Since the outbreak of the war on October 7 there has been an outpour of solidarity among civilians, a desire to do our part. Chefs, farmers, and culinary figures from all around the country showed up at restaurants and other central kitchens to do what they do best: cook for Asif’s Chefs in Shifts | Food for the Frontline. They prepared meals for soldiers on their way to and from the front lines as well as civilians in need.
Food has always been a crucial element of war — Napoleon is famous for stating that an army marches on its stomach. But food is never just about nutrition. The chefs wanted to ensure soldiers would find comfort in their food and a sense of home. Many prepared chicken with their own personal twist. Below, six of the chefs explain the inspirations for their dish.
Yossi Shitrit – HIBA
Chicken may be underestimated in Israeli restaurants, but at home, it reigns supreme. Whenever I think of home, I always remember the chicken dishes my mother made. It embodies the essence of home, and that’s what we wanted to give the soldiers, a feeling of home, flavors they know and love, nothing too sophisticated. We combined chicken with preserved lemons, paprika, cumin and lots of garlic, made sure the chicken absorbed all the flavors, and sent it to roast in the oven.
Yahaloma Levi (Yahaloma Levi Catering)
My inspiration was sweet and sour chicken, but with a Mediterranean twist. I used local ingredients, because this is who I am — my kitchen is rooted in the place that shaped me as a person. The sauce has date molasses, orange juice, lemon juice, and Atlantic sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and some minced ginger and soy sauce, which I retained from the Asian origins of the dish. I used date molasses for sweetness, citrus for tang, and a lot of dried sage. I wanted to be able to quickly glaze the chicken, like when cooking Chinese duck, with a lovely thick sauce. Roasting it at a high temperature makes it wonderfully crispy on the outside, and succulent and juicy inside. We all eat chicken with potatoes at home, and I wanted them to have something a bit more special.
Tamar Cohen Tzedek (Cucina Hess 4)
I learned this recipe from a friend in Italy. His father used to make it. He would take a whole chicken, mix some chopped garlic and rosemary with salt, pepper, and olive oil, and massage the chicken under its skin. Then, when you put the chicken in the oven, the skin gets all crispy and flavorful, but the meat inside also gets all the salt, lemon and everything else it needs. I thought it would be nice to cook something like that for the soldiers, not just throw chicken thighs into the oven, but really treat each chicken individually, and I think it worked. It was important for me to express the essence of my cooking — which is not the seasoning, but the execution. This is how I work, that’s what’s important to me in the kitchen.
Erez Komarovsky (Erez & Hanan Catering)
I chose a recipe you don’t normally see in the army: chicken in pomegranate sauce with lots of pomegranate concentrate we made ourselves. Pomegranates remind me of my home and orchard, so for me, it was about adding a personal dimension into cooking for a large number of people who I don’t necessarily know. It’s also a very special chicken dish, something to make us forget those terrible aluminum trays we all wallowed in for months and many soldiers still get.
Hilel Tavakuli – Animar and Darya
I made chicken with a Persian lemon marmalade. It is an indispensable part of my kitchen, like a main artery that runs through the kitchen’s body, and it goes well with both simple and sophisticated dishes. It is a comforting flavor that always brings me back to my home, and I decided to use this special ingredient to make our soldiers feel that way, too.
Danna Lee Berman (Gan HaShikmim)
I made chicken infused with honey, lemon, and garlic, simply because I never got to eat it at home. I grew up in a South African family. We eat meat, a lot of meat, but not chicken. At my friends’ homes they always ate this delightful, slightly sweet chicken. To me, this is the essence of home and of being Israeli. In many Israeli homes you find this chicken in the oven, and I wanted our soldiers to feel at home.