Going for gourmet gold
Victoria Prever how he achieved Israeli food’s first Michelin star in Paris
HE’S NO Olympian, but for ten days, earlier this year Assaf Granit felt as though he had won gold for his country. The celebrity chef had not excelled on the gymnastics mat or running track — his winning ways were in the kitchen. He had achieved a foodie first for Israeli cuisine — a Michelin star for Parisian restaurant, Shabour.
Granit says he and the restaurant’s co-founders Uri Navon, Dan Yosha and Tomer Lanzmann felt like heroes in the aftermath of the official announcement ceremony — broadcast via Zoom from the Eiffel Tower, which he attended from Tel Aviv with his eight-year-old son. “In Israel it was like we’d won an Olympic medal or an Oscar. People went crazy — we couldn’t believe the reaction. We got calls from politicians and the amount of love, support and respect was mind blowing!”
Shabour, which translates literally as ‘broken’ is also slang for having a hangover — which may seem an odd choice of restaurant name. Speaking to me from Israel, where he is currently filming a new television series, Israel’s Next Restaurant, Granit explains the name was inspired by the building within which it sits.
“We visited six sites and this was the first — an old jazz club with the walls covered with thin wood panels painted black and white. I moved them to see the wall behind and the stone was beautiful — like Jerusalem stone — big ancient blocks. Immediately I said to Tomer ‘this is the place we have to take it’. We said we would break down the walls to see the stones behind — we’d live with them broken — shabour. Dan said that was a great name for the restaurant.”
There’s nothing broken about Shabour. From the outset Granit’s goal had been a Michelin star, something missing from his and Navon’s growing group of restaurants. With the renowned red restaurant guide still absent from Israel, they needed to aim elsewhere and it made sense to pick Paris or London — where they already operated successful restaurants. In London, The Palomar, The Barbary and Coal Office, and in the City of Lights, Balagan which opened in 2017. All have a following — which gave the team confidence in their market.
Most of the restaurants in the group follow the casual formula of Granit and Navon’s original venture, Machneyuda in Jerusalem: pairing Israeli classic dishes and ingredients with European techniques to a soundtrack of banging tunes and kitchen clattering from exuberant chefs. Not the traditional ambience of a Michelin-starred venue — which is usually an altogether more serious temple of food worship.
However, Granit and team didn’t throw their culture out the window in their mission for Michelin glory. Instead of adopting thick, white tablecloths and fawning waiters they adapted their décor and style of service, paying attention to every tiny detail of their new creation. “We looked everywhere for the right glasses; Dan, or our manager, Caroline, would get on trains to pick up plates that we bought from collectors all over France.” Granit
explains that the carefully curated menu “builds bridges” between Jerusalem and Paris by pairing dishes and flavours of his home country with traditional Parisian ingredients or vice versa. This might be charred leeks filled with labaneh and porcini mushrooms accompanied by a halloumi crumble or an amuse bouche designed by Uri of an escargot-shaped apple roasted with olive oil and arak, and pickled pink and white beetroot stuffed with brie and plum purée.
He’s immensely proud of having achieved the award for the first time for Israeli food. “That was the big thing for us — it’s not just doing good food, it’s showing our heritage.”
The award came relatively quickly. Their doors opened in July 2019 and their first inspection came within two weeks. “We were starting dinner service and a man was waiting outside to come in. He made lots of notes and asked many questions.
“At the end of the meal he told me that he was from Michelin to confirm we were worthy of a full inspection. A series of inspectors would now come and visit us incognito. My next call was to my ex-wife to tell her I’m not coming back to Israel!”
Granit stayed there until he was forced by the pandemic to leave on March 5, 2020. “Israel was closing its borders so I had to get home.” He was to remain in Israel for the next 18 months. Even last summer when businesses began to open up again and the inspection visits which would lead to the award recommenced.
Does he think it was a bigger ask to win the award for an Israeli menu? “If you do something really correct and super well executed, with every detail thought about then you will get it but you have to put your whole energy into it and leave no room for mistakes. If the intensity is there then it doesn’t really matter whether it’s Japanese, Italian or Israeli.”
Award aside, Covid made this a tough period. “It has been very stressful economically, but the whole world was shut down and there was nothing I could really do about it. You do the best you can to cut down expenses and to look for other revenues for income, but basically it was a waiting game.”
He says that Coal Office, (in the regenerated area of Kings Cross) opened a pop up grocery store, selling take away meals and provisions to locals.
“People would come and buy challah, spreads and stews. It was nice to stay in touch with the community around us and to give our employees something to do.”
Since reopening, they have also opened a chef’s table on the top floor of the building. “We wanted something to connect people to the chef and to see the concept from the inside — seeing an operating kitchen making a meal. The original plan had been to do it downstairs in the kitchen, but with Covid, the space was too small, so we moved it upstairs”.
The spacious top floor has plenty of space, light and air, plus views over the surrounding area. A set meal will be served to small groups of diners seated around the cooking area.
He is hoping to celebrate the New Year with his team at Shabour. “Just after we opened, two years ago, we had a proper Rosh Hashanah party for all of our staff — Jewish and nonJewish. We taught them all the blessings and served the dates, the honey, apples and of course too much food, because you can’t have a Jewish meal without that. Home food, not restaurant food. It felt like a big, weird Jewish family — it was so much fun and a real bonding moment.”