How Israel’s Chefs Turned Fear Into a Feast by the Sea 

The Tel Aviv EAT Festival takes place at Charles Clore Park between May 11 and May 14.  

By Maayan Hoffman/The Media Line  

The food in Israel “reflects who we are: smart, diverse, a gathering of exiles from all over the world who came here to live. And here, we have the best food in the world,” according to Roey Mantzour, owner of the Arayes catering company, which serves exactly what its name implies: pita bread stuffed with seasoned ground meat. 

That spirit was on full display Monday night in Tel Aviv, as thousands of Israelis poured into Charles Clore Park for the opening of the four-day Tel Aviv EAT Festival between May 11 and May 14. Taking place in the shadow of a possible restart of the war with Iran, the festival transformed the beachfront park into a vibrant celebration of food, culture, and resilience, highlighting the diversity of Israeli eating through a blend of local flavors and cuisine from around the world. 

Mantzour was one of dozens of vendors who opened stands throughout the festival grounds, where the smells of grilled meats, spices, baked goods, and desserts filled every aisle and drew visitors from one stall to the next. The stands offered everything from meat dishes and street food to vegetarian and vegan cuisine, desserts, and cocktails. The food was colorful, creative, and enticing. 

Despite the uncertainty hanging over the region, the festival was packed on opening night, reflecting Israelis’ continued celebration of life even in difficult moments. Families, couples, tourists, and groups of friends crowded the park, embracing the creativity and vibrancy of the White City against the backdrop of the Mediterranean Sea. 

The event begins each evening at 6 p.m., allowing visitors to enjoy live music, food, and festivities as the sun sets over the Tel Aviv coastline. 

At one stand, Yaniv Wahby from Daliyat al-Karmel in northern Israel was serving stuffed grape leaves, stuffed cabbage with rice, pastries with za’atar and olive oil, and famous Druze pita topped with everything from labneh and chocolate to fruit, halva, and hummus. 

Wahby’s community has been among the hardest hit by Hezbollah rockets over the past several months, once again nearly forcing him to shutter his business because of a lack of visitors. Still, he was in good spirits at the EAT Festival. 

“We really suffered in Daliyat al-Karmel. During the war, things were very difficult,” Wahby told The Media Line. “Now, thank God, we finally have a little breathing room. We came here, as we do every year, to create a good atmosphere and give people a chance to be happy. We’re giving it everything we’ve got.” 

Across the park, chef Moti Yevdayev, who immigrated from Azerbaijan to Israel, was serving dishes his mother used to make, dressed in traditional Azerbaijani clothing in rich turquoise, red, and yellow. 

“From the age of one, I was always near the tandoor oven, my aunt, my mother, and my whole family while they cooked,” Yevdayev, who moved to Israel in 1998, told The Media Line. “Over the years, I grew up and decided I wanted to enter the culinary world because food is what I love most.” 

Yevdayev said that what makes Azerbaijani cuisine special is its authenticity. The vegetables come straight from the earth. There are not many spices, mostly salt, pepper, saffron, and “lots of love and patience,” he said. 

He was serving shah plov, rice steamed with dried fruits, raisins, chestnuts, meat, caramelized onions, and pomegranate, all wrapped in dough and baked for hours. 

“It creates this incredible crust while everything inside steams together into one perfect bite, sweet, sour, salty, and rich,” the chef explained. 

There was also qutab, a pastry filled with spinach and herbs or meat, grilled on a saj and brushed with butter. Since Yevdayev’s food is kosher, he uses a vegan butter-like spread. He also offered gürzə, dumplings filled with meat, alongside a vegan version with potatoes and caramelized onions, as well as stuffed grape leaves that he brought to Israel directly from Azerbaijan. 

Yevdayev is the chef for the Azerbaijani Embassy in Israel and handles all of its events. He also leads culinary tours abroad, organized by the embassy, for people seeking a kosher travel experience. Yevdayev said he has wanted to open a restaurant for years, but the security situation has made it too difficult. He told The Media Line he hopes this year will finally be the year. 

“Today we’re here at the festival in Tel Aviv. This is a huge dream of mine,” Yevdayev said. “We make all the food here by hand. It’s very hard work. Around 20 older women came to help cook because only they know the traditional folding, stuffing, and preparation techniques. It’s honestly beautiful to watch, almost like a movie.” 

In another row were several authentic Asian food stands, including Thai and Korean cuisine. Suni Kim came to Israel eight years ago to run the Jerusalem Marathon and fell in love with the country. A year later, she decided to move to Israel. She later met her husband, and today they have a one-year-old baby. Three years ago, she started Tel Aviv’s first Korean restaurant, Kimchi’s Korean Restaurant. 

Kim serves authentic Korean dishes such as bibimbap, Korean barbecue, and Korean corn dogs, “anything that you see on TikTok that people love to try,” she told The Media Line. 

Looking around at the crowded park, she added that the people of Israel are “very, very brave. One day, there’s a tragedy, and the next day, they recover so fast. And it’s very, very impressive.” 

She said Israelis are living in the shadow of war and yet “everyone’s excited to come out for the food, so it shows the energy.” 

Others did not travel as far as Wahby, Yevdayev, or Kim to bring their dishes to Tel Aviv, but they still had plenty to share. Gal Hadar from Machneyuda in Jerusalem, a restaurant founded by famous Israeli chef Assaf Granit, said they come because “the sea is here. You can get a tan. It’s not cold here,” and, most importantly, “The people of Tel Aviv want polenta. They don’t want to travel to Jerusalem for polenta, so the polenta comes to them.” 

Machneyuda is famous for its polenta with mushroom ragout and truffle oil. At the festival, the restaurant was also serving buns filled with chorizo and siska, a rich, spiced meat filling. 

Hadar said that the best siska comes from Jerusalem because “that is where the Kurdish people live and they brought their traditions and food culture there.” 

Do Tel Avivians like Jerusalem food? The Media Line asked. “Yes, very much,” Hadar contended. “We try our best to make them love it.” 

Mantzour from Arayes was also promoting his signature dish, pita stuffed with kebab meat, usually very fatty lamb. 

“We grill it over a very low flame so the pita becomes crispy while the kebab stays soft,” he told The Media Line. “We serve it with dips like tahini, red harissa, and pickles.” 

Arayes is traditionally a Lebanese dish. He joked that “we took it from the Arabs like everything else.” 

Still, he was all smiles at the festival and proud to have participated every year since it launched a decade ago. 

“Tel Aviv is undoubtedly the culinary center of Israel,” Mantzour said, noting that this year it was even more important to participate than in years prior. “This event is extremely important this year because there haven’t been many events since Purim. This is a very major event in Israel, and it’s important that it happens. We’re very happy it’s taking place despite the tension in the background.” 

Tamir Cohen, who works with Mantzour, said he agreed. “Food in Israel is the best therapy for us Israelis,” Cohen concluded. “Through food and culinary culture, we continue living. For us, food is the cure for all the madness we experience as a nation. We are a people constantly living through wars, but we also love to enjoy life, celebrate, and eat.” 

Added Hadar from Machneyuda: “Am Yisrael Chai – long live the people of Israel.”