“The history of the local food goes together with the history of the local communities”
Lilach Rubin – “Making food, loving food, and reading about food – I have been doing these for as long as I can remember. However, I started my professional life in a place that had nothing to do with food, but rather in the study of law.
I finished university and started my legal internship, and in my off hours, I cooked to supplement my income. The truth is, I quite hated the idea of becoming a lawyer. At the age of 32, after I was fired for the fifth time from a lawyer’s office, I said to myself: “Enough is enough!”. I decided to leave law and to become a pro in the food business.
So I began my culinary career working in everything that had any connection to food. I wrote columns about food in the local newspaper, and cooked in different Jerusalem-based restaurants. I even opened a PR office that worked only with businesses involving food.
Later on, my partner for life and I re-opened ‘Shraga’, a coffee shop that he had once owned. It is now located right near Jerusalem’s Old City, and it has a unique concept, serving as both a coffee shop and a catering service. It is also a place for different cultural events, featuring the foods of the diverse cultures that are all part of Israel.
I also guide culinary tours in Jerusalem. I explain how the Jerusalemite kitchen’s pots are also the melting pot of Israeli society. Through the history of local food, you can actually see the history of Israel’s different communities and cultures.”
