Connecting roots with Arab cuisine
Nathan Jeffay Filed on January 28, 2021
When the pandemic first hit, Israel s most famous Arab chef found herself out of work. Looking back, it s made her more influential than ever
Nof Atamna-Ismaeel was catapulted to the public eye when she won Israel s MasterChef in 2014. She captured the hearts of Jewish and Arab viewers alike - and their taste buds too, as people started imitating her recipes. Her food fuses flavours from the diverse ethnic traditions of Israeli citizens: everything from Palestinian to Jewish to European. There s no single thing that is Israeli cuisine, she said. Rather, it s a mosaic of people with a mosaic of recipes - you have Palestinian cuisine, Yemenite, Moroccan and so many others. In my eyes, it s a very positive thing to have such a mixture of viewpoints and ingredients.