Eating with the stars

World's finest chefs coming to Israel this week to take part in special meal in honor of Israeli chef Shalom Kadosh. Each diner to pay NIS 1,800; proceeds to be donated to disabled children

Prepare your forks: A delegation of the world's greatest chefs is arriving in Israel this week for a rare showcase of their skills in honor of veteran Israeli chef Shalom Kadosh, summarizing 35 years of culinary activity.

 

Throughout his career, Kadosh has cooked meals for highbrow, kings, presidents and prime ministers. Jordan's King Hussein, former US Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George Bush, former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Queen Beatrix of Holland and many others dignitaries have enjoyed the gourmet dishes prepared by him with a lot of talent.

 

Kadosh, 62, is considered Israel's prominent culinary ambassador, and has been representing the State in festivals, exhibitions, contests and special meals for years, befriending the world's chief cooks.

 

The special meal will take place on Wednesday in Jerusalem's Leonardo Plaza hotel of the Fattal chain, where Kadosh has been cooking for 35 years now. The chefs invited to the event were chosen by Kadosh himself, and include many of the navigators of restaurants which have won two and three Michelin stars.

 

'Ratatouille' inspiration among guests

Among the chefs who will take part in the event are Jean-Michel Lorain, one of France's greatest cooks; Marc Haeberlin, who has three Michelin stars; George Blanc, who received the insignia of a commander of the Legion of Honor for his culinary activity, as well as Jacques Chibois, Philippe Legendre, Michel Rostang, Patrick Jeffrey and Emile Jung – all leading chefs in France.

 

Italy's Nadia Santini, whose restaurant has won three Michelin stars and who is considered one of the best chefs in her country, will also visit the Plaza. Another special guest will be Gilles Pudlowski, France's senior food critic, who served as an inspiration for the film "Ratatouille".

 

The food for the reception will be prepared by Israel's leading chefs: Ezra Kedem, who initiated the event; Yonatan Roshfeld; Haim Cohen; Meir Adoni; Yoram Nitzan; Aviv Moshe and others. Many of the Israeli chefs took their first steps in the field as Kadosh's students.

 

After the reception, the foreign chefs will assemble a six-course meal with a special challenge in the kitchen: Preparing a kosher gourmet meal.

 

About 180 people will enjoy the festive meal Wednesday evening and will each pay NIS 1,800 (about $476) for the pleasure. The event's proceeds will all be donated to Beit Issie Shapiro, which aids children with special needs.

 

Chef Kadosh sounded very excited last week as he spoke about the upcoming event. "For me, the most important thing is the donation to the children," he said. "I also hope that this event will help Israeli chefs get in touch with their colleagues from abroad, and may even open doors for them later on.

 

"When it comes to such stars, it's very difficult to coordinate a date which suits more than three people. Nonetheless, in this case we even managed to get some of them to cut their winter vacation short and arrive in Jerusalem especially for this event. It makes me very happy."