Last week, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin flew to Berlin to mark 50 years of German-Israeli relations. Lately, the culinary scene has provided another platform for cultural exchange. Host Daniella Cheslow traveled to Berlin to find Yotam Ottolenghi on every bookshelf and a growing number of talented Israelis working the pots and pans. At Glass restaurant, chef Gal Ben Moshe, a veteran of Israeli fine dining as well as Chicago’s Alinea restaurant, tells Daniella about the uphill struggle to get Germans to eat molecular food, and how he slips falafel into his appetizers.   Music: Wise Guys - Hallo BerlinUlrich Schnauss - As If You've Never Been AwayPaul Kuhn und Mario Barth - Mensch BerlinAdam - Paris-Berlin

Majda: A match made under silvery olive trees Host Daniella Cheslow travels to the Majda restaurant outside Jerusalem. Israeli chef Michal Baranes designed the menu; her Palestinian-Israeli husband Yakoub Barhum built the restaurant and grows the herbs and vegetables used in the dishes. FOOD NEWS: Tel Aviv named world's best vegan destination TheDailyMeal.com has ranked Tel Aviv as the world's best vegan destination; President Rivlin held a meat-free Independence Day party; eat green almonds at Cucina Tamar in Tel Aviv; and the new Pimpinella bar in Levinsky market goes insane for anise.   Music: Hatikva 6 - Hachi Yisraeli (The Most Israeli)Rasha Nahas - Biting Down (part of +972's “Buzzcut Season” Israeli-Palestinian tribute to Lorde)Ulrich Schnauss - As If You’ve Never Been AwaySergio Mendes - MagdalenhaPat Metheny Group - The Girls Next DoorAchinoam Nini and Mira Awad - We Can Work It Out

A taste of the Georgian wine revolution At least 40,000 Israelis visited Georgia in 2013, partly because of the country's reviving wine culture. We tour Georgian wine country with Taste Georgia’s Maka Tarashvili, an expert on Georgian wine and a veteran of Israeli tour groups. FOOD NEWS: When hummus turns deadly Discover Tel Aviv's new South African eatery, Bunny Chow, at Carmel Market; the Masterchef judges are bringing their expertise to several new Tel Aviv restaurants; and when hummus turns deadly, it's time to start making your own.   Music: Teona Qumsiashvili - Dedav Sicocxlis Tkbiso SawyisoRussian Red Army Choir - InternationaleLashari Daigvianes - Kaxuri MravaljamieriBanu - Kavkasiuri Balada (Caucuses Ballad)   If you like this show, follow us on Facebook (facebook.com/TelAvivTable) and Twitter (@telavivtable) for updates and reading recommendations.

Eating in Exodus: Passover at the Holot detention center Host Daniella Cheslow attended the annual Passover seder for African migrants at Israel's Holot detention center, where she spoke to Khalil Kefel, who wants to return to Eritrea so he can go back to cooking - which he learned to love in Israel. FOOD NEWS: Hot hot peppers and a gluten-free paradise Just in time for passover, a gluten-free paradise has opened in Jaffa - Gluteria; Tel Aviv's Taizu Asian fusion restaurant is celebrating its second birthday this week; and El Taco is holding a hot pepper eating contest this week.   Music: Daniel Ohayon - Let My People Go InstrumentalPat Metheny - The Girls Next DoorTom Petty And The Heartbreakers - Refugee

Tues. 9-11PM (Israel); 3-5PM (EST); 12-2PM (PT) Join TLV1 anchors Ilene Prusher and Gilad Halpern for LIVE coverage of Israel's election madness as the exit polls come out and the votes begin to be counted. We'll have TLV1 & Haaretz correspondents at the major campaign headquarters and special reports on the issues facing Israeli voters. Weds. 7AM (Israel); 1AM (EST); 10PM (PT) Listen to our special LIVE election panel of Noah Efron, Debra Kamin, and Gil Troy putting together the pieces of the jigsaw as the Israeli election results come in - that's when the political game really begins in the race to form a coalition.   Tune in LIVE at www.tlv1.fm

Every autumn, thousands descend on Taybeh village for Oktoberfest, a rustic beer festival held by the only brewery in Palestinian territories. Nadim Khoury learned how to make beer at University of California Davis and came back to his hometown in 1995 following the signing of the Oslo accords. There, he set up the oldest microbrewery in the Holy Land, plowing $1.2 million into the operation.  Now, he’s turned to wine. The first vintage launched in November. Last weekend, Khoury opened his winery to the public for the first-ever Taybe Vinfest. The Tel Aviv Table visits the festival to meet the man dubbed the Booze Baron of the West Bank.  

From Talmud to tarte tatin The 'Secret Pastry Chef,' who spent the last six months producing perfect petit-fours and toothsome tarts in his Tel Aviv apartment, has transformed his online store into a bricks-and-mortar shop. He tells TLV1 how Facebook helped take him from buzz to business. FOOD NEWS: Purim is coming! Purim is coming, and this is your time to go and get some three-cornered hamantaschen cookies, known in Hebrew as oznei haman. Last year, the Tel Aviv Table did a taste test of the city’s best offerings and Dudu Otmezgine came out on top.   Music: Ulrich Schnauss - As If You’ve Never Been AwayFiddler on the Roof - OvertureShanks and Bigfoot - Sweet Like ChocolateEileen Barton - If I Knew You Were Coming I’d Have Baked a CakeYoni Rechter and Shlomi Shaban - The Croissant SongPat Metheny Group - The Girls Next DoorArctic Monkeys - The Bakery  

Culinary crusades in the ancient city of Akko Host Daniella Cheslow journeys with her plate through the narrow streets of the Old City and the wide-open vistas of the seafront, filling herself with seafood, fish, fresh flavors, and original attempts to infuse a new spirit into an ancient city. FOOD NEWS: So French so good So French So Good, the third annual French culinary week, opens across Israel; the Jerusalem Book Fair features two Jewish food books; if you’ve got a hankering for Hungarian food, go to Bistro Tchernichovsky in Tel Aviv.   Music: Vince Guaraldi Trio - Christmas Is ComingHabiluim - Kshenapoleon Yichbosh Et Akko (When Napoleon Conquers Akko)Robbie Williams - Beyond The SeaPhil Collins - Too Many Fish In The SeaPat Metheny - The Girls Next DoorDanny Sanderson - Mazal Dagim

With French Jewish immigration to Israel on the rise, the Tel Aviv Table heads to Netanya to assess the impact of the new arrivals on local cuisine. Baguettes and Beurre: The French Olim Getting Their Food Groove On From the Paris pastry chef relieved to be finally serving kosher cakes alone, to the Israeli restaurateurs happy to fill their lunchtime tables with French retirees, we explore the extents - and the limits - of the French New Wave. FOOD NEWS: A Tel Aviv brasserie wins world's most beautiful place to eat Where is the most beautiful place to eat in the world? Hint: it's right in our backyard. Get to know the chefs behind your food, and even learn how to prepare your favorite dishes, at the upcoming the 2nd annual Open Restaurants festival. The Ehad supermarket chain, which sells off brand generic products at steep discounts, opened its first store in Raanana last week, and is scheduled to roll out additional branches in Netanya and Petach Tikva in the coming months. Music: Ulrich Schnauss - As If You've Never Been AwaySerge Gainsbourg - Les Sucettes a L'aniFrank Sinatra - I Love ParisPat Metheny - The Girls Next DoorM - Onde Sensuelle Producer: Liya SpiegelTechnician: Adam ScherHost: Daniella Cheslow

Light your fire with winter cocktails The cold nights of this stormy January call for warm winter drinks. The Tel Aviv Table spends an evening with veteran bartender, Oron Lerner, at his new cocktail bar Hide & Seek, another addition to the thriving Israeli cocktail bar scene.   Food News: When food becomes art  Whiskylive, the world’s largest whiskey festival, is coming to Israel on March 24th; Of course food imitates art, but at Segev restaurant in Herzliya Pituach the concept takes just a few steps further;  Biologist Yossi Yovel of Tel Aviv University has discovered the “bag of chips” effect among bats.    Playlist: Cider Sky - Heart of GlassWillie Nelson - The Warm Red WinePat Metheny - The Girl Next DoorHank Williams Jr. - What’s on the Bar  

Meet the Israeli chef taking New York by storm Chef Einat Admony is one of several highly successful Israeli chefs around the world. Host Daniella Cheslow visits Admony in her Bolonat Bar, which the New York Times reviewed as one of New York's ten best new restaurants of 2014.   Food News:  Chana’s Place is bringing kosher, Jewish Israeli food to Tokyo; Arocha is a startup that brings recipes and groceries in the exact amount to your door every week; a soup festival in the Tel Aviv farmers' market features soups served by real grandmas. Playlist: Vince Guardi Trio - Christmas Is ComingShlomi Shaban - New York vs. YehezkelAlexandre Desplat - Mr. Fox In The FieldsPat Metheny - The Girls Next DoorShmemel - Berlin

A toast to Israeli wine The Tel Aviv Table toasts 2015 with a show about Israeli wine. The Israeli boutique wine scene has exploded over the past decade; to get a closer look, host Daniella Cheslow visits the Bar Maor winery outside Binyamina, and picks grapes with owner Rami Bar Maor. Food News: Vegans, paleo, and Palomar The vegan tidal wave has bubbled into Israeli army bases; Chef Assaf Granit's London restaurant Palomar is officially the city's hottest establishment; and we check out the latest research on the paleo diet, and the news isn't good...   Playlist: Theodore Bikel - Havu Lanu Yayin Yayin (Bring Us Wine)Pat Metheny - The Girls Next DoorMarvin Gaye - I Heard It Through The Grapevine

Death by cheese: The forgotten story of Hanukkah The holiday of Hanukkah is seeped in oil: Oil in the menorah, oil spitting off potato pancakes or sizzling in the donut fryer. But this hasn't always been the custom. Find out why Jews in the Middle Ages ate cheese to mark the holiday. Food News: The vegetable protest On the first night of Hanukkah Israeli farmers are protesting against the pricing policies of the Ministry of Agriculture; Belgium is trying to get UN recognition for its pommes frites; and Israel's first ever vegan sushi bar has opened.   Playlist: Plain White T's - Hey There DelilahAmy Irving - Why Don’t You Do Right?Tom Lehrer - Hanukkah In Santa MonicaLeeVees - How Do You Spell Channukkahh?

