Tel Aviv Table

Last week, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin flew to Berlin to mark 50 years of German-Israeli relations. Lately, the culinary scene has provided another platform for cultural exchange. Host Daniella Cheslow traveled to Berlin to find Yotam Ottolenghi on every bookshelf and a growing number of talented Israelis working the pots and pans. At Glass restaurant, chef Gal Ben Moshe, a veteran of Israeli fine dining as well as Chicago’s Alinea restaurant, tells Daniella about the uphill struggle to get Germans to eat molecular food, and how he slips falafel into his appetizers.   Music: Wise Guys - Hallo BerlinUlrich Schnauss - As If You've Never Been AwayPaul Kuhn und Mario Barth - Mensch BerlinAdam - Paris-Berlin

Majda: A match made under silvery olive trees Host Daniella Cheslow travels to the Majda restaurant outside Jerusalem. Israeli chef Michal Baranes designed the menu; her Palestinian-Israeli husband Yakoub Barhum built the restaurant and grows the herbs and vegetables used in the dishes. FOOD NEWS: Tel Aviv named world's best vegan destination TheDailyMeal.com has ranked Tel Aviv as the world's best vegan destination; President Rivlin held a meat-free Independence Day party; eat green almonds at Cucina Tamar in Tel Aviv; and the new Pimpinella bar in Levinsky market goes insane for anise.   Music: Hatikva 6 - Hachi Yisraeli (The Most Israeli)Rasha Nahas - Biting Down (part of +972's “Buzzcut Season” Israeli-Palestinian tribute to Lorde)Ulrich Schnauss - As If You’ve Never Been AwaySergio Mendes - MagdalenhaPat Metheny Group - The Girls Next DoorAchinoam Nini and Mira Awad - We Can Work It Out

A taste of the Georgian wine revolution At least 40,000 Israelis visited Georgia in 2013, partly because of the country's reviving wine culture. We tour Georgian wine country with Taste Georgia’s Maka Tarashvili, an expert on Georgian wine and a veteran of Israeli tour groups. FOOD NEWS: When hummus turns deadly Discover Tel Aviv's new South African eatery, Bunny Chow, at Carmel Market; the Masterchef judges are bringing their expertise to several new Tel Aviv restaurants; and when hummus turns deadly, it's time to start making your own.   Music: Teona Qumsiashvili - Dedav Sicocxlis Tkbiso SawyisoRussian Red Army Choir - InternationaleLashari Daigvianes - Kaxuri MravaljamieriBanu - Kavkasiuri Balada (Caucuses Ballad)   If you like this show, follow us on Facebook (facebook.com/TelAvivTable) and Twitter (@telavivtable) for updates and reading recommendations.

Eating in Exodus: Passover at the Holot detention center Host Daniella Cheslow attended the annual Passover seder for African migrants at Israel's Holot detention center, where she spoke to Khalil Kefel, who wants to return to Eritrea so he can go back to cooking - which he learned to love in Israel. FOOD NEWS: Hot hot peppers and a gluten-free paradise Just in time for passover, a gluten-free paradise has opened in Jaffa - Gluteria; Tel Aviv's Taizu Asian fusion restaurant is celebrating its second birthday this week; and El Taco is holding a hot pepper eating contest this week.   Music: Daniel Ohayon - Let My People Go InstrumentalPat Metheny - The Girls Next DoorTom Petty And The Heartbreakers - Refugee

Tues. 9-11PM (Israel); 3-5PM (EST); 12-2PM (PT) Join TLV1 anchors Ilene Prusher and Gilad Halpern for LIVE coverage of Israel's election madness as the exit polls come out and the votes begin to be counted. We'll have TLV1 & Haaretz correspondents at the major campaign headquarters and special reports on the issues facing Israeli voters. Weds. 7AM (Israel); 1AM (EST); 10PM (PT) Listen to our special LIVE election panel of Noah Efron, Debra Kamin, and Gil Troy putting together the pieces of the jigsaw as the Israeli election results come in - that's when the political game really begins in the race to form a coalition.   Tune in LIVE at www.tlv1.fm

Every autumn, thousands descend on Taybeh village for Oktoberfest, a rustic beer festival held by the only brewery in Palestinian territories. Nadim Khoury learned how to make beer at University of California Davis and came back to his hometown in 1995 following the signing of the Oslo accords. There, he set up the oldest microbrewery in the Holy Land, plowing $1.2 million into the operation.  Now, he’s turned to wine. The first vintage launched in November. Last weekend, Khoury opened his winery to the public for the first-ever Taybe Vinfest. The Tel Aviv Table visits the festival to meet the man dubbed the Booze Baron of the West Bank.  

From Talmud to tarte tatin The 'Secret Pastry Chef,' who spent the last six months producing perfect petit-fours and toothsome tarts in his Tel Aviv apartment, has transformed his online store into a bricks-and-mortar shop. He tells TLV1 how Facebook helped take him from buzz to business. FOOD NEWS: Purim is coming! Purim is coming, and this is your time to go and get some three-cornered hamantaschen cookies, known in Hebrew as oznei haman. Last year, the Tel Aviv Table did a taste test of the city’s best offerings and Dudu Otmezgine came out on top.   Music: Ulrich Schnauss - As If You’ve Never Been AwayFiddler on the Roof - OvertureShanks and Bigfoot - Sweet Like ChocolateEileen Barton - If I Knew You Were Coming I’d Have Baked a CakeYoni Rechter and Shlomi Shaban - The Croissant SongPat Metheny Group - The Girls Next DoorArctic Monkeys - The Bakery  

Culinary crusades in the ancient city of Akko Host Daniella Cheslow journeys with her plate through the narrow streets of the Old City and the wide-open vistas of the seafront, filling herself with seafood, fish, fresh flavors, and original attempts to infuse a new spirit into an ancient city. FOOD NEWS: So French so good So French So Good, the third annual French culinary week, opens across Israel; the Jerusalem Book Fair features two Jewish food books; if you’ve got a hankering for Hungarian food, go to Bistro Tchernichovsky in Tel Aviv.   Music: Vince Guaraldi Trio - Christmas Is ComingHabiluim - Kshenapoleon Yichbosh Et Akko (When Napoleon Conquers Akko)Robbie Williams - Beyond The SeaPhil Collins - Too Many Fish In The SeaPat Metheny - The Girls Next DoorDanny Sanderson - Mazal Dagim

With French Jewish immigration to Israel on the rise, the Tel Aviv Table heads to Netanya to assess the impact of the new arrivals on local cuisine. Baguettes and Beurre: The French Olim Getting Their Food Groove On From the Paris pastry chef relieved to be finally serving kosher cakes alone, to the Israeli restaurateurs happy to fill their lunchtime tables with French retirees, we explore the extents - and the limits - of the French New Wave. FOOD NEWS: A Tel Aviv brasserie wins world's most beautiful place to eat Where is the most beautiful place to eat in the world? Hint: it's right in our backyard. Get to know the chefs behind your food, and even learn how to prepare your favorite dishes, at the upcoming the 2nd annual Open Restaurants festival. The Ehad supermarket chain, which sells off brand generic products at steep discounts, opened its first store in Raanana last week, and is scheduled to roll out additional branches in Netanya and Petach Tikva in the coming months. Music: Ulrich Schnauss - As If You've Never Been AwaySerge Gainsbourg - Les Sucettes a L'aniFrank Sinatra - I Love ParisPat Metheny - The Girls Next DoorM - Onde Sensuelle Producer: Liya SpiegelTechnician: Adam ScherHost: Daniella Cheslow

Light your fire with winter cocktails The cold nights of this stormy January call for warm winter drinks. The Tel Aviv Table spends an evening with veteran bartender, Oron Lerner, at his new cocktail bar Hide & Seek, another addition to the thriving Israeli cocktail bar scene.   Food News: When food becomes art  Whiskylive, the world’s largest whiskey festival, is coming to Israel on March 24th; Of course food imitates art, but at Segev restaurant in Herzliya Pituach the concept takes just a few steps further;  Biologist Yossi Yovel of Tel Aviv University has discovered the “bag of chips” effect among bats.    Playlist: Cider Sky - Heart of GlassWillie Nelson - The Warm Red WinePat Metheny - The Girl Next DoorHank Williams Jr. - What’s on the Bar  

