ARTS AND CULTURE

Michael Solomonov

Chef and restaurateur

Israeli-born, US-raised chef Solomonov is one of the leading ambassadors' for the modern Israeli cuisine that has set foodie palates alight in recent years. A proud advocate of the delights of Jewish and Israeli kitchens, Solomonov's Philadelphia restaurant, Zahav, has become a place of pilgrimage for lovers of inventive Israeli cooking. Solomonov's 2015 bestselling cookbook Zahav: A World of Israeli Cuisine was nominated for a James Beard Foundation Book Award. Israeli street food like hummus, falafel and shwarma, Solomonov told NPR in 2017, "is absolutely an inspiration" for him when he's in the kitchen. "I think it's almost what I crave the most when I go back there." (Photo: Michael Persico.)