Chef Michael Solomonov during a recent visit to Israel. (Courtesy Michael Solomonov)
Award-winning chef Michael Solomonov misses his Israel. A lot.
Solomonov, a five-time James Beard Foundation award winner and co-owner with longtime partner Steve Cook of Philadelphia’s CookNSolo restaurants, usually visits Israel twice a year. It’s where he was born, and where his brother is buried.
With few planes coming in (Israel totally banned all incoming flights this week), and a strict quarantine requirement for all visitors, a trip to Israel is not quite feasible. So Solomonov is doing the next best thing.
Enter “Bringing Israel Home,” a new 16-episode Vimeo digital series where Solomonov visits virtually with Israeli guests, friends and colleagues.
With his fleet of Philadelphia restaurants and three published cookbooks, chef Michael Solomonov has made a strong bid to be the most prominent proponent of Israeli food in America.
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As soon as the Israeli Hanukkah doughnuts start appearing in bakeries at the beginning of the Hebrew month of Kislev, weeks before the festival, Kent launches into his tastings. He samples the gamut, from the ubiquitous red jelly-filled to the decadent halva or dulce de leche-flavored, at gas stations or at high end patisseries.
“I never eat an entire donut” he wrote via e-mail. By the time Hanukkah actually starts, he’s done with doughnuts and has latched on to latkes.
Of course, each oily food in Kent’s annual routine is a traditional Chanuka treat among Jewish communities around the world. The oil used to fry each dish recalls the miracle of the oil lasting in the rededicated Jerusalem Temple in the second century BCE.