Is Israel becoming a culinary superpower?

[reuvens]

I refer Chef MEIR from CATIT as a very skilled & talented chef. I had dinner there with our fellow eG member BOAZ and this chef could overtake any fine dining kitchen in a rush.

The only problem in Israel is their limited supply on "fine dining" ingredients which people are normally used to. Especially Seafood is from an average quality.

If it comes to comfort food Israel is definelty a Superpower in my universe....;-)

[Hiro]

I think having so many of a good chef doesn't mean that you become a superpower. I think france,USA,Japan and Hongkong (maybe thailand and vietnam) still on the list as a superpower in the world of culinary, is it ?>

[odysseus]

goodly number of hi-techies in Israel are far more partial to diet Sprite than wine with their meals

I must note that during my stay in Israel, I noticed it wasn't a drinking culture overall.

←

Daniel,

may I say that my wife and I are huge fans?

if I may add weight to your posts - I am recently of the israeli high tech industry. To be specific, I was a top performer (in terms of sales) at one of the 3 largest companies in Israel, with a title of Regional Director of Sales. my annual take home pay was about the sticker price of a compact japanese car. in the US, a comparable position would have a take home basket of perhaps 3 times as much. I was still in the 95th percentile of household earning level for the country.

I ate all of my lunches on coupons on the street where my company was. as I basically had a pretty good free lunch, usually at erez's bread or a pretty good italian nearby, it would never dawn on me to spend $50 or more on going out for lunch.

As a high tech exec, I spent 150 days a year on the road, often in italy, india, france, thailand and china, as well as more exotic places. while on the road, I was able, if I wanted, to take customers to very good resteraunts, which would then cost me nothing. my wife and I traveled together abroad a half dozen times a year for short vacations. most of my friends lived similarly.

pardon the long personal introduction, but here is my point - I ate very well on the road, in very good, although seldom starred, places in some of the food capitals of the world. Once a year I might blow $100 a head on a good meal in israel, but never more than that. I mostly liked a few very good italian places in israel, and the various takes on fusian asian, as well as the local arab places. I would never have thought about getting into the habbit of going to mechelin 2 star level places in israel.

I think israel has some great food. there are types of food that are a great deal better than you can get in ny city, even. but I can't see, just from a critial mass and economic perspective, israel getting to be a superpower.

[marlena spieler]

...Some of the restaurants I most adore in the world have "stars". Some don't even know what the Michelin guide looks like. I never go to a restaurant because it has stars.  I go for the dining experience.  Oddly enough perhaps, I believe that is what gastronomy and the gastronomic arts should be all about.

←

one of my most memorable dining experiences, right up there along with alain passard's l'arpege and charles phams excellent slanted door in s.f., was sitting on a crumbling cement terrace, jews and arabs alike, eating the most divine hummus in the world: freshly cooked, tender, with a splash of green zchug-ish sauce and a pile of raw onions.

one of my silliest and most unendurable dining experiences was a 'tasting menu' (tasting was right, no one could really have eaten it, one taste was enough, served in the most pretentious of manners) at a chateau in bergerac, france, last summer. wines were wonderful though.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Just bumping this thread up since I read this article:

Israel´s Hot Wine Industry Hosts Its First International Showcase

The convention, which was planned in order to introduce Israeli wine makers to their counterparts in Europe and around the world, was yet another landmark event for a red-hot market sector that is winning the hearts of international critics and local shoppers alike. Israeli wine tastings sponsored by the public- and private-sector have helped raise consumer awareness in cities across the US and Europe in the past year. Over the past ten years, [as society grew more affluent,] Israelis started to travel around the world more, and tasted more fine wines in cafes and restaurants. At the same time, they also started to learn more and understand good wines. That led to a rise in local consumption. Meanwhile, more wineries started making good wine, and that raised awareness of wine and increased competition.