What were your favorite foods growing up?
Cashew chicken and chocolate

When did you decide you wanted to be a chef?
When I dropped out of college (I was going for photography), I got a job cooking in Israel and fell in love with it.

Where and when did your career in food begin?
Kfar Saba, Israel; I was 19.

If you didn't become a chef, what would you be?
A professional snowboarder.

Who/what has shaped your cooking the most over the years?
Working for Terrence Fuery and Marc Vetri; and a connection to Israel.

What are your favorite culinary weapons in the kitchen?
A great team to work with.

What influences your cooking style and particularly the menu at Zahav?
My background and heritage.

What is your favorite secret ingredient?
Today it is mahleb, they are roasted sour cherry pits.

What is the one rule or value you try to instill in all of your staff?
Teamwork. I know it sounds cheesy, but it is very important.

If I'm trying to watch my weight and I'm eating at your restaurant, what am I ordering to eat?
Just about anything but the foie gras kebab.

What was the most challenging meal you had to make? Why?
Marc Vetri and I cooked a meal for the Golani Brigade on the Lebanese border. We worked with almost no tools (when we asked for side towels, we were given torn cardboard boxes).

What is your least favorite food?
Egg salad

What is your beverage of choice?
La Colombe coffee

What are some recent dining and culinary trends you have been observing?
Fine dining has become more casual.

When you are not eating at your own restaurant, where you are eating?
Pho 75

Which foreign country inspires your style most?
Israel

What was the most spectacular meal you have ever had? Years ago when I cooked at the Striped Bass, my chefs Terrence Fuery and Shazad Khan "laid it out" for a buddy and me. It was around 12 courses with wine, of course. I have no idea how I got home...

What is your best cooking tip for a home enthusiast?
Taste, taste, taste. And no bullshit knives.

What do you eat when you are home?
Cereal and Ramen noodles (Cajun chicken)