Meet the Israeli chef taking New York by storm Chef Einat Admony is one of several highly successful Israeli chefs around the world. Host Daniella Cheslow visits Admony in her Bolonat Bar, which the New York Times reviewed as one of New York's ten best new restaurants of 2014.   Food News:  Chana’s Place is bringing kosher, Jewish Israeli food to Tokyo; Arocha is a startup that brings recipes and groceries in the exact amount to your door every week; a soup festival in the Tel Aviv farmers' market features soups served by real grandmas. Playlist: Vince Guardi Trio - Christmas Is ComingShlomi Shaban - New York vs. YehezkelAlexandre Desplat - Mr. Fox In The FieldsPat Metheny - The Girls Next DoorShmemel - Berlin

A toast to Israeli wine The Tel Aviv Table toasts 2015 with a show about Israeli wine. The Israeli boutique wine scene has exploded over the past decade; to get a closer look, host Daniella Cheslow visits the Bar Maor winery outside Binyamina, and picks grapes with owner Rami Bar Maor. Food News: Vegans, paleo, and Palomar The vegan tidal wave has bubbled into Israeli army bases; Chef Assaf Granit's London restaurant Palomar is officially the city's hottest establishment; and we check out the latest research on the paleo diet, and the news isn't good...   Playlist: Theodore Bikel - Havu Lanu Yayin Yayin (Bring Us Wine)Pat Metheny - The Girls Next DoorMarvin Gaye - I Heard It Through The Grapevine

Beyond gefilte fish and guilt: Polish Culinary Week in Israel In the second annual Polish Culinary Week, Israelis discover lost Polish breads, innovative new recipes for carp and cabbage, and the parallels between Poland’s food revival and the booming development of modern Israeli cuisine.   Food News: Doyennes, doughnuts, and peking duck We explore Jewish food on screen with the doyenne of Jewish cooking in the Arab world, Claudia Roden; this year's best Hanukkah doughnuts; an authentic new Chinese restaurant opening in Tel Aviv; and a new molecular Arab restaurant in Haifa.   Playlist: Orville Josef Balzan - If I Were A Rich Man, instrumentalPat Metheny - The Girls Next DoorAim - The Girl Who Fell Through Ice

Israelis eat more turkey than any other country How did little Israel become the world's largest consumer of turkey meat? In this Thanksgiving episode, we wade through the pastrami and shawarma to bring you the answers to this questions and more, as well as a practical guide on preparing a 40kg shawarma roll for the spit. Food News: Chef at Israeli restaurant wins chef of the year Congratulations to Michael Solomonov, the chef at at the Israeli Zahav restaurant in Philadelphia. Eater magazine has named him chef of the year. Solomonov was in Israel last year to film a documentary about the food here, and we caught up with director Roger Sherman.   Playlist: The Robins - Turkey Hop John Lennon - Cold Turkey

Tubi 60 liquor: A shot to shock Tubi 60 is a cloudy, yellow alcoholic drink that packs a potent punch. It became a runaway hit when it emerged last summer and has kept its street cred since. Yet the story of Tubi is as opaque as the drink. Its ingredients remain a mystery... Food News: The Dinner Rush pop-up restaurant opens up The Dinner Rush pop-up restaurant starts tonight on Tel Aviv's Nachalat Binyamin Street. It’s a celebration of guest chefs who will each take over the kitchen for one of six weeks, the first of which hail from Albabor restaurant, originally in Um el Fahem. Playlist: Police - Message in a BottlePat Metheny - The Girls Next DoorThe Pogues - Sally Maclennane   Editor: Amy Racs Producer: Liya Spiegel Technical producer: Adam Sher   If you like this show, follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@telavivtable) for updates and reading recommendations.  

The German Appetit Auf Israel   Israelis have been getting sour on the high prices here compared with the low prices in Germany. But Germans are also developing a great appetite for Israeli food - so much so that there are now two German TV documentaries in the works to showcase Israeli cuisine. One is by Tom Franz, winner of Israel’s 2013 Masterchef TV competition and author of the German cookbook “So Schmeckt Israel”, meaning the Taste of Israel. The other documentary is by Fritz Haering, a Michelin star chef from outside Munich. Both chefs visited the Tel Aviv Table to talk about the German interest in the Israeli kitchen.   Food November 10, 2014: Jaffa’s storied Abu Hassan hummus joint, where you elbow your way to a table and scarf hummus before being rushed away, is opening a location in Tel Aviv’s upscale Sarona complex. Jack Daniels is celebrating its 148th birthday, and seven Israeli restaurants are offering whisky-themed mains and desserts to mark the occasion. Check out a chocolate dessert creation at Mizlala, chocolate Jack ice cream with brulee macaron at Haim Cohen’s Yafo Tel Aviv, and at Sheila, a decadent filet drenched in a honey-jack sauce. All until Novembet 15. Thought you had enough cocktail bars? Another one has just opened, on the ruins of the legendary Casit café and more recently the beloved idelson 10 bakery that shut down over the summer. Spicehaus is built as the largest cocktail bar Tel Aviv has to date, with room for up to 200 people. Bartenders mix big enough portions to be shared – so you could get a cocktail for 4 for 116 shekels which is quite a deal compared to the 50-shekel glasses on offer in other places around the city. Dizengoff 117. Songs used on the show:  The Bayerischer Defiliermarsch Pat Metheny - The Girls Next Door   Nena - 99 Luftballons

