Eyal Shani ( he, אייל שני) is an Israeli chef noted for creating the Miznon restaurant chain.

Culinary career

Shani, a self-taught chef, opened the Israeli fine dining restaurant, Ocean, in 1989. After closing Ocean, he spent several years as a restaurant consultant. Shani opened the first restaurant in his contemporary casual chain,

Miznon Miznon ( he, מזנון; eng, Canteen), stylised as MIZNON, is an Israeli chain of contemporary casual restaurants for foodies created by chef Eyal Shani, with branches around the world. The first Miznon opened in Tel Aviv in 2011. Cuisine Mi ...

, in 2011. It has since expanded to an international chain with restaurants in Paris, Vienna, Melbourne, and New York. Shani's signature dishes at Miznon include whole, roasted cauliflower, and “run over potato”, a baked potato mixed with garlic, green onions, and sour cream and served paper-thin. Shani opened HaSalon in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

and Givatayim in 2008. Eyal is the head chef at the restaurant, which opens only two nights a week. Richard Vines, restaurant reviewer for Bloomberg, described the food at HaSalon as "simple but epic."

Gault Millau Gault et Millau is a French restaurant guide. It was founded by two restaurant critics, Henri Gault and Christian Millau in 1965. Points system Gault Millau rates on a scale of 1 to 20, with 20 being the highest. Restaurants given below 10 points ...

named it one of the top restaurants in Israel in 2018. In April 2019, Shani and longtime business partner Shachar Segal opened HaSalon in Hell's Kitchen,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Media

He is a judge on

MasterChef Israel ''MasterChef Israel'' ( he, מאסטר שף) is an Israeli reality cooking competition show that debuted on 14 October 2010 by Keshet on Channel 2 (from 2017 Keshet 12). It is based on the global MasterChef competitive cooking show television f ...

. During the 10th MasterChef season in 2022, Shani was criticized after he discriminated against a contestant who lives in

Bat Ayin Bat Ayin ( he, בַּת עַיִן, lit., "daughter of the eye" or "apple of the eye", i. e., pupil, ar, بات عاين) is an Israeli settlement in Gush Etzion in the West Bank, between Jerusalem and Hebron. It was founded in 1989 by Rabbi Yi ...

based on his residence. Critics called for Shani's removal from the show.

Reception

Shani's unique presentations, twists on famous dishes and street food, and colorful, even pretentious, language have drawn both praise and criticism. Writer Liel Leibovitz called Shani "Israel's most celebrated chef", and concluded that "Eyal Shani is a genius." Another critic claims he had one of the worst meals in his life at one of Shani's restaurants, saying "It feels like you're being scammed. He doesn't even deserve the title of 'Chef'. His mannerisms are only there to cover for bad cooking."

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

Steve Cuozzo Steven D. Cuozzo (born January 17, 1950) is an American writer, newspaper editor, restaurant critic, real estate columnist, and op-ed contributor for the ''New York Post''. Early life Steven D. Cuozzo was born on January 17, 1950, in Ocean Hill, ...

noted that on a trip to Israel, many chefs he spoke to said Shani is "regarded as a joke" in his home country. While HaSalon enjoyed moderate popularity since opening, it drew criticism for its high prices. Shauna Lyon from

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

wrote "The prices are so high that you might find yourself straining to calculate the best deals." Cuozzo was also critical: "Many of the Mediterranean menu’s scandalously priced stinkers were just meh", and concluded "HaSalon translates as ''the salon'' or, as applied to this venue, ''the living room.'' But it might as well mean, ''Ha, suckers!'' The joke’s on us."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shani, Eyal Israeli television chefs 1959 births Living people