The Jamie Geller Show - Joy of Israel Episode 6 [1/2]- City of David with Israeli Master Chef Tom Franz

Short Summary

Main recommendation: The episode features Israeli Master Chef Tom Franz demonstrating two recipes at the City of David: a Moroccan-style focaccia and a Waldorf salad made with Seven Species ingredients like grapes and silan (date honey), served with warm smoked salmon.

Key Points

• The episode is a live cooking show set under olive trees at the City of David, built around the Shibat Tamin, the Seven Species of the Bible.
• Tom Franz won Master Chef Israel season 3; he is a German-born former lawyer who moved to Israel and is now a culinary star and bestselling author.
• The featured dishes are focaccia with Moroccan-style toppings and a Waldorf salad with grapes, silan, and smoked salmon.
• Franz presents the Waldorf salad as a German-origin dish that was brought to New York and is well suited to summer family meals.
• Franz's cookbook is titled "Z Israel," which he translates as "the taste or flavor of Israel." (mentioned in passing, not promoted for purchase)

Details Worth Noting

• Concrete instructions:
  • Focaccia: slowly add the water in a precise amount, work air into the dough to make it fluffy, and keep the dough very liquid. Place it in the oven, add toppings such as cherry tomatoes, olives, rosemary, or goat cheese (sweet or savory, depending on what you have), and bake at 160°C for 35 to 40 minutes.
  • Waldorf salad: chop the parsley finely and toss it into the salad rather than using it only as garnish. The dressing base is yogurt with mayonnaise, orange juice, and orange zest, sweetened with silan (date honey). Mix everything together by hand.
  • Serve with warm smoked salmon and walnuts, whole or chopped to your preferred size.
• Franz says he used a knife as a "friend" in the kitchen and emphasized feeling the dough by hand.
• He notes that salty dishes are balanced by something sweet, and that lemon zest suited the episode's theme.
• Franz jokingly compares cooking presentation to the real estate mantra of 'location, location, location,' saying presentation is what matters most in cooking.

Bottom Line

The episode works as a practical introduction to Israeli-inspired home cooking: a simple focaccia and a Waldorf salad built on Seven Species ingredients like grapes and date honey.