Zarifa's Melting Pot

Melting Pot Cooking is a unique experience emphasizing not only how to prepare delicious, healthy and colorful food, but also how recipes connect to culture and history. Israel is composed of a rich tapestry of cultures from around the world, creating a tremendous variety of culinary styles. In my kitchen, we will explore these traditional foods through interactive cooking lessons. Since the group is small, from one to four people, you will get personalized hands-on experience in which you will be guided through every recipe. I will carefully explain all cooking techniques as well as show how every dish is part of a broader historical spectrum. The cooking instruction will take place in my comfortable, spacious kitchen and I will provide all the equipment and food necessary to prepare the meal. Each student will receive an instruction pamphlet detailing all the recipes mastered; and memories to last a lifetime. The lessons can be structured to the experience level of each participant.

Some critics have argued that Israel does not have its own distinctive kitchen and assert that almost everything has been borrowed from each immigrant's native countries. In part this is true, just as every society developed a distinct cuisine according to what was available and what was introduced through war or migration. Although the Jews adopted many local foods they also developed a unique set of recipes to accommodate their dietary rules. Israeli food includes an integration of Palestinian Arab, Persian, North African, Middle Eastern and Eastern European cuisine with smaller representations from Indian, Ethiopian, Yemenite and Asian foods. After several decades, as many of the dishes have been integrated into mainstream Israeli cuisine, foods from the Middle East especially, have seen a renaissance of popularity. Israelis are very open to new culinary styles and trendy restaurants offer a wide array of cuisines, from French to Japanese. What is lovely about Israeli cuisine is that while each dish may be associated with a specific country, it is served along side dishes that span many parts of the world.  “Conglomerate cooking”, each dish is recognizable but all of them are presented together, the best of all nations.