michael solomonov

On today's episode of All in the Industry®, Shari Bayer's guest is Ayesha Nurdjaja, executive chef and partner at Shuka and Shukette in NYC, and Culinary Director of The Bowery Group. We are on-location at Shukette, Ayesha’s neighborhood restaurant in Chelsea, which focuses on locally sourced and sustainable Middle Eastern food, and the sequel to Shuka, which she opened in Soho in 2015 with owners Vicki Freeman and Marc Meyer, and earned a devoted following for her vibrant Eastern Mediterranean fare. A Brooklyn native of Italian-Indonesian heritage, Ayesha's entrepreneurial spirit first led her to pursue a business degree at Pace University. Shortly after receiving her degree, Ayesha realized food was her true passion and subsequently enrolled in the Institute of Culinary Education. She has worked at various NYC restaurants including Lidia Bastianich’s Felidia, Bar Artisanal, Picholine and Missy Robbins’ A Voce as well as Il Bordello and Red Gravy in Brooklyn as executive chef. Ayesha is a 2022 James Beard Award Finalist Nominee for Best Chef: New York State. Good luck, Ayesha! (JBFA will be taking place next Monday 6/13 in Chicago, and Shari will be covering the awards with red carpet interviews). 

Today's show also features Shari's PR tip to always break bread; Speed Round; Industry News Discussion on TikTok and NY restaurants; and Solo Dining experience at Laser Wolf, a shipudiya, or skewer house, on the rooftop of The Hoxton Hotel in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Laser Wolf is a partnership between Michael Solomonov and Steve Cook of CookNSolo Group, and Rob Katz and Kevin Boehm’s Boka Restaurant Group based in Chicago.

Photo Courtesy of Ayesha Nurdjaya.

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Michael Solomonov and Steven Cook announce the concept of their brand new restaurant, coming to Rittenhouse Square in early June 2019. KYW Newsradio's Hadas Kuznits spoke with Philly's Israeli cuisine masters about "Kfar."

On today's episode of All in the Industry®, host Shari Bayer is joined by Michael Solomonov, co-founder of CookNSolo Restaurant Partners and executive chef/co-owner of Zahav, Philadelphia's pioneering modern Israeli restaurant. Michael also co-owns Federal Donuts, Dizengoff, Abe Fisher, Goldie, and the philanthropic Rooster Soup Company, which donates 100% of its profits to support Philadelphia's most vulnerable citizens. Michael is a four-time James Beard Award winner, including Outstanding Chef in 2017 and Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic in 2011. He has a new cookbook with his business partner Steven Cook, entitled Israeli Soul: Easy, Essential, Delicious; who he has written two previous books with, including Federal Donuts, and Zahav, A World of Israeli Cooking, which won James Beard Awards for "Book of the Year" and "Best International Cookbook". Today's show also features Shari's PR tip, Speed Round, Industry News, and Solo Dining experience at Mission Chinese Food in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Listen at Heritage Radio Network, or subscribe to our podcast on iTunes, Stitcher and/or Spotify. Follow us @allindustry.

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We're bringing you our highlights from Feast Portland – four days of delicious food and some very deep conversations in an airstream trailer. We begin with one of the most buzzed-about events at Feast Portland this year, Zero Proof, an alcohol-free dinner that brought together chefs including Andrew Zimmern and Michael Solomonov.

Next, we get an insider's look into the history of Portland's dining scene. How did it become the foodie mecca it is today? Elias Cairo of Olympia Provisions interviews one of his mentors, Monique Siu, a key figure in the Portland restaurant scene since she opened Zefiro in 1990.

Joining the HRN team on our trip out west were Andrew Friedman and Dana Cowin. Both of their shows, Andrew Talks to Chefs and Speaking Broadly, feature long-form, in-depth interviews with chefs and food industry insiders. For our Feast coverage, they helped us explore the intersections of food and identity with guests Rachel Yang, Diego Galicia, Rico Torres, and Reem Assil.

The more chefs talked about how their personal history and family ties shaped their culinary identities, the more we noticed that there was one theme that popped up quite a lot: the overwhelming influence of grandmothers. We hear from Emma Bengtsson, Kristen Murray, Maya Lovelace, Jill Keuhler, and Bonnie Morales. Each woman shares an inspiring story about how their grandmothers shaped their lives and culinary aspirations.

We end this week with a short excerpt of Dana Cowin's interview with Jim Meehan. Hear how Meehan envisions the future role of alcohol in restaurants and cocktail culture – especially with the rise of legalized cannabis. It got us wondering if the grass is greener on the other side... a topic we'll explore in next week's Meat + Three!

Love Meat + Three? Subscribe on iTunes or Stitcher, follow us on your favorite social media platforms @Heritage_Radio, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, or drop us a line at ideas@meatandthree.nyc.

Our theme song is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

Photo by Aubrie LeGault

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Andrew Friedman kicks off HRN’s coverage of Feast Portland with Philadelphia’s award-winning chef Mike Solomonov. Over a single cup of coffee, the two discuss the magic of Oregon produce, the importance of mentoring other chefs, and the trip that inspired Mike’s newest book Israeli Soul. Mike also opens up about his personal struggle with sobriety and his participation in the festival’s very first in Zero Proof dinner.

Michael Solomonov is the Executive Chef and Co-Owner of Philadelphia’s pioneering Israeli restaurant, Zahav. In addition to his duties at Zahav, Chef Solomonov co-owns Philadelphia’s Federal Donuts, Dizengoff, Abe Fisher, Goldie, NYC’s Dizengoff, and the philanthropic Rooster Soup Company, which donates 100% of its profits to Broad Street Ministry Hospitality Collaborative that provides meals and essential services to individuals experiencing homelessness and hunger in Philadelphia. Also in 2017, Solomonov and the Israel Ministry of Tourism (IMOT) created a partnership to champion Israel’s extraordinarily diverse and vibrant culinary landscape.

Thanks to our engineer, Aaron Parecki of Stream PDX.

Music by Breakmaster Cylinder

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At his restaurants Zahav, Abe Fisher, Dizengoff, Rooster Soup Company, Goldie and others, Philadelphia-based chef and restaurateur Mike Solomonov has established himself as the standard-bearer of modern Jewish/Israeli cuisine. While at the Philly Chef Conference recently, Andrew and Mike borrowed a conference room for an impromptu rap session about what it means to be Jewish in the industry, the pitfalls of modern communication, where new restaurant ideas come from, and the secrets behind Philadelphia’s burgeoning restaurant scene (hint: it’s a good place for cooks to live).

Here’s a thought: If you like what you hear, please tell your chef-fascinated friends, subscribe to Andrew Talks to Chefs (it’s free) on iTunes or Stitcher, follow us on your favorite social media platforms @ChefPodcast, and/or rate or review us on Apple’s podcast store. Thanks for listening!

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THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:

Andrew is a writer by trade. If you'd like to support him, there's no better way than by purchasing his most recent book, The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food (October 2023), about all the key people (in the restaurant, on farms, in delivery trucks, etc.) whose stories and work come together in a single restaurant dish.

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Please also follow Andrew's real-time journal of the travel, research, writing, and production of/for his next book The Opening (working title), which will track four restaurants in different parts of the U.S. from inception to launch.

For Andrew's writing, dining, and personal adventures, follow along at his personal feed.

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