme patience to fold a mountain of tortellini and with a curiosity that leads him to an in-depth study of raw materials and processes. Once we even met him at the Diverso pizzeria, in a pop-up balcony where he demonstrated mastery of a non-Michelin-oriented kitchen. And with such an intriguing personality and culinary dissonance, we will surely hear more about him.
An intriguing personality and culinary dissonance. Ohad Gor Hertz (photo by Haim Yosef)
9. Tomer Rosenfeld
He was only 25 years old at the beginning of his culinary career and today Tomer Rosenfeld already holds a resume that does not embarrass any chef twice his age. He made his debut at the legendary La Régence restaurant in the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, continued to Haim Cohen’s Jaffa-Tel Aviv, worked at a two-Michelin-star restaurant in Italy and finally landed at Mona, which is famous in its own right. Chefs Moshiko Gamleli and Itamar Navon recognized the unpolished diamond and sent him to an internship at the Lyles restaurant in London. Today, Rosenfeld leads the Bardler kitchen, the most talked about restaurant in the city. And from there the sky is the limit.
A diamond discovered in Jerusalem and polished in London. Tomer Rosenfeld (photo by Eyal Heilbroner)
10. Nir and Guy Liv
The Liv brothers are identical twins that only their mother and Yuval Ben-Naria manage to tell them apart. They began their culinary career at the age of 17 at Herbert Samuel, and since then they have made sure to stay close: Nir worked at Taizo as a cook, advanced to the position of preparation manager and moved on to serve as sous chef and kitchen manager at the well-remembered Ya Pan restaurant. When it closed at the same time as the outbreak of the corona virus, he returned to Taizo, and when restaurant a began to take shape, he became responsible for the fermentation area and advanced to the position of sous chef. Guy worked with Chef Meir Adoni, joined the Taizo family and after eight months, at the age of only 22, got the position of sous chef. With the opening of a, Guy became the main manager of the restaurant alongside his twin brother in the kitchen. We are patiently waiting for the moment when they decide to make their home, open a restaurant and prove to the world that the two are good.
Nir Liv. Or maybe Guy? We’re pretty sure it’s Nir (photo by Asaf Carla)