My name is George and I own most of the farmland in Israel This week we explore the agricultural sabbatical of Shmita in Israel: How an ancient farming custom that died when the Jews went into exile, has come back to be a central concern for Israel’s farmers every seven years. Food News A beloved Haifa bourekas joint is setting up shop in Tel Aviv; Chef Jonathan Roshfeld is opening up a restaurant and boutique hotel in Jerusalem; And after the beloved Cafe 48 by Yonatan Borowitz shut down this summer, the space on Nachalat Binyamin street in southern Tel Aviv is going to spend six weeks as a pop-up restaurant

The olive harvest: When city slickers reconnect with their roots In the Arab Israeli village of Kfar Bara, the olive harvest is a time when city slickers head back to the land and reconnect with Palestinian farming traditions. The Tel Aviv Table picks olives with Muhsein Assi and his family, and tastes the first oil of the season. Food News We discuss a new cocktail bar in Jerusalem called 'Gatsby'; an ice cream shop in Tel Aviv that makes cookies and ice cream sandwiches; the late Oktoberfest at Tel Aviv's Sarona complex; and a Knesset report on the huge jump in food prices since 2005. Playlist: Soel - My Singing SoulNeil Young - Harvest MoonPat Metheny - The Girls Next DoorSimon and Garfunkel - Leaves That Are Green

Liquor gives your etrog a new lease of life! What should we do with all these pimply etrogs left over from Sukkot? Pini Gorelick, a computer analyst by day, makes etrog liquor at home. Host Daniella Cheslow meets him at the annual etrog liquor festival at Tel Aviv’s Shishko Bar. Food News This week is Japanese culture week in Jerusalem - check out this cooking workshop at the First Station; the 16th annual wine festival is taking place in the Ella Valley; how to make the most of the olive harvest season; and lots more! Playlist: Soel - My Singing SoulNapoli Mandolin Orchestra - TarantellaPat Metheny - The Girls Next DoorRami Fortis - Hazara Leshigra (Return to Routine)

Forage like your wandering forefathers What better way to remember our ancestor’s desert dwellings than to forage for your food? Urban ecology group CityTree leads urban foraging tours of Tel Aviv every 6 weeks. Alon Eliran describes how to forage and prepare amaranth grain and goosefoot leaves. Quick & tasty Sukkot recipes from Phyllis Glazer Slash your time in the kitchen and extend your star-gazing time in the sukkah with Phyllis Glazer’s time-saving chicken, fig & muscat stew and red lentil ‘hummus’ recipes. The magic and mystery of the pimply etrog The etrog citrus fruit is particularly important to Jews on Sukkot. Uzi Eli has set up a line of etrog-based beauty products that treat acne and premature wrinkling. Eli describes some of the yellow citron’s more legendary powers, such as curing child mutism. The Quince Prince: Chef Erez Komarovsky Cousin to the pear, the quince is a fruit that is often overlooked. Chef Erez Komarovsky has reintroduced the quince to his kitchen with his slow-cook quince lamb and quince compote and cream. Eyal Shani: “The most beautiful cake in the world is an ice-cream-stuffed pita bread” Superstar chef Eyal Shani explains why he had to do the trusty pita bread the honour of stuffing it with his buja ice-cream - made with whole milk and the magic ingredient of mastic tree gum. Music: Shakin The Lulav - David Bar Cohen Asif - Naomi Shemer Be Our Guest - Beauty And The Beast Patish Masmer Shlomit Bona Sukkah - Naomi Shemer Ice Cream Man - Tom Waits Shir Tishrey - Chava Alberstein Yehezkel - Halonot Hagvohim Get Lucky - Daft Punk