In Search of Israeli Cuisine is a ninety-six documentary reminiscent of food travelogue series such as Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown except it is solely focused on Israel and seeks to answer the question of whether or not there is such a thing as Israeli cuisine? Mike Solomonov, an American Israeli chef, is our tour guide in answering this question.
Is Solomonov a household name? Do you know who he is? I did not, and I do not recall hearing or seeing his name at any point while watching In Search of Israeli Cuisine, only after I read about it post viewing. While the documentary does include clips where Solomonov briefly references his personal journey, I do not think that he is well known enough to omit explicit references to his name or at least show him in his restaurant, Zahav. Maybe he insisted and is a really humble man who preferred to shine the spotlight on others, but every person interviewed briefly got their name on screen so it was the least that the filmmakers could do. He was casually vulnerable about grief and addiction in a way that did not feel as if it was the exploitive reality show route, which I appreciated. When he is offered wine, he explains that he is allergic then self-deprecatingly explains that he ends up in handcuffs. He struck me as an affable, easy-going guy. I loved Bourdain, but he did enjoy being a mischievous class clown type looking for attention on occasion. Unfortunately this lack of formal introduction leads to repetitiveness sprinkled throughout the film.
In Search of Israeli Cuisine is organized, but could have used some tightening so the transitions were instinctual. The first section is food as a reflection of the population’s autobiography with emphasis on the European Jewish immigrant. Then the documentary examines how the food is a reflection of the region-mountainous, near the ocean, etc.
In Search of Israeli Cuisine tentatively addresses the elephant in the room, which affects the front of the house, but tries to keep it light, and as if food is a neutral meeting ground in the kitchen. Each section gives Solomonov an excuse to visit a restaurant, interview the owner and/or chef then have that person show their signature dish, and in this section, he interviews Arab chefs, one was married to a Moroccan Israeli. Solomonov is a chef and an Israeli so don’t expect much more than generalizations and platitudes. Bourdain was a rare, incisive and perceptive world traveler in his empathetic ability to grasp both sides of a conflict, dive into it and almost forget food in the process. This documentary is all about food, and I imagine that even if Solomonov is the most open-minded Israeli in the world, people are going to be hesitant to speak frankly or in detail about their struggles, especially out of concern that it could alienate what patrons they have. He does not have the tools to approach the topic, and they have to survive.
Similarly In Search of Israeli Cuisine tries to address a conflict which may not be well known to viewers who are not Jewish between Sephardic Jews and Ashkenazi Jews. I am not Jewish so pardon me if the following summary is inaccurate and feel free to correct me, but it is a difference based on which continent a person’s ancestors came from-Africa, which can include parts of Spain and Portugal, or Europe. Again the documentary falls into a bit of repetitiveness since the beginning of the documentary addresses the latter and its association with bad food, shame over poverty and having to immigrate. I understand why this section is adjacent to the Arab Israeli conflict, but it should have appeared in the beginning with an equal amount of airtime to Sephardic Jews. Ashkenazi Jews dominate the speaking parts of the documentary, but in every segment, I could see plenty of brown and black faces in the kitchen. This omission was probably organic because Solomonov and the restaurant owners and/or chefs predominantly had families from Eastern Europe, but just like the Arab Israeli conflict, it is easy to say that food is not political when you are not the person picking the tomato and if it is similar to the US, not getting proper wages for it. The people in the back of the house probably had a lot to say, and some appeared to be Ethiopian, but again if it is like the US, the people actually responsible for cooking the food may have different insight about food, but because they do not have positions in which their thoughts are considered, like the Arab Israeli segment, we get to hear more about them from the Israeli or Ashkenazi side than in their own words. I do not think that there is any ill intent, but just like history can end up being a story about institutional leaders, not average people, this documentary ends up being about the majority stakeholders.
The final section of In Search of Israeli Cuisine felt as if it was a return to the regional section, which shows that the way that the narrative momentum needed some work. For example, a cheese maker is referenced early in the film when a chef is looking for a parmesan substitute. It would have been the perfect time to segue into learning more about the cheese maker and visiting the cave where the cheese matures, but instead Solomonov visits the cave near the end of the film. I saw an occasional complaint about the film dragging at the end, and I do not think that it is dragging per se, but viewers are registering that section as repetitive whereas it is drilling down into the region by exploring how the food is created. Side note: as a cheese lover, I was pissed that I did not get to hear more cheese names, especially the parmesan substitute, other than feta, which I adore, but give me names so I can find it and eat it. It was a real marketing miss. We hear how the cheese is handled, but Solomonov fails to provide insight on how the cheese tastes different depending on the method used in the final stage. We cannot taste the food, and Solomonov assumed throughout the documentary that we would know how different dishes would taste by seeing it. He needs to work on using words to describe the taste.
Similarly when In Search of Israeli Cuisine focuses on the issue of Orthodox practicing Israeli’s having a disproportionate influence on a mostly secular cuisine, it felt as if it belonged in the Tel Aviv section, which distinguished itself as a more secular city than Jerusalem. I am uncertain where it would fit, but it was fascinating to see how olive oil is made and irrigation techniques for wine, especially since the area is so arid.
If you love food and travel shows, definitely check out In Search of Israeli Cuisine on Amazon Prime, but if you are looking for a documentary which will also provide deeper insights on race, religion and socioeconomic issues, scale back your expectations. The editing needed work, but if you are well rested, you should be able to stay focused though you will still be tempted to pick up your smartphone.
