Q1: You started working in restaurants at the young age of 14. When did you know you
wanted to be a chef and run restaurants?

 

AB: I think when I was maybe 5 or 6 when I cooked my first recipe at home. It was tuna
salad from a children's magazine.

 

Q2:  At 24 you opened your first restaurant. What were some of the major challenges you
faced?

 

AB: There were a lot of challenges! First, when I agreed at 24, I was in shock. I was only
a cook at the time and I had never organized a restaurant or  managed a kitchen.
It was a challenge to handle waiters, bartenders and manage salaries. When I started in
my restaurant I thought I only had to buy ingredients, cook and serve. After one month
I realized it's like the army - everything needs to be perfect of you lose everything.

 

Q3: Today you have several eateries. What's the difference between your restaurants? Why did you choose to open a Kosher restaurant (Merkado)?

 

AB: I have one restaurant and two bars. Adora, my first restaurant, is a fusion between
Israeli and Mediterranean. We serve seafood, but with Israeli serves small tapas that
are both Mediterranean and Jewish.  The Jewish food is a little trendy including foods like
chopped liver and gravadlax. 

 

I opened a kosher restaurant because kosher is important. Our religion is 5000 years old and
it's important to respect our religion. In my other restaurants I mix milk and meat. For example, I make my roast beef with lots of butter.  I want Israelis and tourists who keep kosher to have the ability to eat at one of my restaurants.

 

Q4:  Let's talk about your food. Do you consider your food Israeli? How do you define Israeli food?

 

AB: I call it "New Israeli."  Actually, we don't have an Israeli kitchen. It doesn't exist.
The Israeli kitchen is a unique blend of all cultures that came to Israel. There are recipes
from Europe, Africa and all over the world. Only in Israel do you find Chinese chicken
served in warm baguettes or fresh prawns that are typically European with tahini . When I was in New York three months ago I ate at 36 restaurants in three weeks! Everything was perfect, but I didn't find any good fusion.