CULINARY TOURISM
February 2023
TOURISM MINISTRY GREENLIGHTS ENTRY of MICHELIN GUIDE TO ISRAEL After years of negotiations, prestigious culinary rankings expected to debut in Tel Aviv, the only city where Michelin inspectors see ‘feasibility’ for review I srael is moving ahead with a years-long plan to bring the Michelin Guide to the
culinary scene blossoms – even winning six spots this week on a list of the 50 best eateries in the Middle East and North Africa. The prestigious list published Monday by the website theworlds50best. com and sponsored by San Pellegrino and Aqua Panna was announced at a ceremony held in Abu Dhabi. The highest-ranking Israeli restaurant was George & John in Tel Aviv, which ranked sixth on the list.
local restaurant scene, the Tourism Ministry announced recently. Tourism Minister Haim Katz (Likud), who entered the position a month ago, has given a green light to the introduction of the prestigious culinary guide, the ministry said, building on years of efforts by his predecessors. In a statement, Katz said the Michelin inspectors currently see “feasibility” only in evaluating Tel Aviv’s restaurant scene, and will therefore work with the Tel Aviv municipality. Meanwhile, the ministry will work on the potential
Other Israeli restaurants included in this year’s list
are OCD (14), which ranked 3rd last year; A Restaurant (24), which made the list for the first time; Animar (32), dropping from 17; Milgo & Milbar (40), which receives the same ranking as last year; and HaBasta (48), which expressed disappointment after falling from 14 in last year’s list. OCD also received an award for Most Sustainable Restaurant, for its zero-waste policy that includes a wide- ranging fermentation process, while Tel Aviv’s Opa and chef Shirel Berger was named winner of the One To Watch Award.
In an interview with Calcalist shortly before leaving office, Razvozov said a deal with Michelin was close to being signed, and that he would explain to his successor “the importance” of
of expanding the coverage to other cities in the future, he said. The deal is said to cost Israel about 1.5 million euros ($1.6 million), which
for its “concerning omission” of Israel. A handful of Israeli chefs with restaurants abroad have been awarded a Michelin star, including Moshik Roth for several locations in Amsterdam, Assaf Granit for Shabour in Paris, and Gal Ben Moshe for Prism in Berlin. Even without Michelin’s say, Israeli restaurants have received many accolades in recent years as the country’s
finalizing the agreement for economic reasons. Local restaurateurs as well as global figures
the Tourism Ministry will split with the municipality. Former tourism minister Yoel Razvozov of Yesh Atid pushed for the guide’s advancement during his term in office, which ended late last year.
have long been clamoring for Michelin to bring in heavyweight rankings: in 2016, World Jewish Congress president Ron Lauder wrote a letter criticizing the company
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