We often and like to treat Jerusalem as a tempting and worthy culinary stronghold, many with its bustling entertainment venues and excellent restaurants.
But sometimes, in the weary routine of our lives, we seek for ourselves a rural and pastoral pastime without being far from the city.
A short foray into delicious green spaces, and back to the concrete and density.
That's exactly why I went out for 24 hours in the mountains of Jerusalem, so close to the city but so far.
Apart from well-known points of interest, such as the iconic oriental restaurants of Abu Ghosh, I also walked in other districts, and even discovered a delicious natural corner right at the entrance to Jerusalem.
Itiela's track
I do not need to introduce you to Iitala Hyatt, but I still want to tell you about the winner of the ninth season of "Master Chef" from a different point of view, my point of view.
Although Ithiela the Mountain Girl is an undisputed star of one of the most successful reality shows in Israel, she is much more than that.
With her thrilling win Ithiela decided to stay true to the original, true to herself.
"A format like 'Master Chef' gives a huge boost, and I decided to use it to build myself in my own way, in the culinary industry," she said.
"I have no interest in stars. I do not want to be a public opinion leader or 'Instagrammer'. I love working in social media in particular and in media in general, as a companion to my work in the kitchen."
There is maturity and maturity in this, knowing that hard and thorough work establishes a person's work and from there one can grow, flourish and prosper.
The track she placed near the greenhouses of the family business "Yerukleh" in Moshav Mata - tailor-made exactly to her measurements.
It is a food business for everything, demanding and economical.
But it also allows a mother of three who is a creative person - like Ithiela - to express herself due to his limited hours of activity.
The track is only open on Fridays and offers a variety of pastries, sandwiches, vegetables and such, wonderful cakes and basically what Ithiala wants to cook and bake that week.
"Wednesday is dough day. I work on leavening, folding and rolling and preparing the infrastructure for the pastries. On Thursday I work on all the necessary preparations and plan the baking schedule a lot, including night baking," Ithiela describes the week's routine.
On Friday at 9:00, a queue of curious and hungry people is already winding up for him on the track.
Towards spring and summer, Ithiela plans to return to cooking such and such pop-up evenings, so that we can enjoy her handiwork on other occasions as well.
Ithiela's track, Moshav Mata, Fridays from 9:00 until the end.
Ityala Hyatt, Photo: Maya Darin
Elismin
It's been a while since everyone around me has been talking about the tahini and halva of Chef Kamal Hashalmon in Abu Ghosh.
He began his career slowly until he humbled himself in the kitchen of Yoram Nitzan in the legendary "Mol Yam", and then made a name for himself as a chef at the St. George Hotel on the seam between Jerusalem and its eastern side, left the kitchens, and about five years ago opened The "Elismin" tahini stronghold.
The small shop is an independent cloth house, where sesame seeds are ground for grinding in a traditional and measured manner.
This is literally a tahini workshop.
He learned the secrets of tahini in Nablus and also in more distant districts.
All this to grind four different types of tahini: a wonderful, delicate and sweet white tahini;
Whole sesame tahini, which excels in its delicacy;
Roasted sesame tahini, which boasts a range of deep and bitter flavors;
And black sesame tahini, powerful and shiny.
Apart from the different types of tahini, crazy challah chunks are also on display, made from a very high concentration of tahini.
There are rose and chewing gum halva, coffee bean halva, pistachio halva, roasted coconut halva, cocoa halva and even a halva combined with especially delicious Belgian chocolate.
The use of regular sugar without substitutes and sweeteners so profitable in the industry - gives the halwa of the salmon a very delicate sweetness and a distinct taste of sesame.
You can also find on the shelf roasted sesame oil, which is produced during the grinding process of the roasted tahini, a yogurt stone that has become a hit, local honey and more.
Elisamin, Photo: Maya Darin
Adanya
If you still stay in the capital itself and are looking for a slightly different entertainment atmosphere - get to know "Adanya", a deli in the heart of the Jerusalem Botanical Garden.
The wide-margined place is surrounded by a nursery and a greenhouse of plants and flowers, and boasts an abundance of produce from local producers.
The chef and owner, Nadav Malin, continues to carefully select the raw materials and delicacies sold at the place in order to reach, one day, a very precise mix of products from the Jerusalem Trower in particular and the Land of Israel in general.
To emphasize the freshness of the materials and the vision of Nadav, one of the leaders of the slow-food movement in Israel, the place also operates on the basis of a deli-kitchen - the kitchen that relies on the deli's products offers a light menu that combines fresh food prepared from the deli's products.
On the menu, for example: a tray of boutique cheeses, a plate of smoked fish, mini sandwiches and also muesli with Meirav's granola, pure silane quarry and sheep yogurt from Ivri Dairy.
The place has a selection of fine Israeli wines, beers and even an organic trimmings drink from Groper and excellent "third generation" coffee from Agrocapa, fresh pastas, salads from a selection of vegetables seasoned with a spectacular olive oil from Harvest Sickle and more.
When the curatorial phase of the place ends, various content events will also be held as part of a knowledge center on the subject of conscious food - a local producers' market, hosting workshops, special meals and lectures.
There will also be collaborations with neighboring manufacturers from the Jerusalem area, collection tours and more.
University Botanical Garden, Yehuda Burla 1, Jerusalem.
Elisamin, Photo: Maya Darin
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