This is the most magical time to travel to the Valley of the Springs

A boutique dairy open on Saturdays, a stunning bakery overlooking a one-time view, and a delicious local and seasonal meal.

3 fun recommendations in one of the most beautiful areas in the country, especially at this time of year

Yael Laor

18/02/2022

Friday, 18 February 2022, 07:30 Updated: 07:54

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The Arches Bridge over the Jordan River (Photo: Yael Laor)

The anemones bloom in red south, the snow shines white on Mount Hermon, but rather the area of ​​the Valley of the Springs, which may have been forgotten a bit at this time of year, is greener and more beautiful than ever.

We jumped in there this week and came back with three delicious culinary recommendations with added value.

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To the full article

Barkanit's cheeses (Photo: Yael Laor)

Barkanit Dairy, Kfar Yehezkel

In the village of Yehezkel is the Barkanit Boutique Dairy.

The couple Michal and Avinoam Berkin founded it in 1978, so it is one of the first boutique dairies in the country.

25 years ago she joined next to the dairy, the cheese shop inside a rustic wooden hut.

In the dairy itself, the goat's milk is pasteurized daily, chopped in the traditional and old way, aged in all the cheese as needed, and then packed.

Some of the cheeses are taken to restaurants, markets, and select stores and some arrive at the adjacent store.

Next to the store, a pleasant and open space, here the Barkin couple also host the visitors on Friday-Saturday, on picnic benches, overlooking the herd of goats playing there for their enjoyment, some of which are only a week old.

Visitors are invited to open a table with the best cheeses of the place, alongside crackers and jams, all made in the area.

Michal and Avinoam Berkin (Photo: Yael Laor)

"When we started," says Michal, "Avinoam Paster himself made all the cheeses, he would drive to Tel Aviv twice a week with our private Volvo. .

The Barkin couple began to learn the secrets of the world of cheese in France, then Avinoam went on to various trainings, they traveled to Cyprus, Switzerland and Germany, and continued to enrich their knowledge over the years.

Today the dairy is the family business, the Barkin couple have four children And engaged in the wine business, but the other three children got involved in the family business - the eldest son in marketing, and the other son and daughter - in the dairy itself, pasteurizing, making the cheeses, secondary, whatever it takes.

Open a table on the picnic benches, and watch the goats (Photo: Yael Laor)

Barkanit has 17 different types of cheese, most of them hard and old-fashioned - St. Mohr of two types - black and white, hidden blue cheese, oval tom cheese with wine, cheese with chili, and the latest innovation - emmental cheese - emmental made from goat's milk.

The cheeses are all very delicate, and not aggressive.

This is a lovely place to get to with the kids on Friday-Saturday, snack on some cheeses with wine, hear the couple's stories, enjoy the playful sight of the goats (there is also a horse farm nearby), and just breathe some other air.

Bread Legend, Magical Location (Photo: Screenshot, Instagram Bread Legend)

Bread legend, Naharayim on the bridge

In the north of the Springs Valley, in front of the Gilad and Jordan Mountains, where the original Kibbutz Gesher was located, what is today called "The Old Bridge", a "legend of bread" opened a cafe and bakery about a month ago, where the kibbutz bakery was located. .

Ziv Fruchtman, a chef by profession, who worked at the Malgo and Malbar restaurants, after a round of work at restaurants abroad, returned to his birthplace - the nearby village of Ruppin during the Corona period. Although it has already been seized by the Jacob's Farm Cafe in the Hefer Valley, there is no connection between the places, but the inscription "Legend of Bread" has already been placed there with an iron inscription, and out of respect for the creator it was decided to keep the name.

The same stone oven from 1924 that was used by the members of the kibbutz, Fruchtman managed to use and he now bakes sourdough bread in it.

In the days of the Corona, he conducted pizza workshops for children.

In the meantime the workshops have stopped (will return later), but the magical cafe is now open to the public on Tuesdays-Fridays offering breakfasts and a selection of pastries, facing one of the most beautiful landscapes in the country, especially at this time of year, all around green and blooming.