Beyond gefilte fish and guilt: Polish Culinary Week in Israel In the second annual Polish Culinary Week, Israelis discover lost Polish breads, innovative new recipes for carp and cabbage, and the parallels between Poland’s food revival and the booming development of modern Israeli cuisine.   Food News: Doyennes, doughnuts, and peking duck We explore Jewish food on screen with the doyenne of Jewish cooking in the Arab world, Claudia Roden; this year's best Hanukkah doughnuts; an authentic new Chinese restaurant opening in Tel Aviv; and a new molecular Arab restaurant in Haifa.   Playlist: Orville Josef Balzan - If I Were A Rich Man, instrumentalPat Metheny - The Girls Next DoorAim - The Girl Who Fell Through Ice

Israelis eat more turkey than any other country How did little Israel become the world's largest consumer of turkey meat? In this Thanksgiving episode, we wade through the pastrami and shawarma to bring you the answers to this questions and more, as well as a practical guide on preparing a 40kg shawarma roll for the spit. Food News: Chef at Israeli restaurant wins chef of the year Congratulations to Michael Solomonov, the chef at at the Israeli Zahav restaurant in Philadelphia. Eater magazine has named him chef of the year. Solomonov was in Israel last year to film a documentary about the food here, and we caught up with director Roger Sherman.   Playlist: The Robins - Turkey Hop John Lennon - Cold Turkey

Tubi 60 liquor: A shot to shock Tubi 60 is a cloudy, yellow alcoholic drink that packs a potent punch. It became a runaway hit when it emerged last summer and has kept its street cred since. Yet the story of Tubi is as opaque as the drink. Its ingredients remain a mystery... Food News: The Dinner Rush pop-up restaurant opens up The Dinner Rush pop-up restaurant starts tonight on Tel Aviv's Nachalat Binyamin Street. It’s a celebration of guest chefs who will each take over the kitchen for one of six weeks, the first of which hail from Albabor restaurant, originally in Um el Fahem. Playlist: Police - Message in a BottlePat Metheny - The Girls Next DoorThe Pogues - Sally Maclennane   Editor: Amy Racs Producer: Liya Spiegel Technical producer: Adam Sher   If you like this show, follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@telavivtable) for updates and reading recommendations.  

The German Appetit Auf Israel   Israelis have been getting sour on the high prices here compared with the low prices in Germany. But Germans are also developing a great appetite for Israeli food - so much so that there are now two German TV documentaries in the works to showcase Israeli cuisine. One is by Tom Franz, winner of Israel’s 2013 Masterchef TV competition and author of the German cookbook “So Schmeckt Israel”, meaning the Taste of Israel. The other documentary is by Fritz Haering, a Michelin star chef from outside Munich. Both chefs visited the Tel Aviv Table to talk about the German interest in the Israeli kitchen.   Food November 10, 2014: Jaffa’s storied Abu Hassan hummus joint, where you elbow your way to a table and scarf hummus before being rushed away, is opening a location in Tel Aviv’s upscale Sarona complex. Jack Daniels is celebrating its 148th birthday, and seven Israeli restaurants are offering whisky-themed mains and desserts to mark the occasion. Check out a chocolate dessert creation at Mizlala, chocolate Jack ice cream with brulee macaron at Haim Cohen’s Yafo Tel Aviv, and at Sheila, a decadent filet drenched in a honey-jack sauce. All until Novembet 15. Thought you had enough cocktail bars? Another one has just opened, on the ruins of the legendary Casit café and more recently the beloved idelson 10 bakery that shut down over the summer. Spicehaus is built as the largest cocktail bar Tel Aviv has to date, with room for up to 200 people. Bartenders mix big enough portions to be shared – so you could get a cocktail for 4 for 116 shekels which is quite a deal compared to the 50-shekel glasses on offer in other places around the city. Dizengoff 117. Songs used on the show:  The Bayerischer Defiliermarsch Pat Metheny - The Girls Next Door   Nena - 99 Luftballons

My name is George and I own most of the farmland in Israel This week we explore the agricultural sabbatical of Shmita in Israel: How an ancient farming custom that died when the Jews went into exile, has come back to be a central concern for Israel’s farmers every seven years. Food News A beloved Haifa bourekas joint is setting up shop in Tel Aviv; Chef Jonathan Roshfeld is opening up a restaurant and boutique hotel in Jerusalem; And after the beloved Cafe 48 by Yonatan Borowitz shut down this summer, the space on Nachalat Binyamin street in southern Tel Aviv is going to spend six weeks as a pop-up restaurant

The olive harvest: When city slickers reconnect with their roots In the Arab Israeli village of Kfar Bara, the olive harvest is a time when city slickers head back to the land and reconnect with Palestinian farming traditions. The Tel Aviv Table picks olives with Muhsein Assi and his family, and tastes the first oil of the season. Food News We discuss a new cocktail bar in Jerusalem called 'Gatsby'; an ice cream shop in Tel Aviv that makes cookies and ice cream sandwiches; the late Oktoberfest at Tel Aviv's Sarona complex; and a Knesset report on the huge jump in food prices since 2005. Playlist: Soel - My Singing SoulNeil Young - Harvest MoonPat Metheny - The Girls Next DoorSimon and Garfunkel - Leaves That Are Green

Liquor gives your etrog a new lease of life! What should we do with all these pimply etrogs left over from Sukkot? Pini Gorelick, a computer analyst by day, makes etrog liquor at home. Host Daniella Cheslow meets him at the annual etrog liquor festival at Tel Aviv’s Shishko Bar. Food News This week is Japanese culture week in Jerusalem - check out this cooking workshop at the First Station; the 16th annual wine festival is taking place in the Ella Valley; how to make the most of the olive harvest season; and lots more! Playlist: Soel - My Singing SoulNapoli Mandolin Orchestra - TarantellaPat Metheny - The Girls Next DoorRami Fortis - Hazara Leshigra (Return to Routine)

Forage like your wandering forefathers What better way to remember our ancestor’s desert dwellings than to forage for your food? Urban ecology group CityTree leads urban foraging tours of Tel Aviv every 6 weeks. Alon Eliran describes how to forage and prepare amaranth grain and goosefoot leaves. Quick & tasty Sukkot recipes from Phyllis Glazer Slash your time in the kitchen and extend your star-gazing time in the sukkah with Phyllis Glazer’s time-saving chicken, fig & muscat stew and red lentil ‘hummus’ recipes. The magic and mystery of the pimply etrog The etrog citrus fruit is particularly important to Jews on Sukkot. Uzi Eli has set up a line of etrog-based beauty products that treat acne and premature wrinkling. Eli describes some of the yellow citron’s more legendary powers, such as curing child mutism. The Quince Prince: Chef Erez Komarovsky Cousin to the pear, the quince is a fruit that is often overlooked. Chef Erez Komarovsky has reintroduced the quince to his kitchen with his slow-cook quince lamb and quince compote and cream. Eyal Shani: “The most beautiful cake in the world is an ice-cream-stuffed pita bread” Superstar chef Eyal Shani explains why he had to do the trusty pita bread the honour of stuffing it with his buja ice-cream - made with whole milk and the magic ingredient of mastic tree gum. Music: Shakin The Lulav - David Bar Cohen Asif - Naomi Shemer Be Our Guest - Beauty And The Beast Patish Masmer Shlomit Bona Sukkah - Naomi Shemer Ice Cream Man - Tom Waits Shir Tishrey - Chava Alberstein Yehezkel - Halonot Hagvohim Get Lucky - Daft Punk

He is Israel’s youngest Head Sommelier, and he’s on a one-man mission to put Israeli wines on the map. Twenty-two-year-old Oz Korenberg goes to extraordinary lengths to ensure his wine list at Jerusalem's Mamilla Hotel reflects the character and elegance of Israeli wines. He recalls encounters with foreign dignitaries, among them Bill Clinton and the Prince of Monaco, and outlines the position of Israeli wines among New World wines. On the way, Oz throws in a potted history of Israel’s first wineries, as well as a tutorial on how to swirl, sniff, and sip your wine… whilst inhaling through your teeth! During her visit to Mamilla’s Mirror Bar, host Daniella Cheslow tasted the following wines: 1848 Winery’s Chardonnay 5th generation2010 Carmel Cabernet Sauvignon, Sumaka Vineyard, Single VineyardBinyamina Cave 2010 Oz Kronenberg’s wine recommendations for the Rosh Hashanah and holiday season were: Affordable white wine: Tulip Winery’s White FrancAffordable red wine: Galil Winery’s Yiron wine, 2009Luxurious white wine: Margalit Winery’s Enigma 2007Luxurious red wine: Yatir Winery’s Viognier Happy holidays!

"You have to eat fish on Rosh Hashanah if you don’t want to go to hell,” explains the indomitable Sherry Ansky, food columnist and mother of celebrity chef Michal Ansky. Only Sherry Ansky would guzzle a serving of pungent pickled herring on a first date. And only Sherry Ansky would risk first impressions by devouring her date’s helping as well as her own. Such is food writer Ansky’s addiction to this diminutive jarred fish. Today, Israelis swarm to the Sherry Herring sandwich stand at Tel Aviv’s Port Market to enjoy a sweet and sour pickled herring, creamed herring, or herring confit sandwich. Sherry first fell in love with pickled herring aged six, at a time when Ashkenazi cuisine was generally derided for being bland and watery (think gefilte fish and chicken consommé). “There was a saying,” she remembers, “that if you’re invited to dinner at an Ashkenazi’s house, take a bathing suit.” Sherry is delighted to be part of a worldwide revival of Eastern European Jewish cuisine.

We've put together Tel Aviv Table's tastiest morsels from the past year: Flamboyant chefs, friendly fishermen, Georgian vegans, Israel's only buffalo farm, and lots more! Eyal Shani and the eggplant : A life-long romance Host Daniella Cheslow meets flamboyant gastronome Eyal Shani at one of his Tel Aviv restaurants, Ha Salon, to discuss the only fixed dish on his menu - 'Aubergine Drying in the Wind.' Israel's only buffalo dairy farm Host Daniella Cheslow visits Irit Treister on her buffalo farm, where cheese lovers from across the country come to buy buffalo ricotta, buffalo mozzarella and buffalo frozen yoghurt. Decadent vegan dining at Georgian bar Nanuchka Daniella Cheslow steps into the velvet-lined Nanuchka Bar to find out why owner and public figure Nana Shrier turned the bar vegan after 14 years, and to put her vegan khachapuri and khinkali to the test. IMG_1298Catch of the day: An old man, a young man, and the sea Host Daniella Cheslow joins partygoer-turned-fisherman, Gil Sassover, and seventh-generation fisherman, Sado Zeinab, at the Jaffa Port to get a taste of life at sea. What did medieval Hispanic Jews eat? Writer and tour guide Yuval Ben Ami describes his experiences on a Jewish tour of Spain and Portugal. Some of the culinary traditions of the medieval Jews in hiding still remain today... A 'Drop of Gold' in Neve Sha'anan Gilad Lieberman, creator of the food blog Tipay Hazahav ('Drop of Gold'), takes host Daniella Cheslow on a restaurant tour of African restaurants and holes-in-the-wall in Tel Aviv’s Neve Sha’anan neighborhood. The legendary kubbeh soup of Azurra, Jerusalem According to Jerusalem lore, the best kubbeh soup in Israel can be found at the Azurra Restaurant; host Daniella Cheslow sets out to uncover this purple kurdish dumpling soup of mythical proportions. Music: Lukach - Eyal Shani Home on the Range Lo Dubim - Gruzinim (Georgians) Bing Crosby - Valencia Abraham Afwerki - Tmintey

