The Embassy chose Chef Art Smith to break bread with the Israeli people through the US State Department's Culinary Diplomacy Program. Art prepared diverse dishes and shared recipes with Israeli and Palestinian Chefs for Peace, all sharing their love of good food with Israeli and Palestinian culinary, nutrition, and youth specialists. He prepared a gourmet meal with Tadmor chefs for an appreciative and warm group of Holocaust survivors, led a soul food master class for aspiring youth-at risk chefs and demonstrated recipes with Arab and Jewish high school children in Jerusalem. He shared his enthusiasm for sesame with Arab and Jewish chefs, restaurant managers and entrepreneurs in Nazareth, and celebrated the entrepreneurial nature of Israeli women from north to south, all while highlighting the tasty and rich culinary traditions of the US.


Photo credit: David Azagury and Matty Stern/U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv