From the drug drop to the "Next Restaurant" final: Finalist Idan Bouchary has been revealed
Dropping out of school, working in a bakery in the morning and meeting chef Assaf Granit, who changed his life: Just before he competes in the final of "Israel's Next Restaurant", Idan Bouchari speaks
Mickey Levin, Maariv
12/04/2022
Tuesday, 12 April 2022, 09:48 Updated: 09:54
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Israel's next restaurant (Photo: Network 13)
About a decade ago, Idan Boushari, known as "Pompeii", appeared for the first season of the cooking reality "Chef Games".
He did not pass the first audition, but met there who became his professional and personal mentor, Assaf Granit.
The chef taught him the secrets of the kitchen and he was the right man at the right time in the hardest moment of his life.
Today, ten years later, Pompey closes the circle when she competes head-to-head with Rinat Yinsman in the grand final of "Israel's Next Restaurant", which will be broadcast tonight (21:15) on the 13th network. At home it will be the one who will decide who will get the next restaurant for a whole year, Pompey knows this is a unique opportunity.
"It's very exciting," he says a moment before the final.
"I knew I would reach high stages in the competition, I did not know I would get that far. When you work so hard for many years, then these are the fruits that the tree yields. I invest a lot in my profession. I go out when the sun shines and come back when the sun shines."
Your personal and professional connection with granite has caused many to raise an eyebrow.
Convince me he did not know about your participation in the program.
"Assaf did not know about my casting, period. I did not tell anyone I was accepted. I also signed a confidentiality agreement. It was important to me and the production that they see the surprise effect of Assaf. He is not a person who fakes, he is very authentic. There is nothing more fun than surprising someone you I was 21 when I went to auditions for 'Chef Games', and I did not pass. Assaf took me and said to me: 'I will tear you apart, and after a few years you will be so good that you can choose the path for yourself' At Granite's Mahniuda restaurant. It's been ten years, and now it's my place to prove that what Assaf said really happened. So I saw that there was a new program, I did not know Assaf was part of it, I will win and even if I do not. "
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Bushari (Photo: Screenshot, Network 13)
How was your relationship with Granite during the filming of the show?
"First of all, we took three steps back. We do not talk every day, the conversation between us has been significantly reduced. We have moved away. I do not see Assaf, he is not at all in the restaurants I am in. He comes once a month to do a round and is a lot abroad.
Assaf chose not to vote for me twice in the program.
It is important for us to separate the closest personal part in front of the competition, and to play fair not only in front of the spectators but towards the other contestants.
I'm just waiting for the program to end to go back and share with him the things I'm going through. "
The question of whether you reached the final thanks to connections puts you in an awkward place, doesn't it?
"
I have higher demands than the other contestants.
Assaf also knows me and knows what I am capable of, so he expects me to double from others. "
You are one of his dedicated and good employees, why would Assaf release you from his business so easily?
"If there's a good student, will you leave him a grade so he does not progress? It's true that collecting is a little hard to let go of, and he's even afraid I'll continue on my way, but not from a place that does not support me And in connection. "
did not know.
Granite (Photo: Screenshot, Network 13)
Bushari (31) was born and raised in Raanana with four brothers.
His father has a kiosk in Ramat Gan, and the mother is an arts coordinator at a day center for the elderly.
As a child, Bushari was unable to integrate into the educational framework.
"I was a child who had a hard time with the school system," he says.
"I did not find myself. I was a child who did not attend classes, who suffers from attention deficit disorders, and then the class progresses in the material and a big gap is created. I did not feel a sense of belonging.
How did you get to the kitchen?
"I needed a frame so as not to disperse, and at the age of 13 I started working in a bakery with a family friend. While all the friends would go out on the big holiday, I would ride my bike at four in the morning to the bakery to make baguettes and croissants. Sunday morning at the bakery and I see a small green box that big companies would send as gifts to customers. And there was a chef's jacket. I picked up, measured and said, 'I want to be a chef.' He was huge on me, and I decided I was working with him. "Improving myself, I moved to an Italian restaurant, I learned to make handmade pastas. I would also cook a lot at home for my parents."
As mentioned, in a meeting with Granit at the auditions for "Chef's Games", he received an offer that is hard to refuse: "Behind the scenes, he offered me to come to Jerusalem, to Mahniuda. Culinary ".
But just then Bushari left for New York to experience new kitchens, where he began using drugs.
"I flew to New York because I wanted to move forward and learn more cultures and new tastes," he says.
"I worked as a chef in a restaurant, and something happened there that made me run away and get to know a bad world. I was missing the family, I was missing the Mahniuda staff, and it made me try to suppress my feelings. I used it every day for months on end. The use is very expensive. "My priorities have changed. Suddenly I prefer to live in a one-room apartment and only continue to use. By the end I have already lost control."
I learned to recognize my feelings.
Bushari (Photo: Screenshot, Network 13)
With Granit's help, Bushari was able to get his life back on track.
"I ran out of all the money, and I remember myself looking for four 25-cent coins to buy a pizza triangle," he says.
"Then I said to myself, 'Okay, I need help and I have to get out of here.' They got me a plane ticket and I returned to Israel.
What did you learn during the detox period?
"I learned that drug use is a result, a symptom. If I was happy, I would use. And if I was sad, too. I learned to acknowledge my feelings and express them. I was also surprised to find that there are lots of places willing to accept me with open arms and free, and anyone who wants help needs only one Let him listen to him. One adult who will believe in him. "
Where does it meet you today?
"Today it's already behind me, and I try to bury it deep in the sand, even though it's always going to be who I am, and thanks to that I've become alert. I look ahead and want to mess with other things, but also not forget it. In the end, I see it As a positive story, with taking responsibility for my life and looking ahead. "
Is that why you chose the name "Mileage" for your new restaurant?
"I went a long way, and I learned, and I saw, and I tasted, and I touched, and that's also part of what I try to convey to at-risk youth. You have to go through to do something, and even if you learn and you feel ready, the road is not over. ".
What will be the culinary line in your restaurant?
"Israeli food is seasonal. I am very connected to the land, and I tried to find my believing self. My kitchen made me create flavors of the Israeli mosaic, without one specific cuisine. My father is Yemeni, so my mother makes him Yemeni soup at home - but with kneadlech. It What I produce today, I'm not Indian, but can make sea fish tartare with papadam. If there is squid, then I make him a harima sauce. For me, a winning dish is a dish that tells the story. Good food is not enough, you have to talk through the dish, too. If the diner takes an active part in it, scrapes himself or pours a sauce or mixes with his hands. "
Why do you think you deserve to win?
"I will not let you take me out arrogant. Let the best of us win - the main thing is that the competition will be sporty. I have a lot of respect for Rinat, she brings Indian food, and it is new in Israel, even though she has no experience. "
What happens if you do not win?
"No matter what happens, I want to continue to do what I love and develop in it. I want to leave a mark on Israeli cuisine. My big dream for many years has been to open a cooking school, and I'm sure one day I will fulfill it. A restaurant is also a dream, I "I do it every day and it's very fun to know that I may have my own restaurant, but even if I get it, I will not stop there."
And what about more dreams?
"I want to start a family with my partner Gal. These are things I would not have thought of before, and today they are at the top of my mind."
Proposal of marriage?
"There are plans, but enough, are you trying to ruin my secrets?"
Say, why are you actually called Pompey?
"I have a collection of over 100 grates. The grater has four different sides but no two sides are the same, and so there is nothing wrong with food, right or wrong. You can do whatever you believe in."
culture
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Israeli television
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The next restaurant