Shalom Kadosh |
|---|
| Born | 1947 or 1948
|
|---|
| Nationality | Israeli |
|---|
Shalom Kadosh (born 1947 or 1948) is an Israeli chef. He has been considered the unofficial chef of Israel's prime ministers, including Menachem Begin, Yitzhak Rabin, Ariel Sharon, and Benjamin Netanyahu.[1][2] French food critic Gilles Pudlowski has dubbed Kadosh the "Kosher Bocuse".[3]
Early and personal life
Kadosh was born in Morocco, near Marrakesh, into a family of nine siblings. The family immigrated to Israel when he was 14, settling in Afula.[4] He became interested in traveling as a young man, and began studying at a cooking school in Haifa so he could save up for travel funds.[1]
Kadosh and his wife, Zohara, have a daughter together.[4]
In late March 2021, Kadosh sustained fractures to his neck and skull[5] during an attempted robbery at a gas station in Jerusalem, several hours before his daughter's wedding.[5] He was brought to the Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center in serious condition, and was put into a medically induced coma.[6][5] Kadosh regained consciousness three weeks later.[7] In February 2022, his assailant was sentenced to 39 months in prison.[5]
Career
During his career, Kadosh has cooked for a number of heads of state, his first being American president Jimmy Carter.[1] He has also cooked for French president Jacques Chirac,[3] King Hussein of Jordan, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, and American presidents Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush, and Barack Obama (in 2013).[1][8]
Early in his career, he worked as a cook on a cruise ship.[1][4]
In 1979, Kadosh opened the kosher restaurant Cow on the Roof at Leonardo Plaza Hotel Jerusalem, which he continued to work at until it officially closed in 1993.[9] In 2010, Kadosh marked 35 years of working as executive chef of Leonardo Plaza Hotel Jerusalem.[1][4] He continued to preside over Primavera, the hotel's Italian restaurant, as of 2013.[10]
In 1981, he organized a recreation of an Essene meal, which was held at Qumrun for 400 guests of the Israel Museum.[11] In 1989, he discussed opening a kosher restaurant in Moscow.[12]
In 1996, Kadosh organized the food for the King David Feast, which was held to celebration 3,000 years of Jerusalem.[1][4] In 1998 he organized food for the inaugural Golan Vintage: Wine & Culinary Festival, held by the Golan Heights Winery; he returned to the festival again in 2001.[4]
Also that year, he appeared on an episode of Duet.[13] In 2011, he joined the prestigious Club des Chefs des Chefs.[2]
In January 2020, Kadosh was the chef for the World Holocaust Forum, whose attendees included 41 heads of state.[6]
In 2022, Kadosh received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Restaurants Association.[14]
References
