Like many other areas, Israelis' food consumption patterns also changed significantly under the influence of the Iron Swords War.
In the early days of the war, many consumers naturally preferred to order more home or office deliveries, compared to visiting restaurants.
Even after restaurants reopened, the national mood kept people congregating at home.
A notable change that can be pointed out due to the war is the choice of foods that are perceived as "comforting" and more emotionally encouraging, which made ice cream, for example, the official national consolation, and in the first weeks of the security tensions there was a 70% increase in ice cream orders in Israel.
Food consumption following the war, photo: no credit
And the sweet licks are not alone: according to the data of the delivery platform Volt, the leading dish in the field of deliveries since the beginning of the war is the French fries.
It is followed by, in descending order, shawarma, chicken nuggets, hamburger, schnitzel and pizza.
The dinners were brought early
Ben Feldman, manager of the restaurant department at Walt Israel, explains the change that took place in the consumption of food in deliveries from restaurants throughout the months of the war.
"All of Israel woke up to the illusory reality on October 7, and it should be noted that 50% of the businesses were unable to open their doors at the beginning of the war. When it all started, we had to understand how we were keeping our partners safe, and it was clear to us that we remained active.
The frequency of ordering deliveries has increased, photo: Koko
"We operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We have more than 7,000 businesses that we work with and more than 15,000 couriers, and we have made many changes to our system to provide the necessary response to the situation.
"In terms of consumption patterns, we noticed a lot of changes in the first weeks of the war. If we are normally used to receiving orders for offices during the lunch hours, since October 7 we have seen more orders for homes and families, along with an increase in children's meals.
"Also, there have been changes in the normal ordering hours. There is usually a backlog of orders early in the morning, from bakeries, and during the war this is less likely. On normal days, lunches are ordered for the office and home around 11:30, but during the war the time was late. On the other hand, the evening meals were brought forward Normally, as a routine, the invitations for the evening are received between 19:00 and 22:00, but in the first month of the war we saw an advance to 21:00-18:00.
"In terms of supermarkets, we initially saw a phenomenon of hoarding on the part of consumers, mainly because of the misunderstanding regarding the directives of the Home Front Command. We then saw a large consumption of snacks and sweets, mineral water, canned goods and more."
According to Feldman, after the tense period, there is now a welcome trend of returning to normal in terms of food consumption patterns.
"Unfortunately for all of us, at the beginning of the war dozens of restaurants had to close their doors permanently. It was sad. But today more and more people are coming to spend time in Tel Aviv, the offices are filling up again and schools have returned to functioning."
Ice cream as consolation, photo: Boaz Lavi
Feldman presents the segmentation of the cities in terms of Walt's activity following the situation: "Three months ago we closed the Kiryat Shmona area to deliveries, and unfortunately we are still not active there. We also closed Ashkelon at first, but since then we have slowly returned. There the closure was more due to the business's decision not to to open in the first stages of the tensions".
The luxury restaurants have not yet recovered
Eitan Singer, CEO of the Sibus-Flexi company, which specializes in employee benefits, says that the war period is divided into two in terms of consumption.
It affected quite a few percentages when sitting in restaurants, and the first to be affected were the dinners.
This therefore affected the high-end restaurants more drastically.
"It was a very dramatic month, which affected the psyche of every Israeli, and the restaurants were one of the first factors to feel it. Only after a month, in mid-November, we saw a return to normality alongside the war. The people of Israel will adapt, in the best sense of the word. The mood is still heavy and challenging, And we all experience it as citizens, but there is a noticeable return to restaurants and the previous patterns of consumption, i.e. the restaurants that are open in the evening, lunches and all types of cuisine and entertainment as escapism."
An increase in ordering hamburgers, photo: Niv -Mayo
According to Singer, in the first week of the war, restaurant occupancy dropped to a low of almost 10% compared to the period before it.
"It was a shock, but later on the trend stabilized. After this month it was already 20% for restaurants and 80% for deliveries, and now it is 40% compared to 60%, which is actually the normal and routine cake. Today the patterns are really similar to the months of July-September before The war. There is a return to physical sitting in restaurants, and the order for a diner is 47 shekels on average - no change compared to the corresponding period last year."
Singer explains that damage is still evident in luxury restaurants.
"There are fewer guests and delegations from abroad, and less joy to celebrate events such as birthdays.
Those who pay the price are the luxury restaurants, which are accustomed to such hospitality.
They haven't returned to normal yet, and I estimate that this is a 20% decrease in their occupancy now.
They enjoy a lot when the general atmosphere is happy and positive, and move quickly from side to side depending on the mood.
If the average order per diner in the popular restaurants has recovered - in the luxury restaurants this is still not happening."
In terms of trends, Singer says: "There was a conquering trend at the beginning, and it was the demand for Israeli food. This is especially evident in restaurants where the owner was called to reserve service and the spouse remained to manage the place. The orders from these places were based on Israeli solidarity and a strong sense of nationalism. Even now It still exists."
The victims - Ashkelon and Ashdod
According to the data of the "Ontopo" company, which specializes in maximizing seating in restaurants and automating online reservations, the most decorated cities in the field are Tel Aviv, Rishon Lezion, Jerusalem, Haifa and Petah Tikva.
In contrast, the cities affected, with a 50% drop in orders during the war, are Ashkelon and Ashdod.
According to Daniel Mostaki, the director of "Ontopo" Israel, with the beginning of the war, in October, there was a sharp decrease of about 65% in restaurant occupancy and demand all over the country, compared to October 2022. In November, a recovery began in the center of the country, but there was still a 22% decrease compared to November 2022.
"In December, on the other hand, following the temporary ceasefire that was reached, and also following the fact that most Israelis stayed in Israel and did not fly for Hanukkah, Christmas, and New Year holidays abroad, there was an increase in demand and orders for restaurants, totaling 10-15% compared to the previous December" .
And the most requested recipe is:
Even in the field of searching for recipes there was a change in trends following the war.
If during the Corona period, for example, the hit Ha'Tor was a recipe for baking challah for the ceremony of parshat challah, during the "Iron Swords" period, Hashel donuts were placed in first place.
According to Google data, the most trending recipes after Haschel donuts were "Kinder rolled" cookies, dry pea soup, orchid, potato fritters, grits soup, sponge and green lentil soup.
It should be noted that the demand for some of the dishes was affected by the Hanukkah holiday.
Eliran Levy, a spokesperson for Google in Israel, adds that the most requested recipe in the entire 2023 weigh-in was also a recipe for the challah ceremony, as in Corona.
It is followed, surprisingly, by recipes for horseradish, Kinder rolls, horseradish soup, shepherd's pie, Benitza pie, creamed potato, cornflakes crunch, nuggets and vanilla cake.
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