It probably did not escape your attention that I visited Tel Aviv! The purpose of this trip was to check out the hotel, meet the chefs who will host our workshops, visit all the restaurants we will eat at, meet people who will take care of our transport to places we will visit outside Tel Aviv and so on. It has been a week since I returned, so it is high time to tell you a bit more about my experiences and meetings.

Let me start by telling you about the hotel were we will stay during our culinary trips to Tel Aviv. Worth mentioning maybe that in the 35 years I have been visiting Israel, this actually was my first time in a hotel (I always stay at my best friends’ place) and I thoroughly enjoyed it! What a lovely place, a cosy and warm welcome straight away when you enter the lobby, which feels like a home. Comfy furniture, plants, free coffee, tea, cold water whenever you want, fresh fruit and cake every afternoon at 16:00 hours, a library of books for you to read while in the background the comforting sound of a soft waterfall integrated in the immense front window creates a relaxed atmosphere. 

The friendliest of staff, willing to help at any time, breakfast served on the roof terrace with a splendid sea-view. All of this located 250 steps (yes I counted them!) from the beach, the highlights of Tel Aviv all in the vicinity. However, because it is located in a small quiet street, a good night sleep is guaranteed.

One tick in the box for the accommodation!

The next thing on my list was meeting the chefs with whom we will have the workshops. There will be three different workshops at three different places and during my trip I received word that I had to find an alternative for one of the workshops.

My first meeting was with Keren, who will be hosting our baking workshop. She will teach you how to bake beautiful chala’s (braided bread), how to bake plantbased cakes and all the tips and tricks necessary for a good dough. She treated me to the warmest of welcomes in a beautiful spot behind an enchanting door. Keren was very excited about our idea of culinary plantbased trips to Tel Aviv and straight away started thinking about a replacement for the third workshop. It feels like I have made a new friend and I am excited for you to meet her too and taste her lovely food.

The second workshop is behind this lovely façade and again I was met with great heartfelt enthusiasm and excitement about our culinary trips to the plantbased capital of the world.

Here too, plenty of excellent ideas about how to create a unique and wonderful experience for our guests. During our meeting I was served shakshuka with broccoli and cauliflower, the mere thought of this dish makes me drooling all over again 😋.

Our third workshop was planned to be in Tel Aviv too, but unfortunately it had to be cancelled for this season. However with the help of Keren I found an inspiring lady, again one of Israel’s greatest chefs, two cookbooks to her credit and if that wasn’t enough, a dancer. She lives in the most wonderful place, in beautiful surroundings north of Tel Aviv.

I consider it to be an absolute privilege to be able to come to her home and to learn to prepare excellent food in her kitchen. This is the ultimate way to experience the authentic Israeli food and people. We had a wonderful meeting, again such a warm welcome, with food (of course) and she gave me both her cookbooks as a present to take home. We said goodbye with a big hug.

Yet again three big ticks in the box!

During the journey back to Tel Aviv a huge feeling of gratitude washed over me. 

Two years ago when I came up with the idea of organizing culinary trips to Tel Aviv, I could never have dreamed of so many positive reactions and such enthusiasm. I can only wish for you to experience all of this too.

There is only way to accomplish that and that is to join us on of our trips to Tel Aviv!

For more info send an email to info@everydayplantpower.com

That’s it for now, in my next blog I will tell you more about the restaurants and the food I had there during my trip.

* update June 2022: September 2022 I will embark new adventures. I will start a bachelor’s degree at Amsterdam University. This automatically means that our culinary trips will be on hold for an unknown period of time. Should you have any questions or inquiries please do not hesitate to contact me via info@everydayplantpower.com .