(JTA) — Celebrity Israeli-American chef Michael Solomonov's famous hummus was previously only available at his restaurants in Philadelphia and New York City.
The hummus, which uses a recipe from Solomonov's Philadelphia flagship restaurant, Zahav, is now available at more than 150 Whole Foods stores. Packaged hummus like Zahav doesn't use oil, just lots of tahini. However, unlike Zahav's hummus, it is kosher certified, opening its recipe to a new customer base.
The expansion by Whole Foods comes at a tense time for Israeli food products, with both hummus and Solomonov caught up in various ways due to the fighting sparked by the Israel-Hamas war.
Last month, Goldie, one of the James Beard Award-winning Chef's Kosher Falafel restaurants, was targeted by pro-Palestinian activists in Philadelphia. “Goldie, Goldie, you can't hide, we charge you with genocide,” the protesters chanted. Protest organizers said they were targeting the restaurant over a $100,000 donation to the Israeli emergency medical organization United Hazara. Their critics, including Jewish leaders in Philadelphia, argued that the protests inappropriately targeted Israelis over the actions of the Israeli government.
It had already been made public that Solomonov's long-standing friendship with Palestinian chef Reem Kassis had been strained. Cassis, who also lives in Philadelphia, told the New York Times She said she and Solomonov no longer spoke about Israel's war in Gaza for several weeks.
“My recent experience has confirmed that food diplomacy does not work and cannot solve problems like the Israeli occupation of Palestine over the proverbial hummus plate,” Cassis told the paper. (Solomonov did not comment for this article.)
and Sabra brand hummus products. Last month, a supermarket in suburban Philadelphia was reportedly vandalized.a sticker is placed on the package encouraging shoppers to boycott Israeli products.
The vandalism occurred during New allegations that Israel is culturally appropriating hummus and other foods of Palestinian origin — included in a petition with 1,000 signatures from food industry experts.
For Solomonov, hummus is personal. After his older brother was killed while serving in the Israeli army, he decided to focus his culinary career on Israeli and Jewish cuisine. David Solomonov volunteered to swap shifts with another soldier who wanted to attend a synagogue on Yom Kippur in 2003. He was shot dead by a sniper.
Solomonov co-founded Zahav, a restaurant known for its hummus, salads and skewers, in 2008 with entrepreneur Steve Cook. They are co-owners of the CookNSolo group, which also owns Goldie, Razorwolf, Mercaz and Kefal.
Zahav is not kosher certified, but in accordance with traditional Jewish dietary customs, the restaurant does not mix meat and dairy products and does not serve pork or shellfish. Hummus is one of the specialties.
“It's this dish that brings people to the restaurant in the first place,” Solomonov said in the article. statement Hummus Instagram. “And often that's what brings people back. There's something transcendent about a perfect bowl of hummus that tells guests they're in the right place.”
