Meet the best Israeli chefs taking the food world by storm

Oz Ben David and Chef Jalil Dabit (Kanaan, Berlin)

After giving up a career in PR and marketing in Tel Aviv and Amsterdam, Oz Ben David moved to Berlin where he met Palestinian chef Jalil Dabit. From there, the two opened the vegan-vegetarian, Israeli-Palestinian restaurant Kanaan. 

For them, grassroots social activism and coexistence is the main vision behind their food. For both, food was always a platform for peace and their dishes show just that. The 'Hamshuka' for instance, combines chef Dabit's hummus, which has been a family tradition for 400 years, with the shakshuka of David's grandmother. 

Yuval Leshem (HaSalon NYC, NYC) 

One year after the original HaSalon was opened by Israeli celebrity chef Eyal Shani, Yuval Leshem, a young business administration student, volunteered to work at the restaurant one day a week, just as a hobby. A few months later, he was working in the kitchen regularly, and a couple of weeks turned into 5 years. 

Now as the head chef at New York City's outpost of HaSalon, Leshem draws his inspiration from industries outside of food: fabrics and textures taken from fashion, the piano lessons he’s taken since a child, dance performances, and more to create a fine-dining Israeli experience. 

Ori Menashe (Bavel, LA) 

Despite being born in Los Angeles, Ori Menashe spent most of his life growing up in Israel. At a young age, Menashe helped sell baguettes for his father's bakery, while also going on family vacations to Paris, where his parents would take him to the best fine-dining restaurants like Ducasse and Robuchon. 

'Little Gourmet', as his parents nicknamed him, eventually returned to the City of Angels to pursue his dream of becoming the fine-dining chef he dreamt of as a kid. Despite dropping out of culinary school, Menahse’s hard work led to a head chef position at the Angelini Osteria and under the mentorship of Italian chef Gino Angelini, Menashe fine-tuned his trade. 

In 2018, Menashe and his wife, Genevieve Gergis, opened their second restaurant, Bavel. The restaurant's dishes juxtapose the couple's Israeli, Moroccan, Turkish, and Egyptian roots in a modern twist of traditional dishes.

Itamar Shani (Chickpea, Vancouver)

Born and raised in Israel, chef Itamar Shani watched his mother cook rich Israeli dishes while also visiting nearby Arab villages with his father. Seeing the conflict that was caused after the First Intifada protests and riots, Shani was inspired to create his restaurant and food truck, Chickpea, as a way to bring people together.

As an essential part of almost any Middle Eastern cuisine, Shani uses chickpeas as a way to create a plethora of other dishes influenced by these different cultures. Furthermore, as an environmentalist, Shani looks to create vegan dishes with the most authentic flavours without having to sacrifice anything. Not to mention that everything is made from scratch, whether it be the flour or homemade vegan mozzarella and ricotta cheeses.

All these talented chefs are spearheading the wave of Israeli food across the world, and if you are interested in learning more, join Tomer, Zoe, and Eyal on Rassa’s ‘Israeli Dining: Sunrise to Sunset’ course, where these three talented chefs will take you on a journey through Israel and the Levantine palate! By joining the course, you will receive high-quality ingredients hand-picked by Israeli food experts, and discover the culture through a mix of weekly classes, live chef Q&A’s and creative workshops.