About this episode

Chefs Michael Solomonov and Steve Cook discuss their journey in Israeli cuisine and its cultural significance.

Welcome to What Matters Now, a weekly podcast exploring key issues currently shaping Israel and the Jewish World, with host Jessica Steinberg speaking with acclaimed chefs and restaurateurs Michael Solomonov and Steve Cook. Solomonov and Cook, the trailblazing chefs behind Philadelphia hospitality group CookNSolo Restaurants, are known champions of the Israeli culinary landscape, a history that began with their first restaurant, Zahav, which is considered their flagship and was established 17 years ago. The James Beard Foundation award-winning restaurateurs speak about how they met as line cooks in Philadelphia, when they ran to a tiny Middle Eastern market to stock up on freekeh, silan and spices for their developing menu. Solomonov, the son of a Bulgarian-Israeli father and American-Israeli mother, and Cook, the son of an American rabbi, speak about the Jewish and Israeli influences in their lives. They discuss how Zahav came to be, in an unlikely corner of Philadelphia, an upscale version of an Israeli grill restaurant, eventually branching into additional restaurants and cafes in the city, in New York, and in Florida. Their take on Israeli cuisine has been at the forefront of…

People in this episode

Host: Jessica Steinberg

Guests: Michael Solomonov, Steve Cook

Topics covered

• Israeli cuisine
• culinary influences
• restaurant industry
• cultural identity
• Jewish heritage

Keywords

• Israeli food
• Zahav
• CookNSolo
• hummus
• culinary history
• Philadelphia restaurants
• Jewish identity

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: CookNSolo Restaurants, James Beard Foundation

Places: Philadelphia, New York, Florida

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