Jorge Munoz, Project 20 Days By American Express
Shortly before we connect to Zoom, Jorge Munoz politely asks if we can get ahead of the conversation and start it right now. I agree, of course, but wonder why that quarter of an hour matters, and how tight his schedule is.
I know he's in Peru, and that the hands of the clock there will soon point to nine in the morning, but I have no idea what his day holds, where he'll cook and what the pressure level of the servis is. 15 minutes, despite what they have already said older than me, they are not always flutes and violins. In the world of monos, they are often knives and customers.
"Good morning from Cusco," he smiles through a screen with natural daylight that no smartphone can imitate, abruptly dismissing my assumptions, "I'm a little excited, because as soon as we finish I'm going up to Machu Picchu."
Landing with a smooth inner panel. Monoz (Photo: American Express)
"I read a little bit about the city and the country, tried to watch programs about your cuisine and realized that Tomer is one of the best chefs there is, but other than that I don't know anything."
Munoz, a Michelin-starred chef and a global career that gives Taylor Swift a fight, will land in Israel next week with a completely smooth internal panel. "Friends always told me I had to come eat in Tel Aviv, but this would be my first time. I read a little about the city and the country, tried to watch programs about your cuisine and realized that Tomer is one of the best chefs there is, but other than that I don't know anything."
"Tomer" is Tomer Tal, the chef who has been leading George & John's restaurant in recent years and stops – like Munoz in fact – just to cook in exotic places around the world, or to reap recognition from that very world. Together, the two are expected to lead 20 Days By American Express, the annual culinary project that has already become a must-see event, this time increasing to what can only be defined as an answer to the question "what would the fantasy of an Israeli-Latin Michelin restaurant look and feel like?"
Tears, dramas and an Israeli brawl, of course
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"Feel it." Monoz in action
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"I could have landed here with a suitcase full of my products and groceries, but what's the point and where's the logic?"
The basic answer, according to Munoz at least, is an early landing at Ben Gurion Airport and placing a confident finger on Tel Aviv's beating pulse. "I have about a week until opening dinner, and I need to feel it. Feel the people, feel the summer, feel the mood. I could have landed here with a suitcase full of my products and groceries, but what's the point and where is the logic?"
Instead, he admits, all he needs to get started is just three things: seafood, chili and lime. From there, the ceviche that so distinguishes his homeland develops a life of its own, considers the region and place, season and kitchen, and jumps up from the plate. "Two weeks ago I was in Monterey and we started with the intention of making Peruvian food with Mexican ingredients. We quickly decided to stop and change. You can't work like that, and it's less tasty. That's what will happen in Tel Aviv too," he explained, "Are there good tomatoes? Is there asparagus? Is the eggplant fresh? What fish came and how deep is the mutton? The base is there, the base is us, but we have to let the food do the talking."
Ready to fish? Tomer Tal (Photo: Nitzan Rubin)
"Tomer's and my menu is already quite closed, but I'm leaving room for change. I really want us to walk around the market together, maybe even go fishing, and decide instead what is right for us, and what is right for the meal."
This intriguing pop-up restaurant, from Round Table Concept and the toMIX experience site, is expected to open doors on June 8 at the NYX Hotel in Tel Aviv, and run, as the name seems to suggest, for twenty delicious days.
The tasting dinner will include ten courses of dew and monoz ("a talented chef I really wanted to collaborate with and bring to Israel," said Yair Bakier, the project's initiator, "Peruvian cuisine is very suitable for the Israeli palate, and I didn't have to think twice"), and the required wrap will be provided by cocktails by Spanish mixologist Santiago Ortiz, and desserts by Italian pastry chef Fabrizio Fioreni. Dream team.
"My menu and Tomer's are already pretty closed, but I'm leaving room for change," Munoz laughs while providing a warning to the Israeli colleague, "I really want us to walk around the market together, maybe even go fishing, and decide instead what is right for us, and what is right for the meal."
"Respect the place." Munoz
Munoz won a Michelin star when he led the El Bari Group's Pakta restaurant owned by Albert Adria in Barcelona, and has long been considered one of the best chefs in the world even without this distinguished anchor. He has been behind excellent Peruvian restaurants in Arezzo and Spain, including Astrid & Gaston in Lima, and is known for his spectacular combination of Latin and turbulent cuisine and more traditional classical techniques.
"I worked a lot and learned a lot during my years at Barcelona, but in order to rethink my direction and path, I had to leave. I was sitting at home and friends started calling me. "Come here" and "Come to us," so I packed a suitcase, got on a plane and in the past year I cooked in more than 15 restaurants around the world, Argentina and New York, for example, Ecuador and now Tel Aviv. Funny thing, that's the most time I've actually been in the kitchen, cooking, as opposed to the day-to-day work of managing a team and dealing with things they don't eat."
The market is waiting. Munoz in Peru
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"We just made a hot ceviche not far from here, with fish that came off the grill and chimichurri sauce. It's not traditional, obviously, but it's a dish that remembers and knows the tradition, and develops the next flavor on its basis."
All this should be reflected in the exciting fusion of Lima and Tel Aviv. "We plan to play around with Peruvian cuisine a little bit, but respect the people here and respect the locals," he described, "understand what to eat and how to eat and not forget that each place has its own culture, and you can't ignore it."
As an unofficial ambassador of his country, he knows what is expected of him, but has also learned well how to deal with expectations, and channel them to the plate. "Peru is not just ceviche, we have a lot of things and we have to show that of course. It's the flagship dish, okay, but this is exactly the moment to show that ceviche is just a concept, the basis of the taste of the whole country," he explained, raising the bar of salivation, "We just made a hot ceviche not far from here, with fish that came off the grill and chimichurri sauce. It's not traditional, obviously, but it's a dish that remembers and knows the tradition, and develops the next flavor on its basis."
Land, and smile. Munoz
His next step, after all these takeoffs and landings, is the completion of renovations at his new Mexican-Peruvian restaurant, and the launch of the laptop above it, near the country's northern coastline.
Even before that round of the market and the expected fishing morning arrive, but beyond that he refuses to plan, organize and determine. "I don't want to close anything before I get to you," he explained with a smile, already prepared for Machu Picchu, "I'm going to spend almost a month in a new country that I don't know and just want to enjoy the experience, get to know a different culture and smile. I'm coming to be a sponge, what's better than that?"
20 Days By American Expres, June 08-30, NYX Hotel, Harakevet 29, Tel Aviv. The tasting dinner costs NIS 459 per diner (including dessert, water, coffee and tea, not including drinks), and American Express customers enjoy a NIS 100 presale benefit. Reservations here
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