Israel Aharoni: "The fame did not go to my head"
Renowned chef Israel Aharoni shares insights into his life, his passion for culinary arts, his battle against ego, and why he considers curiosity his most valuable asset.
Where are we catching you?
"At home, in front of the computer. I moved our conversation up so I could manage to go to the gym before I go to the market for Friday shopping."
How and where do you drink your coffee?
"At home, a strong espresso lungo with a drop of frothed milk. The first coffee must be at home. I love our apartment on Rothschild Boulevard. When people tell me 'let's go to a hotel in Israel,' I don't understand why, it's best at my place. We moved three years ago to this apartment, which is five buildings away from the previous one. We lived there for 33 years, and when the children left, we were left in a huge apartment, and my son Uri encouraged us to move. We literally tailored it to our bodies; it has exactly the space needed, including a second floor with one large room and a roof, known as the 'grandchildren's room.' We have four, and all the children live near us, so we live like a clan, and I love that."
With whom would you like to sit for a beer?
"I don't drink beer and don't understand this drink; it's like drinking bread. But with Leonardo da Vinci — he is a polymath of the kind I am amazed by. I love such people."
What are you working on now?
"Opening another Aharoni's Fried Chicken in the Florentin neighborhood in Tel Aviv on Vital Street. There is already one in Sarona and in Big Glilot, and in both, we were spoiled by the complex. Now it's a new adventure because we took a place on the street and we don't have a 'mom and dad' (management). In two months, we start filming a new season of 'MasterChef,' which is always a great excitement. Besides that, we will arrive with the Aharoni's Fried Chicken food truck at the Megiddo Music Festival in the Megiddo Regional Council."
What is your quirk?
"I wash my face with water and soap at least five times a day. It's a small OCD. I have plenty of them. For example, I measure everything by 13. If I heat something up, I roughly know how long it will take and count to 13. Each time the pace changes because every 13 is different from the previous one. It's a quirk I enjoy."
What is the best advice you received?
"The one I gave myself; I remember exactly the moment it happened at my 'Tapuach Zahav' restaurant at the waiters' station. I said to myself: 'Aharoni, be careful, the fame is starting to go to your head. Run from it like fire.' I felt I was getting arrogant, and it scared me, and I said, 'Get rid of it now before it's too late.' I bless myself for this advice to this day; the fame did not go to my head. It's advice I give to everyone."
How do you like to spend Friday afternoon?
"Cooking from morning until the afternoon for the entire immediate family that comes over. We are 13, and there are always some 'extras,' so it's between 15 and 17, and I always prepare a lot of food. The children leave with containers. They are happy, and I am happy."
What superpower would you like to have?
"To be invisible."
Under what circumstances do you end up lying?
"The most embarrassing lies are related to children. When you are forced to tell children small lies because you don't know exactly what to answer. Sometimes they have direct and slightly embarrassing questions. These are the lies I hate the most; they are the most stressful. As they get older, you need it less."
Who do you miss?
"I am not a nostalgic type at all; nostalgia is a thing that gets you stuck, but I miss my parents. My father passed away when I was 15, and I barely knew him. My mother lived much longer than him, and I had more connections with her, but despite that, I realize in hindsight that I missed a lot with my parents. I didn't ask enough, didn't investigate, didn't exhaust the matter. Even though we were a poor family in the 50s in the Lower City of Haifa, I had a wonderful childhood. I never thought we were poor or deprived."
Where would you most like to live?
"On Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv and nowhere else. I sit in the living room or the kitchen and I see the treetops from my huge window, and there is no more beautiful sight. I have turquoise parquet throughout the apartment. It creates a good atmosphere for the house. Because there is a lot of light here, it changes the shade during the day and reflects. It's a bit like the feeling of water."
What do you like to spend your money on?
"On clothes and food. I buy clothes everywhere possible but not online. I am bad at it. Once I ordered and it turned out I bought the same thing three times."
What would you like to change about yourself?
"To have a straight nose because I have a crooked nose. If I could have an even wider smile, I would also be happy, and less of a belly, which I am working on now. I had cancer until recently and underwent hormonal treatment and gained 15 kilos in weight. The treatment ended successfully so far, so now I am working on losing it."
What do you have feelings of guilt about?
"Very little. I like this trait that I don't have many feelings of guilt. Most of all, I have it regarding my wife, that maybe I am not attentive enough."
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
"Besides the cliché of children and grandchildren, there is no doubt that 'The Amazing Journey of Aharoni and Gidi,' with Gidi Gov. A television program I initiated and created with many good people. It is one of the most interesting and cool projects I have done. Gidi and I go for lunch together once every two-three weeks. We became friends only because of the program; before that, we didn't know each other. I looked for a long time for someone to join me on the journey, and when I called Gidi, he asked for a few days to think about it. After half an hour, he called me back and said: 'This is not my comfort zone, but this is the opportunity of my life to take such a journey, so I'm coming.' In that same second, I understood that this is the person I want."
What scares you?
"Electricity. I don't mess with electricity."
What makes you happy?
"Journeys around the world. I can't stand beach vacations; I almost don't have any. When I travel, it has to be a journey. These are most of our family trips. The last journey was to Uzbekistan, including the grandson who was 7 months old. I like to drag them to all sorts of places in the world."
What are you missing most in life?
"I am terrified that we are on the verge of a civil war. This hatred within us is inconceivable, and I can't deal with it. So I am missing that we shouldn't hate each other. It tears me apart; I don't understand how we reached this situation."
What do you consider your most valuable asset?
"My energy and curiosity. The day that stops, we are in trouble."
What trait do you value most in your friends?
"Loyalty."
Artists or creators you like?
"Leonardo da Vinci, of course. I love Renoir, I love all of Monet's Water Lilies, Van Gogh. Crazy about Rothko, about Anselm Kiefer. In Israel, Zadok Ben-David and Lea Nikel. In music, Mozart, Philip Glass, Luciano Berio, The Beatles. I really like Gidi Gov, also Itay Levi and Moshe Peretz. As a child in elementary school, my reading habits were poor. At most 'Kofiko' and 'The Secret Five.' I arrived at high school in Kiryat Eliezer completely unprepared and felt inferior. I went to the library and chose the thickest book there was, without vowels and without pictures, and I stumbled upon 'Atlas Shrugged.' I enjoyed it greatly, and a world opened up for me. One of the books I was stunned by and will soon read again is 'The Magic Mountain' by Thomas Mann. Recently, I was crazy about 'Stoner' by John Williams."
If you weren't a chef, what would you do?
"After the army, I went to Holland to study art; I studied painting and became a cook. So if not a cook, I would be a painter."
