Grapevine: Roshfeld’s restaurants

A round up of news from around the country.

By GREER FAY CASHMAN
Yonatan Roshfeld (photo credit: screenshot)
Yonatan Roshfeld
(photo credit: screenshot)
THE PARTING of ways a little over two months ago between celebrity chef Yonatan Roshfeld and Adi’s Lifestyle, owned by siblings Adi and Irit Straus of the family famous for its dairy products, also signified a farewell from Herbert Samuel, which was Roshfeld’s signature restaurant.
The brother and sister bought him out for a reported NIS 7 million. Over the past eight years the three were in partnership in other gourmet ventures that included Yavne Montefiore, Tapas Ahad Ha’am, Alma and one kosher dining experiment at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Herzliya.
After walking away from all that due to irreconcilable differences with the Strauss siblings, Roshfeld teamed up with Oded Saida and opened another Tel Aviv restaurant that goes by the name of Dinner. Meanwhile, Herbert Samuel has lost none of its popularity, because the chef replacing Roshfeld is Adir Cohen, who was trained by Roshfeld, and who often prepared meals for which Roshfeld received the credit. Cohen, 25, was a natural successor.
Roshfeld very quickly spread his wings and has joined forces with Avi Ben Arush, the owner of the upscale Cavalier restaurant in Jerusalem, to transform Cavalier into a concept restaurant. Cavalier has never been kosher, and isn’t about to become kosher, but it will take into account that many Jerusalemites who may not observe the dietary laws nonetheless balk at a menu that includes pork and shellfish, so neither will be on the Cavalier menu, and dishes that call for a mix of meat and dairy products will be minimal. When Roshfeld is not around, the chef will be Tomer Tal, who like Adir Cohen, is a Roshfeld protégé.
■ IT’S NOT only Torah that comes out of Zion. Following on the heels of coffee shop enterprises Aroma and Hillel, which spread from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv and to points elsewhere throughout Israel – and in the case of Aroma to several overseas locations – Tzidkiyahu is expanding from Mahaneh Yehuda Market to Sarona in Tel Aviv. Established by Mordechai Zion Tzidkiyahu in the market’s Etz Hahaim Street, the open-air deli stocks dairy goods on one side of the street, and meat and pickled delicacies on the other. More or less an institution in Jerusalem, the enterprise currently run by Yaron Tzidikiyahu is branching out to Tel Aviv next week, and if all goes well, he will open other branches outside Jerusalem.
■ EVERY GOVERNMENT minister likes to blow his own trumpet, and Yuval Steinitz, the national infrastructure, energy and water minister, is no exception. Speaking at the Birthright Israel Mega Event at the Caesarea amphitheater last week, Steinitz said: “When I served as Israel’s finance minister I had the privilege to double the government of Israel’s contribution to Taglit. When the founders of Taglit came to me and asked me to help enlarge the program and include more young Jewish adults from around the world, they didn’t have to convince me that this is the most important global Jewish project. Birthright Israel already has 500,000 ambassadors, and today you are joining this group of ambassadors of the State of Israel.” The mega event was in celebration of Birthright Israel’s 15th anniversary and reaching the milestone figure of 500,000 total participants. The event took place in the presence of Brig.-Gen. David Barki, head of the IAF’s Human Resources Department; Sheila Safra, head of the International Birthright Israel delegation; Edna and Meir Shamir; Bracha and Roy Ben-Yami; Eduardo Elsztain, president of Birthright Israel in Argentina; Gidi Mark, CEO of Birthright Israel; a delegation of donors and friends from South America and Europe and thousands of Taglit-Birthright Israel participants from the US, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Russia, Panama, Mexico, Hungary, Argentina, France and Israel.
Birthright Israel presented awards to three outstanding IDF units which joined forces with Birthright Israel during the year: These were Sdot Ha’ela air force base, the Paratroopers Brigade training base and the 108 air force base.
This summer, 30,000 participants from more than 30 countries are visiting Israel on a 10-day educational trip. Taglit-Birthright Israel has taken a strategic position to invest and significantly increase its efforts to bring more young Jewish adults to Israel from France.
■ AT THE initiative of artist Or Frish, 15 artists this week congregated at an underground car park in the old city of Beersheba, were given a budget with which to purchase whatever equipment they required, and were subsequently given 48 hours in which to produce spontaneous creativity on a theme that was disclosed to them at literally the last minute.