At its peak, the South African Jewish community was one of the most cohesive in the world, numbering 120,000. The earliest Jews to move there, including host Daniella Cheslow's great-grandfather, started off by pedaling goods out of wandering caravans and eventually built up a prosperous community. Jewish food of Jo'burg Kosher monkey gland burgers with Mrs Balls sauce: Darren Sevitz, CEO of Johannesburg’s Union of Orthodox Synagogues, takes us on a guided culinary tour of Glenhazel’s “Matzo Strip.” Cheese and wine: The best of kosher South Africa TLV1's Daniella Cheslow and her sisters traveled to the Paarl region of the Western Cape province for a tasting tour of the Fairview winery, which now boasts a line of kosher cheeses. For the love of jerky: Shmiltong's Israeli biltong For Milton Endlin, who moved from Jo’burg to Petah Tikvah in 2010, the biltong withdrawal got too much. Today he owns and runs a line of home-made kosher Israeli biltong called Shmiltong. South African home cooking at Kibbutz Galon Mike & Sharon’s Bistro in Kibbutz Galon was the realization of a life-long dream for corporate chef and member of the South African chef’s Association, Mike Hammerschlag. He takes us on an audio 360 of his unique eatery. FOOD NEWS: A toast to the Israeli Wine Festival Get ready for the Israel Museum's Israeli Wine Festival; donate to Israel's first farm animal sanctuary; and find out which Italian restaurants in Tel Aviv are recommended by the Italy-Israel Chamber of Commerce. Music: Miriam Makeba - Pata Pata Homeless - Ladysmith Black Mambazo Mango Groove - Dance Sum More Brenda Fassie - Weekend Special Bok Van Blerk - De La Rey Johnny Clegg - Great Heart Rodriguez - Sugar Man

We’re in the thick of August, when the peaches, plums, figs and apricots are fully ripe, and the unrelenting sun makes us weary from morning til night. It’s a great time to celebrate the summer fruit basket. Fruit fusions: Chef Charlie Fadida on fruit in main dishes Charlie Fadida, executive chef of the Tel Aviv Sheraton’s Olive Leaf restaurant, on this week’s Nashi festival, where he is bringing the Asian pear into savory chicken dishes and sweet desserts. Go bananas for 'fruitarianism' Ran Antebi eats eight mangoes for lunch. He’s a fruitarian, a growing movement of people who subsist almost entirely on fruits and vegetables. He explains how to make a “fruitarian spaghetti bolognese.” Politicizing plums Ora Koren of The Marker explains why supermarkets in Gaza, Jordan, Europe and Canada have been declining Israeli mangoes, while Russia has been snapping up Israeli plums and apples. Soda Secrets in South Tel Aviv In the middle of Tel Aviv’s Levinsky spice market, Beni Briga serves refreshing flavored soda known as 'Gazoz.' He opened his shop last year and today has more than 40 syrups, from fig to passionfruit to pear and ginger, and even hot pepper. Enthusing about infused liqueur Efrat Kaufmann was inspired to make limoncello by the lemons growing at her parents’ house. Today you can taste a wide range of her artisanal fruit liqueurs - pear & anise, uzbek apricot and grapefruit peel - in specialty shops across Tel Aviv. Apricot ammunition: When it's ok to play with your food Orna Dickman grew up in Kansas but spent summers in Israel with her mother’s family. She joins us in studio to talk about gogoim - an Israeli summer playground game revolving around apricot pits - through the eyes of an American. FOOD NEWS: The peace activist who turned to potatoes After the summer conflict in Gaza, Israeli-American peace activist Gershon Baskin has become a sort of potato merchant; he is scraping together funding to send the 5,000 tons of surplus Israeli potatoes to Gaza. Music: Presidents of the United States of America - Peaches Herbbie Hancock - Watermelon Man Gazoz - Lichvod Hakaitz (In Honor Of Summer)

This week on the Tel Aviv Table: War. We talk to restauranteurs, journalists, chefs and fishermen – in Israel and in Gaza – about cooking, eating and drinking during times of conflict. Sirens in the 'Endive' kitchen Chef Guy Peretz is the man behind Endive restaurant in Ashdod, a rising culinary city full of top-notch restaurants. He talks about how his chefs handle rocket sirens. Chowing down between rocket attacks in Sderot Almost any journalist covering the Israel-Hamas conflict goes to Sderot. TLV1's Ben Hartman gives tips for where to eat there in the breaks between rocket attacks. Eating under fire in Gaza Gazan journalist Abeer Ayyoub explains how the frequent, unpredictable airstrikes in Gaza make it difficult to maintain a normal eating schedule. Fishing connections: A family on both sides of the border Some Gaza residents who fled Israel in 1948 left family in Israel. Jaffa fisherman Saado Zeinab has cousins who fish in Gaza. He worries about their safety from a distance. Are Jewish Israelis still mad for Arab humus? Jawdat Ibrahim, the man who created the largest plate of hummus in the world, gives the view from Abu Gosh, where he owns a nationally-renowned restaurant. 'The war on terroir' Wine writer Itay Gleitman remembers when Lebanese rockets hit Israel during the wine harvest. He tells us how war affects the harvest, and what to drink in this tense time. Calming food in unsettling times Cookbook author Phyllis Glazer is a health food expert; she shares her ideas for the best food for calming down in an unsettling environment. Music: Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter DAM - Oh Gaza Achinoam Nini & Mira Awad - Naamin Bachalom (Faith In The Light) Fortissacharof - Tachat Esh (Under Fire) Bob Dylan - Shelter From The Storm

Fasting during the lunar of month of Ramadan is the obligation of every healthy adult Muslim, the idea being that abstinence and hardship promotes spirituality. During the 12-hour daytime fasts, one could be forgiven for occasionally fantasizing about Iftar, a nocturnal feast of chilled dried fruit soup, stuffed carrot with a mild mint sauce followed by syrup-drizzled Katayef pancake with tamarind and rosewater juice. This episode is about the challenges and pleasures of modern-day Ramadan, as celebrated in the pressure cooker of Israel. Why do Muslims fast for a month, and how does that work? Khalil Mari of Sikkuy explains the relationship between sacrifice and spirituality, and describes the succulent desserts traditionally eaten on warm Ramadan nights, infused with rosewater and syrup. From Ramadan taste-tester to Masterchef champion Nof Atamna Ismaeel was the first Israeli Arab to win Israel’s Masterchef TV program. She describes the daily activity in her hometown of Baka Al Gharbiya during Ramadan. Chef Johnny Goric on the challenges of Ramadan Chef Johnny Goric talks about life in Jerusalem, the importance of presentation, and serving Ramadan dinner to 130 starving guests simultaneously. The real Ramadan experience Ahmed Juha started running Ramadan tours in Jasr A Zarqa six years ago. He tells us about the year-round guesthouse he opened for backpackers on the back of this enterprise. Food News: Break the Ramadan fast with mouthwatering Malabi Smuggling bust at Tel Aviv's Toto restaurant; Nero's rotating dining room; a new place to get Malabi in Tel Aviv; and the science of food at Bezalel art school in Jerusalem. Music: Raksit Laila – Mashrou El LeileSouad Massi – Khalouni TootArd – Kul El Nas Jimmy Buffet – Far Side of the WorldMinistry of DubKey – Dumyah Plastikeyah (Plastic Doll)

This week we haul our shopping trolley through the passages of Israel’s food markets. Along the way we sample rose-water and rice noodle beverage 'faludeh,' chat to the founder of a new choose-it/grill-it/eat-it concept butcher, discover the darker side of schnitzel and spot a food anthropologist spying on human specimens. Hatikvah Market walking tour, Act 1: Hasalouf Bakery Tel Aviv's best open secret is Hatikvah Market in the south of the city, where influences from Yemen, Iran, Iraq, Morocco and Russia mingle in the market’s spacious alleys. 'Meat is passion...you just wanna bite it' Six months ago, Yaniv Bar Nur founded a buy-it/grill-it/eat-it concept butcher in Carmel market with chef Yaron Kestenbaum. Yaniv discusses his lust for lamb and the changing face of the market. How to make the most of Tel Aviv's Carmel Market Inbal Baum moved to Israel from New York to found 'Delicious Israel,' a company devoted to food tourism. She shares her tips for making the most of a trip to the Carmel Market Hatikvah Market walking tour, Act 2: Fabulous 'faludeh' We visit Zion Nurieli, who serves up a cooling Iranian beverage called 'faludeh' that blends rose water with rice noodles and mint. The darker side of schnitzel at Petah Tikvah market TLV1's crime reporter Ben Hartman talks about the Petah Tikvah shuk, its underhand dealings and mobsters, and why you should be on your best behavior at the schnitzel stand. Psychoanalyzing the shuk: How Israelis go to the market Anthropologist Nir Avieli was intrigued by the way Israelis go to the market, and set out to analyze how Israel’s urban shuks reflect the powerplay of the city’s residents. Food News: What Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones ate in Israel What Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones ate on their visit to Israel; restaurant openings and closings; and Ramadan tips. Music: Beach Boys – Vegetables Louis Armstrong – I'm In The Market For You Tom Waits – Black Market Baby Nira Rabinovitz – I Shall Go To The Market The Clash – Rock The Casbah

The parlour behind the Netanyahu ice cream scandal Co-owner of the Jerusalem Metudela ice cream parlor, Hillel Farkash, explains what happened after the Netanyahus canceled their subscription. How to make Leggendary gelato The founders of Leggenda designed the chain to have fresh gelato and sorbet made on the spot every day in each store. We talk to Pazit Chessin in their Rothschild store. Ruth Sirkis: When refrigerators ran on ice blocks As one of the pioneers of Israel’s cosmopolitan food culture, Ruth Sirkis, known as 'Israel's Julia Child,' remembers when refrigerators ran on ice blocks. The 'paleta': A slice of Mexico in Israel In Mexico, people cool themselves down not with ice cream but with a Paleta, an ice-pop made of fresh fruit. We talk to Nomi Zysblat, who is bringing the Paleta to Israel. Iceberg's next generation of gelato Besides making delicious combinations of herbs and fruit, the Iceberg chain is also working on the next generation of gelato for Israelis. Co-owner Avi Ganor gives the details. Dr. Lek gives its ice cream a world cup flavor A few ice cream parlors are catering to FIFA World Cup fans. Managing director of Dr. Lek, Aviv Aran, tells us about their Brazilian flavor. Food News: 'Dinner in White' in the White City We update you on Tel Aviv's White Night; where you can eat Michelin Star food in Tel Aviv; and a new cocktail bar in the Berdichevsky Hotel. Music: Van Halen – Ice Cream Man Ray Gelato – Mambo Gelato Uzi Chitman – Yesh Li Glida (I’ve Got Ice Cream) Millie Small – My Boy Lollipop Tom Waits – Ice Cream Man Jesse Flores – Frozen Yogurt New Young Pony Club – Ice Cream  

