Taste test

An exalted food fest at Open Restaurants Jerusalem

The second round of this now-annual food tour takes foodies around the city

Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center

An Open Restaurants Jerusalem workshop in painting, November 2016 (Courtesy Tomer Foltyn)
An Open Restaurants Jerusalem workshop in painting, November 2016 (Courtesy Tomer Foltyn)

When it came to planning Open Restaurants Jerusalem, an event founded by Tel Avivians that pairs foodies with chefs and their kitchens, founder and food entrepreneur Merav Oren admitted that Tel Aviv may have more restaurants, but Jerusalem’s eateries are special.

“Jerusalem is exalted,” said Oren. “It’s a different kind of vibe, still cosmopolitan but offering more of a range. It’s the Jerusalem mix,” she added, punning on the name for the city’s famed mixed grill of chicken hearts, spleens and liver mixed with bits of lamb and cooked on a flat grill.

There are no promises yet as to whether a Jerusalem mixed grill will be served during this second year of the foodie event, held from November 14-18 and hosting chefs and the public at restaurants, markets and tours as well as the light rail, private cooking studios and cooperative workspaces such as Hansen House, Beit Alliance, Beita Jerusalem and HaMiffal.

As in the Tel Aviv version of Open Restaurants, tickets sell out fast, and are available only online at the Open Restaurants website, starting Tuesday, October 17, although patrons can already peruse some of the offerings.

The eating frenzy starts with an opening dessert party at Cafe Kadosh hosted by pastry chef Keren Kadosh, whose sugar-encrusted doughnuts, flaky brioche and delectable croissants are beloved by all. The final event, on November 18, will be held at Villa Brown, the city’s newest boutique hotel.

Celebrity chef Assaf Granit of Mahneyuda reprises his tour of culinary inspiration at the Israel Museum during Open Restaurants Jerusalem 2017 (Courtesy Tomer Foltyn)

In between, there are typical open restaurant events, such as learning about empanada fillings at Argento, enjoying a tasting menu at Mahneyuda, pickling vegetables at HaMiffal, baking pita at Dwini, mixing drinks at The Culinary Workshop, cooking with chef Moshe Basson at Eucalyptus, preparing pasta at Anna, learning the ropes of high-end fast food at Crave or seeing what has been rebuilt at Rama’s Kitchen, the countryside bistro in the Jerusalem hills that burned down last fall.

There are more unique opportunities as well, such as the chance to run a Mahane Yehuda basta, otherwise known as a food stall, for a day. Anyone interested in that possibility has to send in a favorite recipe that includes yogurt to the Open Restaurants Jerusalem website.

Learning about food technologies, like coffee stencils, at the 2016 Open Restaurants Jerusalem (Courtesy Tomer Foltyn)

There’s also a tour of culinary inspired-art at the Israel Museum with celebrity chef Assaf Granit and food writer Ronit Vered, a panel of five female food entrepreneurs hosted at The Jerusalem Atelier of Tali Friedman, and an exhibit of food-inspired photography that will be shown in Beit Alliance.

There are six kid events, including a special tour of Mahane Yehuda and the chance to learn about making ice cream, and several events that match Arab and Jewish cooks, including one at HaMiffal and one at the YMCA.

Mixing cocktails during Open Restaurants Jerusalem 2017 at The Culinary Workshop, a Jerusalem restaurant that is part of the Mahneyuda restaurant group (Courtesy Tomer Foltyn)

The Best Promising Chef global competition is being hosted during Open Restaurants Jerusalem, involving up-and-coming chefs from six countries who will be selected to represent their country by local food professionals as well as an online vote.

The six winners will meet with Jerusalem colleagues, cooking with them, discussing the future of food with local startup groups and participating in food workshops.

And at the core of all these events is partaking of food: chowing down on clever culinary creations and high-end street food, or dining on five-course meals, mezze to dessert, inspired by the classics and the modern Mediterranean cuisine known as Israeli food.

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