In Search of Israeli Cuisine – May 2024

Activities:

• 15:00 Meet in hotel lobby

• “What makes Israel a unique culinary story?” - Meet Avihai Tsabari, founder of Via Sabra, who will open the trip with a conversation: “What makes Israel a unique culinary story?”

• Machane Yehuda Market - In the heart of Jerusalem, a bustling multi-ethnic market bursting with life, art, and flavor, a tasting tour through Machane Yehuda Market is an adventure for your taste buds. Enjoy the hustle and bustle with all the rich fragrances, colors, and sounds this iconic Jerusalem market offers.

• Dinner at Hatzot - Legend has it that the famous Jerusalem Mix Grill (or Me’orav Yerushalmi in Hebrew) was invented in 1970 within the four walls of Hatzot restaurant.

• Jerusalem - Herbert Samuel

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel

• Old City Tasting Tour - Start your morning walking through the Old City we will tour the historical and religious sites of the Jewish and Christian Quarters. See some off-the-beaten track sites in the winding alleyways and enjoy some Jerusalem delicacies. We will have a “taste of history” that interweaves stories and anecdotes, historical information and, of course, combine the senses of smell, taste, and sound

• Dinner at MachneYuda Restaurant - "This restaurant is considered one of the best in Jerusalem, possibly the country. Celebrity chef, Assaf Granit, grew up in Jerusalem and pays homage to the city's colors and cacophony in his elegant dishes. The menu changes twice daily, but it nearly always includes chamshuka, a fusion of chopped meat and hummus, and a raucous dessert ceremony of ice cream flung on tables covered in aluminum foil.”

• Did you see Shtisl? - Walk through the Ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Mea Shearim and visit the bakeries producing challah for Shabbat

• Jerusalem-Herbert Samuel

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel

• Ein Kerem - Tucked into the hills of Jerusalem is the biblical Ein Kerem, whose name means "the spring in the vineyard." Step into another world while you visit this quaint neighborhood.

• Bread Baking - Meet Avraham and Odeya - a couple of chefs, owners of 'Shukriya - A home for Jerusalem Culinary Culture' - who will introduce you to the culinary story of Jerusalem. Participate in a bread baking workshop, followed by a light Jerusalem style lunch.

• Free time in Jerusalem as the city winds down for Shabbat

• Visit the Western Wall before Shabbat - Proceed to the Kotel (The Western Wall), sacred because it is one of the last remnants of the Second Temple that was destroyed by the Romans. Feel the stones that have witnessed so much in the history of the Jews. Place your special and personal prayer in the cracks of the stones.

• Dinner at 'Shukriya' - Jerusalem style Shabbat dinner at Shukriya'', where you will also enjoy the bread you prepared in the morning! (make sure you arrive hungry!)

• Jerusalem-Herbert Samuel

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel

• Wine tasting at Sphera Winery - Sphera Winery is a boutique winery featuring only white wines from the Judean Hills of Israel. "We believe in a clear and minimalistic approach that brings out the fruits’ true essence, while ensuring wines that are layered with rich and complex flavours."

• Late lunch at Majda restaurant - Majda is a restaurant in the Jerusalem Hills village of Ein Rafa, famous for its innovative fusion cuisine, beautiful property and views from its rooftop and an appearance on Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. The menu is full of creative local dishes all prepared by Yakub and Michal, the Arab-Jewish couple who own Majda.

• Israel museum- Optional - Visit the unique collections and expansive grounds of the Israel Museum, the country’s national museum. Linger over the renowned international and Israeli art, the world’s most complete Judaica collections and the charming Billy Rose Sculpture Garden. You can also visit the Shrine of the Book, home to the exceptional archaeological finds of the Dead Sea Scrolls and other rare ancient manuscripts.

• Return to the hotel for leisure time and a free evening in Jerusalem

• Jerusalem-Herbert Samuel

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel

• Drive north through the Jordan Valley and witness its beautiful scenery

• Beit Shean-National Park - One of the main pagan towns during Roman rule of the region 2,000 years ago, and in the shadow of an important biblical city, Beit She’an contains a magnificent theater, Roman bathhouses, mosaics and more. It is considered one of the best preserved Roman sites in the region.

• Meet with Uri Mayer Chizzik Sustainable Eating - Get to know local, wild food from nature– and dishes prepared today from food that has grown here throughout history with Dr. Uri Mayer-Chissick, an expert on the history of local food and nutrition in the Middle-East and author of the Israeli guide to foraging wild edible plants, hike and cook outdoors.

• Late lunch at Rutenberg restaurant - Rutenberg restaurant is situated on the banks of the Jordan, next to the old Gesher conservation site. The three bridges over the river and 10,000 years of human history attest to the fertility of the flora and fauna of the Jordan Valley. "We believe in seasonal local cuisine and are constantly in the process of discovering the region."

• Travel to the hotel & check in - Enjoy the hotel's facilities. Take a walk to the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) or jump in for an afternoon swim.

