Master chef to play sous chef for charity
Eyal Shani will get a lesson on kugel-cooking from an Israeli grandma, with proceeds going to a Tel Aviv nonprofit
Debra writes for the JTA, and is a former features writer for The Times of Israel.
Eyal Shani, the beloved Israeli celebrity chef behind wacky gourmet joint Abraxas North and its wild-child street food sister, Miznon, doesn’t really need any more cooking lessons. But in the name of charity, cheekiness and a respect for his elders, on Thursday he’ll become a sous chef to an Israeli grandma named Sonia.
The event, part of an ongoing series entitled “Grandparent Gourmet,” is a product of the Tel Aviv nonprofit Shorashim, which makes emergency food deliveries to elderly and impoverished citizens around the White City. Shorashim’s aid has been a major boon to Holocaust survivors in the area as well as Ethiopian immigrants, both groups that suffer from food insecurity.
At Thursday’s event, which will be held at The Salon, a dinner theater space along Tel Aviv’s industrial eastern fringe, Grandma Sonia will teach Shani the secrets of her family’s kugel recipe. Shani, after proving himself a diligent student, will then deconstruct and recreate the dish with his own modern spin.
Both dishes will be available for sale the following day at the Shorashim booth at the Friday Farmer’s Market at the renovated Tel Aviv Port. All proceeds from the sales will go to Shorashim’s efforts to feed local elderly residents in need.