Hungary for some Goulash? Israeli Ofer Vardi used his Hungarian grandmother's recipe box to bring gulash to a local audience. He joins us to talk about his book Gulash leGolesh and his passion for Magyar cooking. A walk through Budapest's Jewish cuisine Dora Czuk, journalist and Jewish food expert with Taste Hungary, shows host Daniella Cheslow some of Budapest's old and new Jewish food spots, starting at the city’s only kosher butcher. A taste of Hungary: shaking off communist shackles Originally from the US, Carolyn Banfalvi opened a food tourism company called Taste Hungary. She joins us from Budapest to talk about the rebirth unfolding in Hungarian kitchens. Eating Jewish in Budapest Dora Czuk, journalist and Jewish food expert with Taste Hungary, shows takes host Daniella Cheslow to some of the Budapest's most famous Jewish restaurants: Kadar and Macesz Huszar. Let them eat cake: Hungary's Jewish cake empire Pastry chef and cake designer Rahel Raj built a national empire based on a Jewish cake called Flodni. She speaks about her cake and about how Hungarians view Jewish cuisine. Hungary has its Jewish cake.. and eats it Dora Czuk, journalist and Jewish food expert with Taste Hungary, takes host Daniella Cheslow to the last stop on their tour: Cafe Noe. The display window is filled with cake and pastries, but the Jewish cake Flodni dominates. How Hungary's Tokaji wines got their mojo back Itay Gleitman recently visited the Tokaji region of Hungary, famous for its wine and former Jewish life. He wrote about the trip in his regular Haaretz wine column, and he tells us what he saw there. Food News: Get ready for the world's biggest ever Shabbat dinner We talk to the organizer of White City Shabbat, which is planning to set a Guinness World Record for the largest ever Sabbath dinner. Plus we find out about the latest celebrity cooking workshops. Music: P.Mobil - Kétforintos Dal Muzsikás-Szerelem, Szerelem Kispál és a Borz - De szeretnék… Kókai Rezső - Verbunkos Rhapsody - Mészáros Tivadar hegedű

Why do we eat cheese on Shavuot? How did Shavuot become the dairy holiday? Rabbi Jeffrey Wolf of Bar Ilan University explains. Shavuot: A big day for blintzes Chef Yair Yosefi, owner of the former Elba restaurant and teacher at the Bulthaup Culinary Academy, tells us how to bling up our blini on Shavuot. 'Home on the Range' at Israel's only buffalo farm We visit Irit Treyster on her farm - the country’s only farm making Italian-style buffalo mozzarella, along with yogurt, ricotta and ice cream. Machleva dairy's modest beginnings Zvi Meyer remembers the modest beginnings of the Machleva dairy farm, producers of delicious, creamy sheep yogurt. Don't forget the wine on Shavuot What better to drink with Shavuot’s multitude of cheeses? Wine expert Tal Gal Cohen, founder of Israelwines.co.il, gives his recommendations. Where to eat on Shavuot? Walla! food writer Rita Goldstein tells us the best places to eat on Shavuot. Food News: Tel Aviv's new meat joints We discuss the Timberlake melon, a new kosher meat restaurant opening in Tel Aviv's Carlton Hotel, and a new gourmet hamburger restaurant in South Tel Aviv. Music: Uzi Ramirez - Cheese in my pocket Sasi Keshet & Yona Elian - Shavuot Medley Aerosmith - Cheese cake Home on the Range Goapele - Milk and Honey UB40 - Red red wine

City of Oranges: Adam LeBor on Jaffa’s long historyBritish author and journalist Adam LeBor, author of City of Oranges: Arabs and Jews in Jaffa, explores the history of Jaffa through its oranges and the families that cultivated them. Jaffa’s Jamila restaurant serves desire, not hummusSalah Kurdi didn’t want to serve hummus at his new restaurant, Jamila. Instead, he mined his family recipe books for high Jaffa cuisine. Eating in Jaffa’s 'Little Sofia'Architect and urban planner Nicky Davidov was born in Jaffa to a Bulgarian family that immigrated to Israel after the 1948 war; he talks about what he ate growing up in “Little Sofia.” In Jaffa: an old man, a young man, and the seaSaado Zeinab is a seventh-generation fisherman; he and his five sons still ply the waters. A few years ago Saado’s neighbor Gil Sassover started helping him on the water, and he's just published a book about it. Shaffa bar and Jaffa’s growing night lifeThe Jaffa fleamarket area is full of quirky night spots like Shaffa Bar. Actor and part-owner Uri Gottlieb introduces us to his hair salon-turned-bar. Food News: Jam Session brings together bereaved Israelis and PalestiniansRobi Damelin of the Parents Circle Family Forum tells us about his project Jam Session, a cookbook written by a group of Israeli and Palestinian women who've lost loved ones in the conflict. Music: Gidi Gov - Ein Kmo Yafo Ba'Leylot Otis Redding - (Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay

There are foods in this country that come and go, and there are certain foods that have remained staples from the nation's first day. Eggplant (also known as "aubergine") is one of those foods. It’s a meaty and hearty crop, it’s indigenous to the region, and it's reflected Israeli society at every point in its history. Today we are diving into the Israeli passion for the eggplant: We start with Janna Gur, who talks about eggplant at each important juncture of Israeli history - from immigration to state building to the birth of new Israeli cuisine.Then I get in the kitchen with chef and TV personality Eyal Shani, who explains what you can learn about Israeli people when you blast an eggplant in a hot oven.Next we speak to Yoav Benish, whose father Arnold founded a legendary restaurant devoted to the eggplant - complete with an 'eggplantmobile' car - in Tel Aviv.Chef Erez Komorovsky gives some tips on using eggplant creatively at home.Finally, agricultural researcher Maayan Kitron from the Arava Institute talks about the new eggplant varieties that could become the staple of tomorrow’s Israeli cuisine.If you like this show, follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@telavivtable) for updates and reading recommendations. You can also subscribe to this podcast on iTunes. Food news: If you have visitors coming this summer, there’s a great new free, online resource that brings together gorgeous photos with comprehensive reviews of cafes, restaurants, bars and street foods: foodieguide.co.il. Two new Asian restaurants: An Israeli-Thai couple opened Sakon Nakon in Rishon Lezion, and in Jerusalem, Station 9 restaurant is serving up kosher Thai, Indonesian and Vietnamese food in the city’s old train station complex. Israeli chocolatier Ika Cohen has won a prize at the International Chocolate Awards in Florence with her zaatar-flavored ganache: ikachocolate.com. Music: Lady Lamb the Beekeeper - Aubergine Lukach - Eyal Shani Sagol 59 - Mishak Machoor MewithoutYou - Aubergine Prince - Purple Rain Editor and Producer: Amy RacsProducer: Liya Spiegel Music Editor: Tomer Gershenman Field Technician: Tammy Goldenberg Studio Technician: Sagi Gorali Ventura

Not a week goes by on the Tel Aviv Table without one persistent theme coming up: the cost of eating in Israel. Last week, it was the Falafel Index, which compares salaries to falafel costs across the Middle East. Israeli falafel is the most expensive there is. In January the Knesset released a study finding that food prices here are 25 percent higher than in the EU, especially for milk, cheese, and eggs. And in September, the OECD found that Israeli farm produce is 11 percent more expensive than the OECD average. The high cost of food is nothing new in Israel. In fact, in July 2011, Israelis staged a massive boycott of cottage cheese because the country’s three major dairy companies had all jacked up prices. But in the three years since, food prices have not receded. So on today’s show, we talk about food and money. If you like this show, follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@telavivtable) for updates and reading recommendations. You can also subscribe to this podcast on iTunes. Hunting for grocery deals in Berlin You don’t have to look at reports to know Israeli food prices are high — just go to a supermarket in Berlin or Amsterdam. Journalist Uri Berkowitz started a blog called “Zol Sham,” Hebrew for “Cheap there” to compare the cost of groceries in Israel and Germany. He explains what he found. SONG: Axum: Yair, Al Timrach Otanu (Yair, don’t smear us) Asher Schechter on why Israeli food costs are so high Business and economics journalist Asher Shechter explains about the monopolies, lobbies, import duties and kashrut regulations that drive Israeli food prices through the roof. Asher is a reporter with financial paper The Marker, and he also hosts “The Cost of Doing Business” on TLV1. SONG: Barenaked Ladies - If I Had a Million Dollars Stretching Shekels for Dinner The cost of food is irritating for all Israelis. But 20 percent of Israelis live on salaries low enough to qualify as poverty wages, and for them, food costs are a daily challenge. Louise Summers is a single mom with a disability and raising a child in Tel Aviv. She describes some methods for stretching her shekels in the kitchen. SONG: The Beatles: The Taxman Social Food, Sane Prices Go to most Tel Aviv coffee shops and you’ll shell out as much as 15 shekels for a cappuccino — even if it costs the restaurant only 5 shekels. Assaf Ben Ezra is taking a jab at the high profits of traditional restaurants with Havruta, a coffee shop where customers decide how much profit to give above the cost of the food. I pay a visit to Assaf at Havruta on Dizengoff 125 in Tel Aviv to hear more. SONG: Gidi Gov - Ein Li Kessef (I Got No Money) Gil Hovav on eating great restaurant fare for cheap Chef and culinary journalist Gil Hovav has made finding delicious and inexpensive meals his specialty. Last year he published a book on 50 restaurants under 50 shekels, a compilation of reports he did for Army Radio. He gives his top three recommendations for affordable sit-down eating in Israel. SONG: Johnny Cash - No Charge Pricez: The Waze of supermarket shopping It makes sense that in Startup Nation, some tech experts would tackle the issue of prices. Boaz Yahav wanted to help Israelis get the cheapest goods possible at the supermarket, so he and his wife started a price comparison app called Pricez. SONG: Pink Floyd: Money FOOD NEWS New alcohol chain Beer Drop is offering cheap suds on Ibn Gvirol 17 in Tel Aviv. Unlike other low-priced bars Drink Point and Cofix Bar, Beer drop will have five beers on tap, including Israeli Macabi and import Paulaner. Beer Drop is planned as a national chain, with more branches slated to open first in Tel Aviv and then around Israel.A new restaurant in Tel Aviv is designed to be an Italian neighborhood bar: Cicchetti on Yehuda Halevi 58 serves cocktails like a Thyme Negroni along with abundant cheese and sausage plates, and colorful salads and seafoods. No gondolas, but the cheese certainly tastes like it could be in a Venice restaurant.And, a few upcoming festivals: This weekend is the [Hebrew] Sorek wine festival in Kibbutz Nachshon, which includes tastings of wine, cheese and olive oil. Two weeks after that is the May 29 celebration of agriculture in the northern Negev desert, including local cheese, potatoes, fruits and vegetables and olive oil. More info in Hebrew at Habsor.com. And finally, there is also an asparagus festival coming up in just three weeks on Moshav Hayogev in northern Israel. Between June 4-6 you can go up there and grab a fixed price menu with seasonal stars like asparagus salad, buckwheat crepes with fresh asparagus, and pillowy polenta with asparagus. More info on the Tel Aviv Table facebook page. Editor: Amy Racs Producer: Liya SpiegelMusic Editor: Tomer GershenmanTechnician: Tammy Goldenberg

