When I think of Israeli food, Michael Solomonov is the first person that comes to mind. He creates delicious dishes; whether fried chicken & donuts, a tahini soft serve, or an amazing lamb shoulder braised in schmaltz.  He has worked to promote the cuisine of Israel, its vibrant food culture & history, in Philadelphia and beyond. On this episode we talk about food, life, struggles, and what its like everyday to be in the restaurant business. And for the record, I am going to hold him to that trip to Israel we talked about.

Michael Solomonov is the executive chef and co-owner of Philadelphia’s pioneering Israeli restaurant, Zahav, and the co-author of three cookbooks. He is the 2011 James Beard Award winner for “Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic”, a 2016 James Beard Award winner for “Best International Cookbook” and “Book of the Year” for his and business partner/co-author Steven Cook’s first cookbook, Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking, and the 2017 James Beard Award's “Outstanding Chef.”  In 2018, Zahav was recognized by Food & Wine Magazine as one of "The 40 Most Important Restaurants of the Past 40 Years".  In May of 2019, Zahav was awarded "Outstanding Restaurant" by the James Beard Award Foundation.   

In addition to his duties at Zahav, Chef Solomonov co-owns Philadelphia's Federal Donuts, Dizengoff, Abe Fisher, and Goldie. In 2019, Solomonov brought another slice of Israeli food culture to Philadelphia with K’Far, an Israeli bakery & café, this past July and Merkaz, an Israeli pita sandwich shop, this past November. In 2020, the pair will also open Laser Wolf, an Israeli shipudiya restaurant in Philadelphia. Since 2017, Solomonov and the Israel Ministry of Tourism (IMOT) are partners in championing Israel’s extraordinarily diverse and vibrant culinary landscape.