On the menu, apart from different types of breads and pastries, yeast cakes and pretzels, there are several breakfast options to choose from (NIS 39-67), various dips like ciziki, egg salad, eggplant pesto and more, egg dishes, cheese platters, daily soups and salads.

Bread legend, do not warm up Guided tour of the site (Photo: screenshot, Instagram Bread legend)

The cafe is located inside the beautiful and fascinating tourist site "Nahariyim Gesher".

The site offers guided tours, with special observation points where you can hear the historical story of the area that has been a transit route for thousands of years, on the border between Israel and Jordan, the Nahariya power station and the ancient bridges over the Jordan.

The tour also offers a spectacular audio-visual presentation with lights, water and dams, which tells the story of the first Israeli "start-up" of the hydroelectric power station established by Pinchas Rotenberg.

As well as an impressive display in the kibbutz's original dining room.

The site is an attraction in itself, the tours, the beautiful vantage points on the Jordan River, the Arches Bridge, the green hills.

In the evenings there is sometimes a special lantern tour for children.

You should check the website.

The visitor center is open on Saturdays (admission is free on Saturdays), but guided tours must be arranged in advance.

The cafe is kosher and is not open on Saturdays.

Rotenberg Restaurant (Photo: Yael Laor)

A delicious meal at the Rotenberg restaurant, the old bridge

Rotenberg Restaurant, which this year won the title of "Best Restaurant in Israel" at the Israeli Cuisine Awards Ceremony, has changed its concept in recent months, and now offers a tasting menu only.

The dishes are all in the spirit of Rotenberg, who speaks the language of freshness, seasonal and local.

It is impossible to reach Rothenberg without strolling a bit in the impressive garden of the place.

Over the past few years, the couple, Hila and Yizhar Sahar, have established an agricultural plot and planted edible plants, herbs and fruit trees.

The plot has developed and now numbers about five dunams of agricultural produce and wild gathering, which Sahar and his staff use in cooking a large part of the restaurant's dishes.

For a meal in Rothenberg you have to come with quite a bit of patience, it is a meal that takes time, and you need to get there comfortably.

In the evening, the tasting menu consists of thirteen dishes and in the afternoon five dishes.

The entire menu is a song of praise for seasonal and local cooking, with the tasting meal wrapping together the flavors, colors and aromas of the Jordan valleys and northern mountains and drawing inspiration from the local, animal and plant history that characterizes the region.

Mussar Yam from Rotenberg's delicious meal (Photo: Yael Laor)

We visited the place in the afternoon, unlike the obligatory 13-course evening menu, the lunch menu is lighter, and properly constructed, it counts besides bread, three entrees, main and dessert.

The menu is varied, it has fish, meat and vegetarian dishes (in our case we ate parsley root soup and pearl barley, pickled white palmida, and lamb neck roast, mainly a choice between shredded chicken with potatoes and snow peas for sea bass with fried polenta and cauliflower). But the dishes change daily, there is no menu, and diners have to specify in advance, what they eat and what not, and the kitchen staff adapts itself.The different dishes use a variety of techniques, from traditional to contemporary, such as drying, fermenting, pickling and more.The menu is dictated by seasons This year, the available agricultural supply, collection and various pantry products.

Next month, a wine bar called "Avner" will open in the magical courtyard of the Rotenberg restaurant, offering afternoon and evening local wine alongside snacks from the restaurant's kitchen, so you can also hop in for a less demanding meal.

The restaurant is open Monday-Friday, noon 13 : 00-15: 00 - A five-course tasting meal with coffee at the end - NIS 185 per diner, evening 19: 00 - a thirteen-course tasting meal - a welcome cocktail in the restaurant garden, and NIS 325 coffee per diner

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• the valley of Springs

• Jordan Valley

• bridge

• dairy

• Rothenberg

• Rothenberg Kibbutz Gesher