This week Israel celebrates its 66th birthday, and the city that captures the soul of both Israeli and Palestinian food traditions is Jerusalem. In the West, it’s the capital of Israel, home to the nation’s best outdoor vegetable market, ancient Jewish restaurants and a chaotic high-end eatery where the chefs fling ice cream on the tables. In the East, it’s the site of the Dome of the Rock, the bustling stalls of the Old City, and a restaurant that’s been serving the same stuffed pigeon for decades. In Jerusalem, if you walk into the right restaurants, you can celebrate the cultures of both people, who give the city its unique flavor. If you like this show, follow us on Facebook (facebook.com/TelAvivTable) and Twitter (@telavivtable) for updates and reading recommendations. You can also subscribe to this podcast on iTunes. Editor: Amy RacsProducer: Liya SpiegelMusic Editor: Tomer GershenmanTechnician: Tammy Goldenberg

In Tel Aviv - as in many major cities - there’s a burgeoning movement to bring food straight from the farm to the table. On Fridays you can see people grabbing boxes of organic vegetables at a cooperative in the Florentine neighborhood; other Tel Avivis get a weekly delivery of farm-fresh produce straight to their door. Farmer’s markets, once a rarity, are spreading to several cities in Israel. And plenty of restaurants are getting connected with farms too, to get the freshest produce on the plate. If you like this show, follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@telavivtable) for updates and reading recommendations. You can also subscribe to this podcast on iTunes. Inside the farmer’s market movement Yuval Kochavi, who manages farmers markets all around Israel, explains how the movement found its inspiration in a Barcelona market. He talks about some of the unusual vegetables you can get at these markets in Israel - like a heart-shaped cucumber. Song: Arik Einstein - Tozeret Ha'aretz (Made in Israel) Hubeiza farm-fresh delivery If you ever dreamed of having a box of fresh organic vegetables delivered to your door, then you should talk to Bat Ami Sorek. Her Hubeiza farm sends drivers all around Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, where they bring the freshest produce every week. She started gardening while living with her husband in San Francisco. Today she delivers to around 700 homes a week. Song: Presidents - Peaches A season for everything Meirav Barzilay is a third-generation farmer who opened a Tel Aviv restaurant last year. Each month, she changes the menu according to the Hebrew calendar. I caught up with her at her restaurant, Meshek Barzilay, in Tel Aviv’s Neve Tzedek neighborhood, to talk about seasonal, farm-to-table eating. Are organic restaurants unsustainable? One of the main complaints people have about farm-to-table is its cost. Yair Yosefi learned that the hard way. He founed his Elba restaurant two years ago to cook fresh food from the farm of a friend - but he recently had to shut the doors. He explains what went wrong. Song: Meir Ariel: Sdot Goldberg (Goldberg’s Fields) Taking a green thumb to ancient history We think of local as what you can get in a farmer’s market today. But Elaine Solowey takes a longer view. She’s a botanist at Kibbutz Ketura, down by Eilat. She’s most famous for sprouting a 2,000 date seed and reviving ancient frankincense. She talks to the Table about some ancient local foods that might be worth reviving. Song: Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell - The Onion Song Cheese! Need we say more? Sick of supermarket cheese? Tzeela Gorodenchick makes delicious sheep cheese down in the Negev, and here she talks about the challenges of desert herding. http://www.tzeela.co.il/english.htm Food news An Israeli couple has opened a hummus restaurant in the most unlikely of places...the Warsaw ghetto. Erez and Dafna Mosinson from Hadera opened the Hummus Bar in March in a building they believe was owned by Polish Jews before WWII. It’s next to the former home of Isaac Bashevis Singer.A new restaurant in Jerusalem is offering kosher gourmet right outside the Machane Yehuda market. Nagila opened this week, with a menu focused on fish and vegetables. It’s a 14-seater restaurant with a big outdoor garden where there will be concerts in summer. Mashiach Borochof 5, Jerusalem.When acclaimed Israeli wine writer Daniel Rogov passed away in 2012, he left behind a huge hole in the public knowledge of Israeli wines. Now, two writers have come to fill in the gap. Yair Gat, a wine writer for Yisrael Hayom, and Gal Zohar, a wine curator launched, their “New Israeli Wine Guide” in Hebrew and English online to give a guide to what's good in Israeli bottles. Producers: Liya Spiegel and Amy Racs Editor: Amy Racs Music Editor: Tomer Gershenman Technician: Tomer Gershenman and Lior Peleg Host: Daniella Cheslow

Passover is the biggest culinary festival in Israel - which might be surprising since it revolves around taking bread and most grains off the menu. But Passover is also the holiday that almost every Israeli marks by attending a festive Seder dinner. So the Seder becomes an opportunity to dust off family recipes, try some new takes on old favorites, and aspire to new heights in the kitchen to impress a big dinner table. If you like this show, follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@telavivtable) for updates and reading recommendations. You can also subscribe to this podcast on iTunes. The Seder Plate The Passover holiday kicks off with one festive dinner: the seder. The word means order in Hebrew and it’s a meal that comes with a manual for eating it. The whole seder centers on the Seder plate. Elliot Glassenberg, a teacher at the Bina secular Yeshiva, answers our questions about the history and evolution of the Seder plate, and about 50 shades of bitter herbs. Song: Pete Seeger - Dayenu A very Ashkenazi Passover Chef Shmil Holland is not only an expert in Ashkenazi cuisine, he also lives it. His Schmaltz Cookbook was the basis for a musical called “the Kishke Monologues” put up late last year by the Tel Aviv Yiddishpiel theater. He gives his ideas for Ashkenazi Passover classics, like gefilte fish and fried potato knish. Song: Johnny Cash: The Ten Commandments The legume litany in Jewish history Food historian and James Beard award winner Gil Marks talks about the rift in the Jewish world over legumes on Passover, and the evolution of matza. Marks is founding editor of Kosher Gourmet magazine and author of the Encyclopedia of Jewish Food. Song: The Bangles - Walk Like an Egyptian Passover-friendly baking Tel Aviv is a secular city, but Passover is a major holiday that brings almost every Israeli to a seder. That means that even bakeries that are not kosher devote a significant amount of time to creating desserts that would be welcome at a Passover dinner – no hametz, but plenty of style. At Dallal bakery, head pastry chef Aner Zalel oversees a small army of ten pastry chefs who are busy the week before the holiday turning out flourless cakes and French macarons. He showed me around his kitchen last week just before Passover. Song: Chris Cornell - Misery Chain Wine: Making each of four glasses count When you sit down to a Seder meal, you know you’re in for four glasses of wine. But what kind of wine will you be drinking? Our frequent wine advisor Tal Gal Cohen, founder of the israelwines.co.il portal, has some ideas for making the most of Passover table drinking - including progressing from white wine to rose, to full-bodied reds, and finally, dessert wines. Song: Chava Alberstein - Chad Gadia Inside Mimouna, the Moroccan post-Passover party Moroccan Jews ring in the end of Passover with a big party known as Mimouna. Picture loads of candies and sweet pancakes. Ilan Siboni of Jerusalem’s Moroccan Darna restaurant explains how it works. Song: George Michael - Freedom Food news Passover is a major peak in cookbook printing here in Israel, and one of the most talked-about books is Shai-Lee Lippa’s anthology of Balkan food. Shai-Lee was raised by a Turkish mother and a Greek father, and she grew up speaking Ladino at home. She gives a sneak preview into some recipes in the book. Producers: Liya Spiegel and Amy Racs Editor: Amy Racs Music Editor: Tomer Gershenman Technician: Tomer Gershenman and Lior Peleg Host: Daniella Cheslow

Passover is the biggest culinary festival in Israel - which might be surprising since it revolves around taking bread and most grains off the menu. But Passover is also the holiday that almost every Israeli marks by attending a festive Seder dinner. So the Seder becomes an opportunity to dust off family recipes, try some new takes on old favorites, and aspire to new heights in the kitchen to impress a big dinner table. If you like this show, follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@telavivtable) for updates and reading recommendations. You can also subscribe to this podcast on iTunes. The Seder Plate The Passover holiday kicks off with one festive dinner: the seder. The word means order in Hebrew and it’s a meal that comes with a manual for eating it. The whole seder centers on the Seder plate. Elliot Glassenberg, a teacher at the Bina secular Yeshiva, answers our questions about the history and evolution of the Seder plate, and about 50 shades of bitter herbs. Song: Pete Seeger - Dayenu A very Ashkenazi Passover Chef Shmil Holland is not only an expert in Ashkenazi cuisine, he also lives it. His Schmaltz Cookbook was the basis for a musical called “the Kishke Monologues” put up late last year by the Tel Aviv Yiddishpiel theater. He gives his ideas for Ashkenazi Passover classics, like gefilte fish and fried potato knish. Song: Johnny Cash: The Ten Commandments The legume litany in Jewish history Food historian and James Beard award winner Gil Marks talks about the rift in the Jewish world over legumes on Passover, and the evolution of matza. Marks is founding editor of Kosher Gourmet magazine and author of the Encyclopedia of Jewish Food. Song: The Bangles - Walk Like an Egyptian Passover-friendly baking Tel Aviv is a secular city, but Passover is a major holiday that brings almost every Israeli to a seder. That means that even bakeries that are not kosher devote a significant amount of time to creating desserts that would be welcome at a Passover dinner – no hametz, but plenty of style. At Dallal bakery, head pastry chef Aner Zalel oversees a small army of ten pastry chefs who are busy the week before the holiday turning out flourless cakes and French macarons. He showed me around his kitchen last week just before Passover. Song: Chris Cornell - Misery Chain Wine: Making each of four glasses count When you sit down to a Seder meal, you know you’re in for four glasses of wine. But what kind of wine will you be drinking? Our frequent wine advisor Tal Gal Cohen, founder of the israelwines.co.il portal, has some ideas for making the most of Passover table drinking - including progressing from white wine to rose, to full-bodied reds, and finally, dessert wines. Song: Chava Alberstein - Chad Gadia Inside Mimouna, the Moroccan post-Passover party Moroccan Jews ring in the end of Passover with a big party known as Mimouna. Picture loads of candies and sweet pancakes. Ilan Siboni of Jerusalem’s Moroccan Darna restaurant explains how it works. Song: George Michael - Freedom Food news Passover is a major peak in cookbook printing here in Israel, and one of the most talked-about books is Shai-Lee Lippa’s anthology of Balkan food. Shai-Lee was raised by a Turkish mother and a Greek father, and she grew up speaking Ladino at home. She gives a sneak preview into some recipes in the book. Producers: Liya Spiegel and Amy Racs Editor: Amy Racs Music Editor: Tomer Gershenman Technician: Tomer Gershenman and Lior Peleg Host: Daniella Cheslow

Tel Aviv is home to the Neve Shaanan neighborhood, where there are dozens of tiny restaurants making Eritrean and Sudanese food. So this week, the Table goes into the pots and pans of the Eritrean and wider African cuisine. A drop of gold in Neve Shaanan Gilad Liberman has documented every nameless greasy spoon in the Neve Shaanan neighborhood. He keeps reviews of each restaurant on his blog, Tipat Hazahav, named for the African neighborhood of Paris, called “goutte d’or”, or drop of gold. This is the beginning of our tour of the neighborhood. Song: Abraham Afwerki: Tmintey. Kitchen Talks teaches Israelis how to cook up African classics Yael Ravid founded Kitchen Talks last year to bridge between African asylum seekers and Israeli foodies. Habtom Mesfin moved to Israel four years ago and teaches classes with Yael. Here, they explain the basics of different African cuisines and talk about the challenges of running courses while Israeli immigration policy sends their cooks to the Holot detention center. Song: Tesfay Mengesha: Eritrean love song Hebron Restaurant Gilad Liberman knows every Neve Shaanan restaurant, and here he takes me to one of his favorites, the Hebron restaurant. Song: Willian Onyeabor: Atomic Bomb Vegan Ethiopian food at Tenat Neve Shaanan is right near the Central Bus Station. If you walk about a kilometer west, you arrive in Florentine, the center of Tel Aviv’s alternative, artistic neighborhood. Tenat Restaurant is right in between these two regions. Itzik Hizkayahu opened his vegan, Ethiopian restaurant to serve the best of his homeland’s food without the meat, and his place became a bridge between young Israelis and African asylum seekers. Song: Meklit Hadero: Leaving soon The African juice bar Blogger Gilad Liberman, who reviews the Neve Shaanan food at Tipat Hazahav (Drop of Gold), takes me to a coffeeshop serving some unusual drinks. Song: Fela Kuti: Water no get enemy Producer: Liya Spiegel Editors: Amy Racs and Hadas Ribak Music Editor: Tomer Gershenman Technician: Lior Peleg Host: Daniella Cheslow

Recently there’s been a renaissance of kosher cooking in Israel. Celebrity chefs like Meir Adoni and Yonatan Roshfeld have both opened high-end kosher restaurants in hotels. There are more and more ingredients - like Valhrona chocolate or agar-agar - that are getting rabbinical kosher approval. And plenty of people who keep kosher want to be a part of the foodie movement that has washed across israel in the last decade. The result is that especially in Israel, you don’t have to choose betwedsen losing your religion and losing your lunch. If you like this show, follow us on Facebook (facebook.com/TelAvivTable) and Twitter (@telavivtable) for updates and reading recommendations. You can also subscribe to this podcast on iTunes. SONG: Rufus Wainwright: Rules And Regulations 1 Janna Gur on the modern Israeli kosher kitchen.Israel’s kosher dining options used to be pretty limited. Janna Gur, the founding editor of Al Hashulchan magazine, explains why. SONG: Nina Simone: Eretz Zavat Halav Udvash A visit to Goshen restaurant, heaven for kosher meat lovers.At Goshen restaurant, you can see the thought put into meat as soon as you walk in because the meat fridge is right by the tables. I chat with owner Omer Shemtov in his restaurant on Tel Aviv’s busy Nachalat Binyamin street.SONG: Barbra Streisand: Papa, can you hear me     Last year, German immigrant to Israel Tom Franz won Israel’s MasterChef TV program and became the darling of the Israeli food world. Now he has published a cookbook in German called, “So Schmekt Israel,” or, the Taste of Israel, and he has become an ambassador of the kosher Israeli kitchen in Germany.   Meir Adoni is one of Israel’s best-known chefs. His plates are works of art, with beautiful lines of sauces, and often piles of mussels, maple-glazed pork chops, and steak perfectly grilled and rolled in butter. So when he opened the Blue Sky kosher restaurant in Tel Aviv’s Carlton hotel, it took some adaptations to get the menu a little more … God-fearing. Manager Tamar Zahari explains.   When you’re a teacher at a cooking school, one of the most important lessons is to have your students taste their meals. But haredi students studying at non-kosher Israeli schools have to taste with their eyes. Hagai Lerner, head of Cooking at the Israeli Institute of Culinary Art, explain how he teaches cooking to haredi students.   Which of these animals is kosher? Chicken. Locust. Elk. Sparrow. Guineau Fowl. The answer? All of the above. But even though the list of kosher animals is rich and varied, most observant Jews eat only a few species - chicken, cows, lamb, turkey. Ari Greenspan is on a mission to change that. He traveled the world to explore ancient Jewish traditions and slaughter practices, and explains to the Tel Aviv Table why that’s important.SONG: Kinky Friedman: Top Ten Commandments.   When you go out to eat in Israel, you know a restaurant is kosher because of the certificate on the wall, signed by the city’s rabbi. Much like a health inspection, for observant Jews this seal of approval is critical for helping them decide where to eat. But not everyone is happy with the kashrut system. In Jerusalem especially, several liberal parties say the kosher system is rife with bribery, and that rabbis In November 2012, five Jerusalem restaurants sued the city’s chief rabbinate because they were fined between 1,000 and 2,000 shekels for calling themselves kosher without formal certification from the rabbinate. Debating this issue are two rabbis: Ziv Maor, the spokesman of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, and Rabbi Andy Sachs, a leader of the Masorati (Conservative) movement in Israel.   Food news.Producer: Liya SpiegelEditors: Amy Racs and Hadas RibakMusic Editor: Tomer GershenmanTechnician: Lior PelegHost: Daniella Cheslow

The city of Ashdod is home to Israel’s largest port and it’s also a rising star of the restaurant world. In fact, food is so deeply engraved in Ashdod’s DNA that the city’s port workers threatened to go on strike because of restaurant coupons. If you like this show, follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@telavivtable) for updates and reading recommendations. You can also subscribe to this podcast on iTunes. 1. Ashdod’s #1 Tunisian Sandwich We start the program with a visit to Maurice Sitbon’s Tunisian sandwich restaurant. Prepare for fricasee - a deep-fried roll stuffed with tuna, pickled lemon, hot sauce and olives. Song: Ashdod Andalusian Orchestra with Amir Benayoun: Nishmati (My soul) 2. The online guide to Ashdod’s food Two years ago, Sivan Keidar and her husband closed the doors to their restaurant in Ashdod with a heavy heart - and became boosters for the other restaurants in the city. Keidar launched the Ashdodmenu.co.il site, which has listings for nearly 100 local restaurants and is a great reference for visitors. Song: Shabtai Kokia: Shir Ahava LeAshdod (A love song to Ashdod) 3. A fisherman’s fish restaurant Idi Israelovitch has been collecting fishing nets, steering wheels and recipes for three decades from the sailors who visit Ashdod’s port. His restaurant, Idi Dagim, is one of Ashdod’s most well-known places to eat grilled fish, boiled crabs and fried shrimp. Here, Daniella interviews Idi in his restaurant. Song: Billy Joel: Downeaster Alexa 4. Chef Guy Peretz talks about cooking for Ashdod Chef Guy Peretz is the man behind Endive, a newly opened chef restaurant in Ashdod’s West hotel. He talks about his menu, about cooking in Israel’s south, and about how the city has changed since he opened his first restaurant there 15 years ago. Song: Dafna Dekel - Ze Rak Sport (It’s only sport) 5. Finding Ashdod’s food by accident Ruthie Pliskin didn’t imagine Ashdod as a culinary destination. She’s a doctoral candidate at Tel Aviv University and an adventurous eater. One day, she discovered Ashdod’s food by accident, and it made a real impression. Song: Led Zeppelin: Down By the Seaside 6. For one Indian restaurant owner,, Ashdod recalls Bombay Joel Sogaokar moved to Israel from Bombay 30 years ago and settled in Ashdod because the seaside reminded him of home. He built the Namaste Indian restaurant inside one of Ashdod’s landmark buildings that looks like a Moroccan temple. Daniella spoke with him over samosas. SONG: Natasha Attlas: I put a Spell on You 7. In Ashdod, striking for the right to a steak lunch Ashdod’s port workers famously went on strike for the right to eat a steak lunch every day on the company dime. Economics reporter and TLV1 radio host Asher Schecter explains what happened. Bob Dylan: When the Ship Comes In Producer: Liya Spiegel Editors: Amy Racs and Hadas Ribak Music Editor: Tomer Gershenman Technician: Lior Peleg Host: Daniella Cheslow

In early February, Spain announced it would offer citizenship to Jews whose ancestors were expelled from Iberia 500 years ago during the Spanish Inquisition. In Israel, it caused a scramble, since more than half of Israeli citizens trace their family tree to Spain, and from there, to North Africa and the greater Arab world. Jews of Spanish descent, or Sephardim, have had a huge impact not only on Jewish cuisine, but on cuisine of southern Europe, northern Africa and the Middle East. So on today’s program, we’re going to take a look at the food of the Spanish Inquisition: what Jewish people were eating five centuries ago in Spain, how their cuisine adapted when they had to keep their religion under wraps, and how Spanish food is seen in Israel today. We talk to Tel Avivis to hear if they are filing paperwork for passports. Attorney Leon Amiras explains how you might be able to cook your way into a Spanish passport. David Gitlitz, author of a book on the recipes of Spain’s Secret Jews, talks about using Spanish Inquisition court records as a source for recipes used by secret Spanish Jews. Tour guide and travel writer Yuval Ben Ami remembers what he ate on a recent Jewish history trip to Spain and Portugal. Chef Yonatan Roshfeld, owner of Tapas Ahad Ha’am, shares his thoughts on bringing Spanish food to Tel Aviv. At the end of the program, Maya Marom, author of the gorgeous food blog Bazekalim.com, gives her guidelines for great cookies for the Jewish Purim holiday, and we use her tips in a hamentaschen taste test between Dallal bakery, Miki Shemo and Dudu Outmezgine. Last, we have food news - headlines on the growing American appetite for hummus, on five-shekel wine and beer, and on a fish and chips joint in Jaffa.   Follow Tel Aviv Table on Twitter, @telavivtable, and write us with suggestions or questions at telavivtable@tlv1.fm   MUSIC: Mel Brooks: The Spanish Inquisition Berry Sakharov and Reah Mohiah: Ma Lah Yehida Efecto Pasillo: Pan y Mantequilla Bing Crosby: Valencia Elisha Banai- Barcelona Marni Nixon: The Rain in Spain Falls Mainly on the Plain

Tel Aviv has been host to a slew of high-profile restaurants lately, from the luxurious Taizu and Topolopompo, to a wave of dim sum eateries on every corner. On today’s Tel Aviv Table, we’re talking about the Asian kitchen: Israel's pioneering celebrity chef Yisrael Aharoni describes introducing Israelis to Chinese food; Chef Avi Konforti gives a tour of his Topolopompo restaurant, the most expensive restaurant to be built in Israel; Gloria Liu and Jiuli Guo, known as the Dumpling Girls, speak in studio about their underground mission to bring authentic Chinese dumplings to Tel Aviv; Daniella walks through the Dragon Asian supermarket with owner Dani Rahum; and Walla! food editor Gerda Glazer gives recommendations on where to get the best dim sum, ramen, pad thai and pho soup in Tel Aviv. In food news: the world’s biggest whisky exhibition is coming to Israel this week, with more than 300 whiskies from around the world - including Israel’s own Milk and Honey Distillery.   Follow Tel Aviv Table on Twitter, @telavivtable, and write us with suggestions or questions at telavivtable@tlv1.fm