• Dinner at the hotel (on own)

• Isrotel Gomeh Hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel

• Tzippori National Park - At Tzippori, view the ruins and ancient mosaic floor to see how native species have been part of the national iconography for centuries.

• Jezre’el Valley Winery- Lunch and wine tasting - In a land of some 300 boutique wineries, it took a high-tech entrepreneur, an organic landscape architect and a branding designer to come up with a new concept for their wine venture. Meet with Jacob Ner David a successful serial entrepreneur in technology based start-ups who made a dream come true and continues to infuse out-of-the box thinking into the DNA of the winery.

• Visit the Circassian village of Kfar Kama - Learn the story of the Circassians which can be traced to the mountains of the north-western Caucasus, where they lived for thousands of years. In the 19th century the Caucasus was occupied by the Russian Empire and most of the population was deported from their homeland. In the second half of the 19th century the Circassians established three settlements in the Land of Israel, two of which still exist in the Galilee: Kfar Kama, with a population of approx. 3000, and Rihanya, with around 1000 inhabitants.

• Druze Home Hospitality - Together with your hosts in their private home, prepare traditional Druze Galilean dishes and then enjoy the feast you create. Learn about Druze culture and history from your hosts and from the food you eat.

• Isrotel Gomeh Hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel - And check out from hotel

• Drive to Akko

• Explore Akko - Tour Akko, the ancient port city built and influenced by the Crusaders, Arabs, Ottoman Turks and the British. Akko's shuk (market place) is right in the center of the Old City and is a fun and vibrant bazaar full of fresh produce, cheap eats, spices, and souvenirs. Akko also has several of the best hummus spots in all of Israel which are a “must-taste.”

• Lunch at the legendary Uri Buri restaurant - For the past 20 years, opposite the Crusader subterranean city in Akko, the Uri Buri restaurant has been offering different kinds of delicately prepared fresh fish and seafood dishes served with more than 100 different kinds of fine Israeli wines.

• Continue to Kibbutz Magal for an Agri-tour - Begin with a tour of the kibbutz, followed by a visit to the “Netafim” plant and greenhouse innovation center. Netafim is the pride of Israel and the world’s leading irrigation company where drip irrigation was developed and smart irrigation solutions continue to have an immense impact globally. Enjoy a captivating visit to the “Masik” olive oil visitor center and taste a variety of olive oils while hearing from the experts involved in the growing process and production.

• Drive to Tel Aviv

• Dinner on your own - Play restaurant critic for a night - be prepared to review your meal with the others in your group!

• Rothschild 65 hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel

• Ronit Vered - Together with Ronit Vered, an Israeli food writer, editor and cook book author and an expert on Israeli and Jewish cuisine, survey the future trends related to food in Israel.

• Levinsky Market - The Levinsky Market specializes in spices and Mediterranean delicacies. It is, in many ways, the best market in Tel Aviv, known for its variety, freshness, and special atmosphere. Whether you are looking for a rare Indian spice or some good quality saffron - this is the place. Shops offer a cornucopia of excellent cheeses, smoked fish, wines, and other delicacies. Tour the market and have "tastings" throughout.

• Visit an urban roof-top garden in Ramat Gan - The Association for Urban Farming is a non-profit organization that aims to transform urban areas into self-sustaining food systems. Their goal is to create highly nutritious, locally grown produce that is accessible and available to all. Discover how the Association for Urban Farming has developed a large scale model, intended for replication, to increase local and sustainable food production and consumption in metropolitan areas.

• Dinner at HaBasta - This tiny restaurant and wine bar, just a clutch of round tables on an alley just off Carmel Market, draws its inspiration from the market's fresh offerings. You will be greeted by Maoz Alonim, chef and owner of HaBasta.

• Rothschild 65 hotel

Activities:

• Breakfast at your hotel

• Tour Old Jaffa - On a walk through Jaffa, discover the ancient and modern situated side-by-side. Stroll through the alleyways of the Old City filled with artist studios as well as archaeological discoveries. Discover which Jewish and Christian stories took place in the city.

• Carmel Market Tasting Tour - Head to Shuk Ha Carmel, the most famous of all Tel Aviv’s marketplaces. In recent years, it has even joined the ranks of Tel Aviv’s trendy spots for bars, restaurants, coffee shops and chef-owned food stalls.

• Asif: Culinary Institute of Israel - Asif is a non-profit organization and culinary center in Tel Aviv dedicated to cultivating and nurturing Israel’s diverse and creative food culture, a joint venture of the New York City-based Jewish Food Society and Tel Aviv’s Start-Up Nation Central.

• Final dinner at Gueta - On Jaffa's Jerusalem Boulevard, across from the Gesher Theater, Gueta restaurant keeps to its traditional Tripoli style of cooking, using old recipes that have been passed through generations.

• Transfer to the airport - L'hitraot! Farewell, we hope to host you again in our beautiful country!