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El Al food just got better thanks to a Michelin-starred Israeli chef

Assaf Granit of Machneyuda and Coal Office fame is taking his food to new heights

September 11, 2023 15:31
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Israeli chef Assaf Granit speaks during a conference with science ministers from around the world in Jerusalem on May 2, 2018. Photo by Yonatan Sindel/Flash90
2 min read

You don’t expect to be wowed by plane meals.

Until now, the closest I’ve come to Israeli gastronomic greatness on a plane was bumping into Yotam Ottolenghi in the queue for the toilet.

But now, when you fly with El Al, there’s a opportunity to sample a menu from one of Israel’s top chefs. Michelin star-winner Assaf Granit — who has been enlisted by the airline to revamp the inflight menus.

Granit, who is one of the trio behind Israel’s (now world-famous) Machneyuda restaurant and who now runs a string of restaurants in Israel and around the world, started working with the airline a while back. His menus launched on European flights a few months ago, but now the meals can be tasted further afield, with a roll out to flights to and from the US, South Africa, and the Far East.

The culinary guru — co-founder of London’s Coal Office — has said of his work with Israel's flagship airline: “Growing up in the Ein Karem neighborhood of Jerusalem, I felt this uniquely Israeli tribute to our different cultures, in the connection between my grandma Leah’s Eastern European horseradish and my Moroccan neighbor Jacqueline’s perfect couscous. Israeli cuisine is all about connecting these different cultures and has long been my culinary inspiration.” 

“The food I bring you today is the product of our shared journey, whether it’s Persian Kohresh-e Ghormeh Sabzi stew, Moroccan Chraime fish, or a touch of za’atar in the chocolate mousse in your dessert.