This program is devoted to the varied and sumptuous cuisine of Sakartvelo - what Georgians call their homeland. Darra Goldstein, the editor of Gastronomica magazine, talks about her book The Georgian Feast. Lily Ben Shalom, owner of Ratcha Georgian restaurant in Jerusalem, explains how cooking on reality TV could help her reclaim the throne in her own kitchen. Nana Shrier explains why she turned Nanuchka restaurant vegan, and Georgian oldtimers weigh in on the meatless dishes. Travel writer and tour guide Yuval Ben Ami, talks about what he ate on many trips to Georgia. Wine specialist Tal Gal Cohen demystifies Georgian wine and the grappa-like Chacha. And the Tel Aviv Table brings the latest in food news - including tips on the upcoming Open Restaurant festival and the first-ever Vegan Congress. Playlist:Ray Charles - Georgia On My MindJohnny Cash - I've Been EverywhereLo Dubim - Georgians (Gruzinim)Katie Melua - If the Lights Go OutNiaz Diasamidze - Me vzivar NavshiMoran Mazor - Just For Him (Rak Bishvilo)

If you ever stroll down a main boulevard on Tel Aviv, you’ll see loads of beautiful people - and dozens of kids, in strollers, on bike seats or toddling beneath the trees. That’s because Israel has one of the highest birthrates of the Western world. In honor of all these children, the Tel Aviv Table devotes this week’s show to kids’ food in Israel. Today’s show includes:   A tour of the factory where the Israeli peanut snack Bamba is made. Ruth Sirkis, Israel’s Julia Child, talks about cooking with kids, and how she learned to write about food. Zami Schreiber of Sender restaurant gives tips for making Ptitim, known abroad as Israeli couscous. Child prodigy baker Noa Einat shares her ideas for making unusual krembos at home. Dietitian Tirtza Shani talks about why more Israeli kids are overweight than ever, and what parents can do about it. Hamutal Levin has ideas for how to take your little ones to restaurants in Tel Aviv.   Follow Tel Aviv Table on Twitter, @telavivtable, and write us with suggestions or questions at telavivtable@gmail.com.   Playlist: Raffi - Apples and Bananas Yossi Banai - Ani Vesimon Vemoyz Hakatan (Me and Simon and Little Moyz) Cathy Rigby - I Won’t Grow Up Shlomo Artzi - Nof Yaldut (Childhood View) Allan Sherman - Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah Santana - Let the Children Play Hakeves Hashisha Asar - Reach Shel Chocolad (Smell of Chocolate)

The French Embassy in Israel has flown 19 French chefs in to cook in local restaurants for the So Frenchy So Tasty festival this week - so we present a program about French cuisine and its reflection in Israel. Thibault Bera, former chef to the French Ambassador and the chef of Pastel restaurant at the Tel Aviv museum, talks about starting the festival and cooking for Israelis. Yair Yosefi, of Tel Aviv’s Elba restaurant, joins me in studio to talk about training in France and what he brought back to Israel. Chefs Sylvain Sendra (One star Michelin, l’Itinéraire, Paris) and Yossi Shitreet talk about cooking together this week at Yossi’s Kitchen Market restaurant at the Tel Aviv port. Avinoam Brakin of “Barkanit” Dairy explains how French volunteers taught him how to make world-class sheep and goat cheese. Wine expert Tal Gal Cohen tells me what makes French wine special and how Israeli wines compare. Guest of honor Mara Berman, one of this show’s earliest and most enthusiastic fans, talks about how eating changes when you have a baby. And food news at the bottom of the show.

This week on the Tel Aviv Table, we go on a journey through Jewish history via the legendary slow food known as cholent or hamin. Food historian Gil Marks brings his insights into the last thousand years of cholent. A visit to Deitsch Restaurant in Jerusalem's ultra-Orthodox Me'a She'arim neighborhood, where the recipe for cholent has not changed since the shtetl. Phylis Glazer gives her guide to beans for beginners. A chat with Sherry Ansky, known in Israel as the high priestess of Hamin and the author of a cookbook that carries the dish’s name. Yossi Vardi, a captain of Israeli high-tech, talks about his secret society, the Order of the Knights of the Kishke. Food news and slow-food related tracks in Hebrew and English. Music: Howlin Wolf, Built for Comfort Not for Speed Hadag Nachash, Yom Shishi (Friday) Boaz Banai, with Kol Hashavua Margish Kmo Shabbat (All Week Feels Like Saturday) Dori Ben Zeev, Sof Shavua Bakfar (Weekend in the Village) JJ Cale, Boiling Pot Johnny Cash, Beans for Breakfast Ziggy Marly, Family Time Mary J. Blige, Kitchen

This week the Tel Aviv Table with Daniella Cheslow takes you inside charcuterie: cured meat.Nati Menashe, owner of Vitrina restaurant in Tel-Aviv, joins us in the studio to talk about selling sausage.Michael Ruhlman, co-author of “Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking and Curing,” gives an overview of cured meat.French-Israeli Alan Talmor gives me a lesson in making sausage.Jeff Yoskowitz reminisces about mucking out the pig pens while he researched the Israeli pork industry in 2008.South African Gordon Silberstein details the Biltong he still makes years after he left the old country for Raanana.Scotsman Steven Winston talks about the notorious dish Haggis.And vegan guru Ori Shavit gives her ideas on finding animal-free sausage alternatives. Playlist: Tom Waits: Eggs and Sausage Teapacks: Salam Salami Dizzy Gillespie: Hey Pete! Let’s Eat More Meat Doc Sausage: Sausage Rock Mark Knopler: Corned Beef City John Lennon: Beef Jerky Widespread Panic: Thought Sausage. Smoked Meat Band: Everything Blues Peter Combe: Newspaper Mama Skankin’ with Steve: Sausage Fest

Tel Aviv Table eats street food.  We talk felafel, bourekas, sabich, Jerusalem mixed grill, hot dogs, tacos and a felafel computer game. Guests:   Assaf Gavron, author of Ochel BeAmida, an archive of Israeli street food. Oved Daniel, owner of Sabich Oved, makes an eggplant sandwich he bills as the best meal in the universe. Seffi Agami of Steakiyat Hatzot explains the Jerusalem mixed grill - and his restaurant’s claim to have started it. Zeev Tene, rock musician and food engineer, spins the story of his hot dog restaurant Franks. Sa’ar Kohavi of Haifa’s Bourekas Ha’agala gives the skinny on his greasy pastry. Dov Garmise talks up his viral felafel stand computer game at felafelgame.com.Yuval Noygarten shares the good news about Tel Aviv’s Mexican street food outpost, the Taqueria.

It’s the Tel Aviv Table and this week we are loading it up with dried fruit and nuts because of the Jewish holiday Tu Bishvat.   Noga Brenner Samia, Deputy Director of BINA secular yeshiva in Tel Aviv, unpacks just what this holiday is. Food tour guide Inbal Baum takes us on a walk through the spice shops of the Levinsky Market. Claudia Roden, the doyenne of Middle Eastern food, gives tips for mixing dried fruit into Moroccan cooking. Travel writer Yuval Ben Ami talks about the wonderful dried fruit desserts he ate in Yerevan. Dr. Elaine Solowey remembers sprouting the world’s oldest date seed. And the owner of Shapiro brewery tells his sorry tale of a new ban on internet advertising for alcohol companies in Israel.    

In honor of the new year, a program devoted to a fresh start: the Israeli breakfast. Food writer Janna Gur talks about the origins of the Israeli breakfast. Golan Gorfinkel, the chef at Dallal restaurant in Tel Aviv, teaches us how to make it. Tour guide Jon Goldstein describes how American visitors navigate endless hotel buffets. Talia Rasner runs down the American-style breakfast at her Nola bakery. The owners of Cafelix, one of Tel Aviv’s leading coffeehouses, tell what they are doing differently. Food news at the bottom of the hour.  Playlist: Kelsey Grammer - Tossed Salads and Scrambled EggsWidespread Panic - LASimple Minds - Don't You Forget About MePat Metheny - The Girls Next DoorTislam - Boker Shel KefHugh Jackson - Oh What a Beautiful Morning!Arik Einstein - Boker Tov Adon ShokoAchinoam Nini - BokerBonobo - NightlifeDeep Blue Something - Breakfast at TiffanysElton John - Wake Up Wendy  

In honor of the Russian New Year, Novy God, this program is a confederation of interviews devoted to the Russian kitchen. I speak to Maria Pisnetz, chef of Baba Yaga restaurant in Tel-Aviv, about what’s for New Year’s dinner. Anya von Bremzen, author of Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking, tells what she ate growing up in Moscow. Vova Toshaev, chef at Abushdid restaurant, describes his attempts to teach Russian-Israelis how to cook like Moroccans. I take a walk through a Russian supermarket with Ukrainian-Israeli Lena Mandelman. Daniel Estrin gives the scoop on Tel Aviv’s biggest Russian new year’s party. And a look at Israel’s largest caviar manufacturer. Priatnogo Appetita. Playlist: The Beatles: Back in the USSRVerka Serduchka Novy God (Russian New Year's classic)Regina Spektor: Don’t Leave Me, Russian editionHabiluim: MerusiaBoney M: RasputinGogol Bordello: AlcoholSting: RussiansUlrich Schnauss: Nobody's Home

 In honor of Christmas, the Tel Aviv Table decks the halls with the food of Nazareth. Accompanied by local expert, Maroon Sabani, we delve deep into the pans and souls of two unique Nazareth eateries. Elinoar Rabin discusses her cookbook: Nazareth: A Culinary City. Actor Ishai Golan reveals what he ate as the Israeli host of a National Geographic TV series on street food. Finally..some recommendations on eating out on New Year's Eve. Playlist: Otis Redding: Merry Christmas, BabyDean Martin: Marshmallow worldFayrouz: Leilet Eid (Jingle Bells in Arabic)Frank Sinatra: Have Yourself a Merry Little ChristmasArabic translation of SANTA CLAUS COMING TO TOWNMeir Ariel: Takzir Shir Horef HabaTchaikovsky: The Nutcracker

