Top Israeli chefs participate in Israeli food festival in the Deep South, thanks
to Partnership 2000. The chefs are pictures here with P2k Lay Leaders from New Orleans.

February 8, 2010 / 24 Shvat 5770

Three of Israel's top chefs brought a taste of Israel to the Deep South in early February under the auspices of Partnership 2000 (P2K), a Jewish Agency project that pairs Israeli regions with Jewish communities throughout the world.

The two week tour of the United States included a visit to Birmingham, Alabama, and New Orleans, Louisiana, P2k's partner cities with Rosh Ha’ayin in Israel. The partnership is between P2K and the Birmingham Jewish Federation and the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans.  In addition to participating in a festival of Israeli cooking – where the chefs whipped up authentic Israeli food and dessert for people to sample – they conducted workshops for different ages, met with locals (from the Jewish and broader community) and delivered the message of Israel and Partnership 2000 to all.

The chefs were also interviewed on American television, on Israel's "Good Morning Israel" Army Radio broadcast, and for a Jewish cook book, which is about to be published in the States. Throughout it all, they were able to share their message about food as a gateway to partnership.  

"We are here on a special mission to deepen the connection between the residents of Rosh Ha'ayin and the residents of Birmingham and New Orleans, America's true South. We all know that food is a language that connects people so in this way we are doing our part to strengthen ties between the Jewish people," said Oren Ravid, an expert in French cooking who has trained under such luminaries as Jacques Pepin and whose impressive resume includes a stint at New York's famed Le Bernardin restaurant.

Chef Galit Bertele, an award-winning pastry chef and owner of the café and pastry shop, Gaya Bertele in Petach Tikva, was moved by her participation in the tour. As a daughter of new immigrants, she stated that it was "…very emotional to be able to connect with my memories of my Jewish grandmother from Belgium and the shlichut (mission) of connecting with Jews from around the world.”

Noam Basson, a rising Israeli chef who has traveled the world to perfect the art of cooking meat, received high compliments for being able to connect his Yemenite origins into the flavors of the American Deep South.

“The initiative for this project and its success are the result of committed volunteers and professionals in all three communities. They deserve praise for making this project so successful,” said Einat Vivante, Partnership 2000 director of Rosh Ha'ayin – Birmingham-New Orleans. “Seeing the results of the connections made will insure the continuance of the bond of our three communities and the sense of family, shared by all”.