WHO KNEW?: Filmmaker Roger Sherman, seen shooting a scene for “In Search of Israeli Cuisine,” was stunned to discover the country’s food scene, “the hottest, most dynamic in the world.” The documentary, preceded by a food tasting, screens Sunday at The Jewish Center of Princeton.

By Anne Levin

Roger Sherman had never been to Israel when a friend invited him, last minute, to join a food-focused trip to that country. Always looking for a new project, the Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker decided to accept the offer.

“I said, why Israel? But I went. And I was completely knocked out by what I found there,” said Sherman, whose In Search of Israeli Cuisine will be screened Sunday, October 29, at The Jewish Center of Princeton. The affable director will be on hand for a discussion at the event, which also includes a tasting of Israeli cuisine featuring recipes from the cookbook Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking. The event is open to the public ($18 for Jewish Center members; $25 for non-members).

Sherman’s company, Florentine Films, has screened the documentary at more than 140 international film festivals and special screenings. The film took five years to make and was released in 2016.

“Israel has what I think is the hottest, most dynamic food scene in the world, because there are some 150 cultures that have either come to the country or never left it,” said Sherman. “And it is a climate bonanza, a place where fresh vegetables are grown year round. It’s very cold in the north and hot in the south. Israel is so small that you can go from one end of the country to the other in about two hours. And that means everything is local.”

Once a poor country, Israel is now swarming with restaurants and cafes. “You can’t get into restaurants in Tel Aviv, and now in Jerusalem,” Sherman said. “It’s like going to the Meatpacking District in New York City at 1 a.m. It’s hopping. I don’t know how people get up and go to work the next day. This place is phenomenal, plus it’s gorgeous and the people are lovely.”

Sherman’s earlier films include Zapruder & Stolley: Witness to an Assassination, Don’t Divorce the Children, Strings Without Borders, and several other titles. He is the cinematographer on most of the films he creates, which cover such subjects as art, history, science, social issues, the environment, and food. The documentaries have won an Emmy, a Peabody, and a James Beard Award, and have received two Academy Award nominations.

When he came back from his trip to Israel in 2011 and told people about its food scene, “they either laughed at me or didn’t believe me,” Sherman said. “So I thought it was a great subject for a film.”

A mutual friend introduced Sherman to Israeli-born, Pittsburgh-raised Michael Solomonov, whose Zahav restaurant in Philadelphia opened in 2008 and has won multiple awards. “I realized I needed somebody who understood all those cultures and the food to somehow be our guide,” Sherman said. “I didn’t want a travel film. My wife and I went to Zahav for dinner and we were completely knocked out. Many Israelis agree his hummus is as good as any in Israel. People have big debates about who has the best hummus.”

Sherman’s wife, writer and editor Dorothy Kalins, founded and edited the magazines Saveur and Metropolitan Home. She recently collaborated with Solomonov on the book Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking.

Shooting took about five weeks, at more than 100 locations throughout Israel. “Every day was an incredible surprise,” Sherman said. “It was the people as much as the food. Here is a country that is surrounded by hate, and yet the people have been rated as some of the
happiest in the world. It’s a real ‘us against them’ mentality, and they really bond. They are happy, outgoing, open, and friendly.”

Solomonov’s younger brother, David, was in the Israeli army and was killed in his final weekend of service. The tragedy was inspiration for the trained chef’s interest in Israeli cuisine. “So the film has a bigger meaning,” Sherman said. “We don’t beat you over the head with it, but it was the tenth anniversary of David’s death.”

The ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians is present in the film. “Palestinians have food that goes back hundreds of years, and it’s now called Israeli, so they weren’t so happy about that,” Sherman said. “So there is food politics in the film. And yet, there are many Palestinian and Jewish chefs working on special projects to show people there is a way for us to live together and do it right.”

But political issues are only one part of the picture. “I didn’t want to be so naive as to think I could create peace through food,” Sherman concluded. “I set out to make a film that was much more than a food film or travel film. Israel is a complex and wonderful place.”