After a weekend of record-breaking snow, the Tel Aviv Table offers a menu of comfort food.  Underground soup makers Inbal Shirin Anlen and Shachar Vaknin talk about cooking soup for 40 people out of their Jaffa apartment every Friday.  Israeli food expert Janna Gur explains what comfort food means in the holy land. Tami Shachney gives details on a program she founded that brings grandmothers into the kitchen with top Israeli chefs to make updated classic recipes.  Daniella tastes Yemenite “leg soup” in Hana’s Soups, a restaurant in the Hatikva neighborhood of Tel Aviv. Palestinian anthropologist, chef and Jerusalem native Ali Qleibo talks about what he ate as a kid in Jerusalem to keep warm. And Roger Sherman explains what he’s looking for in his TV documentary, “The Search for Israeli Cuisine.” Playlist:Bob Dylan: Shelter from the StormRobert Wyatt: Soup SongHakeves Hashisha Asar (The 16th Sheep): Brakim Ureamim (Lightning and Thunder)Tom Waits: Long Way HomeEtta James: Stormy WeatherSimon and Garfunkel: Homeward BoundHaneshamot Hatehorot (The Pure Souls): Café Etzel Berta (Coffee at Berta’s)

Tel Aviv Table goes under the sea in an episode devoted to fish. Studio guest Eyal Lavie talks about farmed vs. fresh fish and gives a bouillabaisse recipe. We visit the fish auction block in Jaffa. Ecological researcher Aviad Scheinin talks about sustainable fish eating.  Uri Jeremias of Uri Buri fame in Akko reveals the story behind his name. Vered Gelber, a former high-tech worker, talks about bringing online fish buying to the north. Food news at the bottom of the hour. Music:  The Little Mermaid, Under the Sea Arik Einstein and Yoni Rechter, Dag Hazahav (Golden Fish) Buddy Guy, Saturday Night Fish Fry Hadudaim, Marsh Dayagim (Fishermen's March) The Beatles, Octopus's Garden Robbie Williams, Beyond the Sea Chuck Berry, Fish and Chips

In honor of Channukah, the Tel Aviv Table takes a dive into the deep fryer. Food historian Gil Marks (http://www.gilmarks.com) explains the roots of the jelly donut. Miri Zorger (http://www.mirizorger.co.il), pastry chef to the ultra-orthodox, gives her take on savory sufganiyot. Ilan Siboni, of Jerusalem’s beautiful Darna restaurant, shares Moroccan Channukah recipes (http://www.darna.co.il/). The manager of the Lechamim bakery takes me behind the scenes (www.lehamim.com). On the rare coincidence of Thanksgiving and Hannukah this week, I speak to the owners of Mike’s Place about their Thanksgiving dinner this Thursday, as well as Israeli journalist Ronit Domka, who covered this historical anomaly for The Marker. Music:  Sarit Chaddad, Light a Candle. St. Ettiene - Mr. Doughnut Chava Alberstein, Shir Megaresh et Hachoshech Sia - Sweet Potato Achinoam Nini: Keren Or JOHNNY CASH - Thanksgiving Prayer Jimmy Hendrix - FireAdam Sandler - Chanukah Song    

Tamuz - Sof Onat HatapuzimPeter Paul and Mary - Lemon TreeArik Einstein - Kilafti TapuzVan Morrison - Orange FieldAksum - Clementina BaginaSerge Gainsbourg and Charlotte Gainsbourg - Lemon IncestThe Sweptaways - Oh My Darling, ClementineLed Zeppelin - Tangerine

Jason Shaw, Tennessee HayrideFrank Sinatra: One for my baby, one for the roadBeatles, TaxmanLightning Hopkins - Ain't Nothing Like WhiskeyNick Cave and the Bad Seeds: Brother my cup is empty.Hank Williams Jr.: What's On The Bar.Billy Thope and the Aztecs, Cigarettes, Whisky and Wild, Wild WomenCohen Et Mushon, Shikor

This week we set the Tel Aviv Table with herring, pickles, mushrooms and a few surprises in honor of Polish Culinary Week, a festival from November 2-11 across Israel. Polish cookbook writer and food historian Pioter Bikont explains the shared roots of Polish and Jewish kitchen. We peek into a collaboration between Modest Amaro, whose restaurant just earned Poland’s first Michelin star, and top Israeli chef Meir Adoni. Shmil Holland previews his upcoming yiddish noodle workshop. Lilach Rubin of Jerusalem’s Shraga Cafe gives details on how to cook out of Shai Agnon’s books. We hear from the minds behind an edgy new Polish food journal, Smak. And Israeli Yonatan Borowitz gives tips on adjusting Polish – and New York Jewish food – to the Israeli palate.Jason Shaw: Tennessee HayrideNeon Indian: Polish GirlJack Johnson: Better TogetherRed Hot Chili Peppers: Behind the SonKol Hachatichim Elay: PolaniaAlon Olearchik: Hi Holechet Badrakim

Rise and shine, because the Tel Aviv Table goes into the Israeli bread revolution. Janna Gur gave an overview of the history of Israeli bread. Baking pioneer Erez Komorovsky shared his own bread resume. Uri Sheft explained what New Yorkers are looking for in his new “Breads” bakery in Manhattan. Osnat Shapira made a case for yeast-free bread, like the ones she sells in the Natural Choice Bakery in Jerusalem. The challah bakers of Jerusalem give a peek behind the counter, and Gil Ackerman shares food news. Devo - Bread & Butter Damian Marley - One loaf of bread  Johnny Cash - Breaking Bread טיפקס - החיים שלך בלאפה Bread - Make it With You The Roots feat. Truck North - Bread & Butter

Theme song from Mr. Roger’s NeighborhoodShakira: Si Te VasOmar Souleyman: Mawal JamarRolling Stones: NeighborsPeter Gabriel: In the NeighborhoodAxum: Ba Leshchuna Bachur HadashBob Dylan: Neighborhood Bully

Jason Mraz - Too Much Foodאורי זהר - שיר הפטנטיםBasia - An Olive TreeOlive Oil (Popeye) - He Needs Meלהקת פיקוד דרום - יונה עם עלה של זיתThe Rolling Stones - Brown SugarBACKUP - Miley Cyrus - Wrecking Ball

This week’s show celebrates Oktoberfest, the German beer holiday. Guests include Ori Saguy, founder of the award-winning Alexander Brewery and a recent visitor to Oktoberfest in Munich. Chef Ofer Ben Or of the Bayern restaurant in Tel Aviv shares a recipe for chicken cooked in beer. Yoav Alon, co-owner of the massive beer pub Porter and Sons, explains what Israelis are drinking now. Home brewer Michael Maze shares tips for making beer in your kitchen. The man behind the only Palestinian beer talks about Taybeh’s Oktoberfest celebration. And Hanan Shemesh explains how to make money off five-shekel coffee at the new Cofix coffee bar.   Playlist: Bavarian folk song: Bei Weisswurst Bier und BlasmusikRolling Stones: HappyHadudaim: Kankan TiroshTom Halls: I like BeerShabak Samech: HamarmoretBran Van 3000: Drinking in LAFlogging Molly: Drunken Lullabies

Tel Aviv Table with a special edition for Sukkot and these are our holiday guests: Alon Eliran explains how to celebrate the harvest in the city, Phyllis Glazer tells us what food we can and should prepare for our feasts in the Sukkah, Uzi Eli, the "etrog" (citron) man from the Mahane Yehuda market in Jerusalem tells us what we can make out of this fruit besides jam, chef Erez Komarovsky gives us the lowdown on the less-known fruit of this season- quince- and Eyal Shani brings an ice cream filled pita to our Sukkah. Yup, what you just read- an ice cream-filled pita. Chag Sameach :Playlist Shakin The Lulav-David Bar Cohen Asif-Naomi Shemer Be our guest-Beauty and the beast Patish Masmer Shlomit Bona sukka-Naomi Shemer Ice cream man-Tom Waits Shir Tishrey-cHava Alberstein Yehezkel-Halonot Hagvohim Get Lucky-Daft Punk  

In this edition, we set a Rosh Hashana table with everything you need for the holiday: Apples and honey of all kinds, pomegranates, and serving the right wine for each meal. We'll also chat about Jewish cooking and how we can turn it into a musical, and a chef from an Eilat hotel will tell us how he prepares the holiday meals for the masses of tourists. Recipes from Daniella: Here are 2 recipe ideas. Our interviewees did not give specific measurements, but can we use these anyways? The first is from Nana Shrayer of the Georgian restaurant Nanouchka. She recommends pouring into a shaker a shot of vodka, a load of ice and a generous handful of pomegranate seeds. Shake it hard and strain it into a glass for a tart, stiff holiday cocktail. The second is from 4th-generation beekeeper Boaz Ben Zeev. He says to use honey in a salad dressing. Boaz says to start with a green salad. Add slices of crisp apple. Then make a dressing using honey, olive oil, garlic and some mayonnaise. "It’s addictive, be aware!"

This week, the Tel Aviv Table served a program on figs, a summery seasonal fruit native to the land and delicious fresh, dried or even distilled into a liquor. Guests included Jonathan Rushfeld on making fig jam, Moshe Basson on figs in the Bible, Uri Meir Chizik on looking for figs in the wild and Claris Bukovsa on making Boukha liquor, and Yotam Cohen on Riesling Month. Song list: Jason Shaw, Tennessee Hayride Billie Holiday, Summertime Naomi Shemer, Siman Sheod Lo Heganu. Brett Dennen, Fig Tree Metronome Allstars, No Figs Bunny Wailer, Fig Tree

This week the Tel Aviv Table served a program on Ramadan, the Muslim holiday that involves a month of fasting. In this show, journalist Anas Abu Daabes explained what it’s like to observe the fast far from home. Imad Shorbagi, the soux chef of Tel Aviv’s Sheraton Hotel, spilled on the beautiful and sometimes surprising dishes starring in this year’s iftar break-fast meal, from stuffed carrots to Pad Thai. Janna Gur, editor of the Al Hashulchan (On the Table) food magazine, gave her recommendations for where to eat fantastic traditional Arab dishes. Hosam Abbas, the founder of the El-Babor restaurant chain, told what it’s like to cook a Ramadan end-of-day feast for 600 people when you, yourself are starving. Includes a recipe for Ramadan sweets, Atayef. Music: Jason Shaw, Tennessee Hayride Souad Massi, Bladi Sami Yusuf, You Came to Me Cast of Arab Idol 2013, Do You Hear the People Sing Fairouz,  Allah Kbir Eric Carmen, Hungry Eyes

This week the Tel Aviv Table served a program on Tehina, the sesame paste that is a mainstay of the Israeli kitchen. In this show, we visited the Jibrini Tehina factory in Jerusalem’s Old City. Shooky Galilee, the author of the hummus101 blog and taster of hundreds of tehinas, explained what makes tehina fabulous or terrible. Uri Meir Chizik dished out the history of sesame farming and tehina grinding in the Holy Land. Chef Yahaloma Levy gave some unusual ideas for cooking with tehina – like kneading it into the dough for gnocchi. And journalist Daniel Estrin explained how to make a perfect tehina dip. Includes a recipe for tehina. Music Playlist: Sesame Street – theme song Ronnie Milsap – back to the grindstone Yair Nitzani – שיר המנגל רחוב סומסום – שיר הנושא Nigel Admore – Humus Makes You Stupid Jackie Greene – Grindstone