The chefs
Yosef ‘Pappy’ Elad
He grew up in Kfar Varburg and no one knows when.
Rumor has it that he studied at Tadmor and is a world champion in breads and Italian food.
The fact is that he is full of soul and love for the profession and those who love it.
We know he ran Sardo in Tel Aviv, where he got the Italian bug. Then he opened Sack Kemach in Mevasseret and got the Jerusalem bug.
With his passion for Jerusalem, food and a lot of soul, the opening of Mahane Yehuda was just a matter of time.
Assaf Granite / The cutting edge
He prefers that we don’t write about how he grew up in the Rasco neighborhood and is connected to Jerusalem at the root,
that he grew up among green trees and a decent elementary school.
He prefers that we don’t write about how he saved some money, read a lot and studied alone.
He prefers that we don’t write about how he started out working at Adom (red),
then was a chef at Lavan (white) and then realized he wants it colorful and opened Mahane Yehuda with his friends Uri Navon and Yosef Pappy.
He would prefer we write that he is married plus one child and that’s it.
Uri Navon / Genius Chef
An original Jerusalemite from the rough side of town.
He wanted to study photography but ended up in a cooking class – simply because it was cheaper.
He found himself working for caterers Mazal Tale and Rafael until he was fed up.
He immediately went to London and worked at a Michelin restaurant L’escargot for nearly two years.
When he landed, he landed in Jerusalem because he does not like the humidity in Tel Aviv.
He took on the position of Sous Chef at Canela but wasn’t fond of keeping kosher,
and after a year he moved on to assume the position of chef at Lavan at the Cinematheque and that lasted for another two years.
Source: http://www.machneyuda.co.il/en/chefs
