Michael Solomonov
Born1978 (age 45–46)
Ganei Yehuda, Israel
EducationFlorida Culinary Institute
Culinary career
Cooking styleIsraeli, Jewish
Current restaurant(s)
Award(s) won
Websitehttp://www.cooknsolo.com/

Michael Solomonov (Hebrew: מייקל סולומונוב; born 1978) is an Israeli chef known for his restaurants in Center City, Philadelphia. His first restaurant Zahav, founded in 2008, has received national recognition including the James Beard Foundation "Outstanding Restaurant" in 2019.[1][2] Solomonov was also awarded Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic in 2011, Cookbook of the Year in 2016, and Outstanding Chef in 2017 from the James Beard Foundation.[3][4] In 2021, The New York Times named his restaurant Laser Wolf as one of "the 50 places in America we're most excited about right now."[5][6]

Early life

Solomonov was born in moshav Ganei Yehuda, Israel, to a family of Bulgarian-Jewish descent.[7][8] He was raised in Pittsburgh,[8] where he attended Taylor Allderdice High School.[9] At the age of 18, he returned to Israel with no Hebrew language skills, taking the only job he could get – working in a bakery – and his culinary career was born.[8]

Career

At the start of his career, Solomonov moved back to the United States to attend culinary school at the Florida Culinary Institute in West Palm Beach, FL.[10] He then moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to cook Italian cuisine at Chef Marc Vetri's upscale Italian restaurants. Afterwards, Solomonov took a job as a chef at Marigold Kitchen, owned by businessman Steve Cook.[11] Cook and Solomonov then opened the upscale Mexican restaurant Xochitl and later co-founded the restaurant group CooknSolo.[11]

In 2003, his brother David was killed on Yom Kippur during an Israel Defense Forces military campaign on the border of Lebanon by three enemy snipers. David Solomonov had volunteered for the IDF. Solomonov decided to change his focus to Israeli and Jewish cuisine. With the support of financier Steve Cook, Solomonov opened Zahav in 2008.[12]

With his business partner Steven Cook, Solomonov is co-owner of several Philadelphia restaurants: Dizengoff, vegan falafel restaurant Goldie, Laser Wolf,[12] Abe Fisher, Percy Street Barbecue, and Federal Donuts, a fried chicken and donut chain. Having participated in the South Beach Food & Wine Festival in 2013, Solomonov was able to bring Percy Street Barbecue to South Florida. Bill Addison, writing for Eater Philadelphia, called Chef Solomonov "the Genius of Modern Jewish Cooking" after eating at Abe Fisher, Dizengoff, and Zahav.[13]

Solomonov also spent a period of time consulting for David Magerman's, now closed, and Citron and Rose, a certified Kosher meat restaurant on the Main Line in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.[14][15]

In 2015, Cook and Solomonov published a cookbook based on their restaurant Zahav.[16] Zahav: A World of Israeli Cuisine was nominated for a James Beard Foundation Book Award in the International cookbook category.[17] Its recipe for hummus was chosen as "2015 dish of the year" by Bon Appétit.[18]

Awards

  • "Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic" (2011) by the James Beard Foundation
  • "Cookbook of the Year" for Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking (2016) by the James Beard Foundation[19]
  • "Outstanding Chef" (2017) by the James Beard Foundation
  • "Outstanding Restaurant" for Zahav (2019) by the James Beard Foundation[1]
  • "The Restaurant List" for Laser Wolf (2021), one of 50 restaurants included by The New York Times[5]

References

  1. 1 2 "The 2019 James Beard Award Winners". James Beard Foundation. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  2. ↑ "Two Philadelphia Restaurants Named Among Nation's Best For Wine". Chestnut Hill-Mt. Airy, PA Patch. 2015-07-06. Retrieved 2022-07-03.
  3. ↑ Bruni, Frank (9 August 2014). "Grief, Smoke and Salvation". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-09-21.
  4. ↑ Nathan, Joan (20 September 2011). "After a Killing, Michael Solomonov Turns to Israeli Food". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-09-21.
  5. 1 2 Desk, The New York Times Food (2021-10-11). "The 2021 Restaurant List". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-07-03.
  6. ↑ "What James Beard Award-Winning Chef Michael Solomonov Is Making for the Super Bowl". Vogue. 2023-02-09. Retrieved 2023-02-26.
  7. ↑ "Philadelphia chef takes readers on culinary journey with Zahav". www.delawareonline.com.
  8. 1 2 3 "Zahav". www.zahavrestaurant.com.
  9. ↑ "Munch goes to Philadelphia (for 25 hours)". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  10. ↑ Team, Apollo13. "Michael Solomonov | COOK". Retrieved 2023-02-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. 1 2 Smith, Crawford (2022-01-10). "The Untold Truth Of Mike Solomonov From Where Chefs Eat". Mashed. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
  12. 1 2 Chan, Wilfred (December 8, 2023). "A protest against a top Israel-born chef was called antisemitic. Staff tell a different story". The Guardian. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  13. ↑ Addison, Bill (8 July 2015). "Why Philly's Mike Solomonov Is The Genius of Modern Jewish Cooking". Eater. Eater Philadelphia. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Welcome - Philadelphia Magazine". www.phillymag.com. 29 April 2013.
  15. ↑ "Welcome - Philadelphia Magazine". www.phillymag.com. 15 March 2012.
  16. ↑ Clark, Melissa (6 October 2015). "In 'Zahav,' Michael Solomonov Explores Israeli Food". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-09-20 – via NYTimes.com.
  17. ↑ "The 2016 James Beard Award Nominees". James Beard Foundation. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  18. ↑ Stanek, Amiel (18 August 2015). "Hummus Is the 2015 Dish of the Year". Bon Appetit. Retrieved 2020-09-20.
  19. ↑ "The 2016 Beard Award Winners! | James Beard Foundation". www.jamesbeard.org. Retrieved 2022-07-03.
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