Yisrael Aharoni ( he, ישראל אהרוני; born July 3, 1950) :he:ישראל אהרוני (שף) is an Israeli celebrity chef.

Biography

Aharoni was born in

Haifa, Israel Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

, to Bukharan Jewish parents. Aharoni was enlisted to the Israel Defense Forces and served as a combat soldier in the Golani Brigade. He saw action in the

War of Attrition The War of Attrition ( ar, حرب الاستنزاف, Ḥarb al-Istinzāf; he, מלחמת ההתשה, Milhemet haHatashah) involved fighting between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and their allies from ...

. Following his discharge, he moved to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

to study art in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

, where he discovered Chinese cuisine. Upon his return to Israel, he lived in kibbutz Hulata and worked as a counselor for at-risk youth for two and a half years. He then left Israel to study cooking abroad, where he studied Chinese cuisine in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

before apprenticing at upscale restaurants in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Culinary and media career

In 1981, after he returned to Israel, Aharoni opened his first restaurant, "Yin-Yang," a Chinese restaurant on

Rothschild Boulevard Rothschild Boulevard (, ''Sderot Rotshild'') is one of the principal streets in the center of Tel Aviv, Israel, beginning in Neve Tzedek at its southwestern edge and running north to Habima Theatre. It is one of the most expensive streets in the ...

, and it became a success. Later, he opened another restaurant in Tel Aviv, "Tai-Chi" in Gan HaIr. In the late 1990s, he opened "Tapuach Hazahav" (The Golden Apple), a French

gourmet Gourmet (, ) is a cultural idea associated with the culinary arts of fine food and drink, or haute cuisine, which is characterized by refined, even elaborate preparations and presentations of aesthetically balanced meals of several contrasting, of ...

restaurant which closed after several years. He owned the "Pat-Qua" Chinese-Thai restaurant in

Herzliya Herzliya ( ; he, הֶרְצְלִיָּה ; ar, هرتسليا, Hirtsiliyā) is an affluent city in the central coast of Israel, at the northern part of the Tel Aviv District, known for its robust start-up and entrepreneurial culture. In it h ...

. He has participated in the preparation of gala meals with leading international chefs. He has hosted a number of television shows in Israel. He developed and hosted a 32-episode series on the foods of Israel's different ethnic groups. The show was purchased by the Italian Television Authority. A sequel series on different national cuisines was filmed abroad. He also hosted three seasons of a cooking show called "Private Lesson" and currently hosts "Aharoni Cooks for Friends". Aharoni writes a culinary column for "Seven Days," the weekend magazine of the newspaper

Yedioth Ahronoth ''Yedioth Ahronoth'' ( he, יְדִיעוֹת אַחֲרוֹנוֹת, ; lit. ''Latest News'') is a national daily newspaper published in Tel Aviv, Israel. Founded in 1939 in British Mandatory Palestine, ''Yedioth Ahronoth'' is the largest paid n ...

, which has the largest Friday weekend circulation in Israel. He has traveled extensively throughout the world covering different cuisines and food trends. As of May 2013 the Union List of Israel lists 32 Hebrew cookbooks which Aharoni has authored or coauthored, including several in separate kosher and non-kosher editions. This includes 19 cookbooks he authored on his own, all of them bestsellers in Israel. With Nelli Sheffer he coauthored "Eating Alfresco: The Best Street Food in the World", published by Abraham's in the United States in 1999. In 2012 Aharoni was working on the Foods of the Silk Road and trying to enter American television. He is a judge on MasterChef Israel. Aharoni is also a guest disc jockey at Tel Aviv nightclubs.

References

External links

Website of Aharoni's cooking show

Website of the restaurant "Yin-Yang" on the Restaurant Portal of ROL.co.il

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aharoni, Yisrael 1950 births Living people Israeli television chefs Israeli expatriates in the Netherlands 20th-century Israeli Jews 21st-century Israeli Jews Bukharan Jews People from Haifa