Gourmandises and the best sufganiyot in Jerusalem defeated by coronavirus

“So many people have been calling us and telling us not to close,” chef Yoel Affriat revealed. “Maybe we will open up again in the future.”

By GIL HOFFMAN
LIVNATT AFFRIAT prepares sufganiyot in December. (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
LIVNATT AFFRIAT prepares sufganiyot in December.
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Gourmandises by Yoel defeated Kadosh, Roladin and English Cake for the best sufganiyot in the December 20 Hanukkah issue of In Jerusalem, but the French restaurant on Yoel Solomon Street in the city center could not overcome the novel coronavirus.
The owners, Livnatt Affriat and her husband, chef Yoel Affriat, announced this week that they will be shutting down immediately.
“We begged the owner to lower the crazy rent,” Livnatt lamented. “Seventy percent of our clientele were tourists and they will not be coming this summer, when we depend on big crowds. They are our oxygen for the winter, when there are less people here.”
The restaurant saw good sales in December thanks in part to the In Jerusalem article, which brought in new clientele. But after that, business kept plummeting, and the virus was the restaurant’s death knell.
The Affriats said they heard the government would be providing assistance to businesses like theirs. But so far, they have not received a single shekel.
“The virus has been tough on everyone,” Livnatt said. “What really matters most is our health. We see what happened in France, where the Jewish community has been hit hard. It is very sad for us to leave our place here, but problems with money can be overcome.”
She noted that out of the more than 28,000 people killed by COVID-19 in France, nearly 2,000 have been Jews. Purim celebrations caused the virus to spread particularly fast among the community.
Gourmandises did not sell as many hamantaschen ahead of Purim as it did sufganiyot before Hanukkah.
The Affriats opened up their French restaurant downtown six years ago after Yoel studied at the famed Lenôtre culinary institute in their home country. They wowed visitors with their sufganiyot that featured chestnut cream, toffee apple, lemon, caramel, Ferrero Rocher, pistachio, chocolate vanilla, crème patissiere and strawberry. When eating the meringues on top of the lemon meringue sufganiyot with eyes closed, it was possible to imagine you were really in Paris.
Gourmandises still has a bakery at 6 Merkaz Sapir in Givat Shaul, which is kosher mehadrin. They will still be taking orders for Shavuot and all year round and will come to your car with deliveries, eliminating parking hassles and the need to enter the store.
The Affriats cater events and simple breakfasts at home. They encourage people to order delicacies for their elderly parents who cannot leave home due to the virus.
“We have sufganiyot all year long and ahead of Hanukkah there will be new kinds,” Livnatt promised.
She also said they would soon start holding baking workshops.
“So many people have been calling us and telling us not to close,” she revealed. “Maybe we will open up again in the future.”
To order from Gourmandises by Yoel: 058-400-8720, gourmandisesbyyoel@gmail.com or gourmandises-restaurant.business.site