Eyal Shani's secret: The moment that changed his life is revealed
The beloved chef talks about a difficult shooting day when he suffered from an extremely high fever, and explains why he did not give up on the work despite the health risk and the hallucinations he experienced.
Eyal Shani is considered one of the most recognizable chefs in Israel, but it turns out that even behind the nickname "King of Tomatoes" lies an extraordinary story. In a preview of an episode of "MasterChef", which will air tonight (Tuesday) on Keshet 12, Shani was asked by one of the contestants how he became so identified with the tomato.
Shani returns to a significant moment at the beginning of his career and says that it all started with a commercial he received. According to him, he arrived at the shooting day very ill, after having contracted pneumonia and suffering from a fever of 41 degrees. Despite his condition, he decided to go to work.
"Who goes to a shoot? A poor guy like me, who needs the money," Shani says during the conversation, explaining why he did not give up on the shooting day despite his health condition.
According to him, during the shooting day, the production staff brought him a tomato and asked him to talk to it as part of the commercial. Shani says that his condition caused him to experience hallucinations, and because of this, he lay down on the counter and began to talk to the tomato spontaneously.
The chef adds that the illness also affected his voice, which was hoarse at the time, which gave the scene an unusual character. Shani describes the result as "one of the most erotic scenes in an Israeli commercial," and says that from there his connection to tomatoes began to develop.
Today, Shani is one of the most prominent chefs in the Israeli culinary industry and continues to serve as a judge on "MasterChef". Alongside his television work, he is behind a series of culinary ventures in Israel and around the world, including "Miznon", "HaSalon", "Port Said" and "Romano".
In recent years, Shani has continued to expand his activities, including the opening of the wine bar "Bijou" in Tel Aviv and a new Italian restaurant in Miami. But alongside the business expansion, the story that Shani brings in the upcoming episode reminds us how one extraordinary moment in front of a tomato turned over the years into one of his most recognizable trademarks.
