Meir Adoni - A Culinary Journey

Meir Adoni, born on March 25, 1973, is an Israeli chef and restaurateur.

Biography

Meir Adoni was born in Eilat, Israel. His father served in the Israeli Navy, and Meir studied for five years at the "Mevo'ot Yam" maritime school in Mikhmoret. Following his military service, he pursued his passion for cooking, influenced by his mother and grandmother's kitchen.

He began his culinary journey as a professional at the "Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza" hotel in Tel Aviv, where he completed a course offered by the Ministry of Labor. Afterward, he briefly worked under Chef Ezra Kedem at the "Arcadia" restaurant in Jerusalem.

Meir then decided to further his culinary education, first in Sydney, Australia, at "Cordon Bleu," and later in France at the "Lenôtre" culinary school. After a short return to "Arcadia," he traveled to New York City, where he worked at a restaurant for nearly a year. Returning to Israel in 2001, he managed the "Olive Leaf" restaurant at the Sheraton Tel Aviv Hotel for a year.

In 2002, he received a scholarship for young chefs from Carmel Mizrahi and attended a baking course at the "Lenôtre" school. In 2017, chef Yoav "The Shadow" Eliahu criticized Adoni on social media due to the names of dishes he chose to serve at his New York restaurant, "Nur," including "Palestinian Tartare" and "Ramallah Kadaif," which he had also featured at his Israeli restaurants. This stirred controversy in the Israeli media.

Restaurants and Awards

In 2002, Meir Adoni, together with Eli Mizrahi, opened the "Catit" restaurant in Kfar Ruth. The restaurant moved to a location in Neve Tzedek, Tel Aviv, for a year, and in 2006, it found a permanent home at the "Beit Jerusalem" building, near Neve Tzedek.

The building, constructed in 1911, initially served as a residence and later became Tel Aviv's first hotel, known as the "American Hotel." The head chef at the restaurant was Yonatan Roshfeld.

"Catit" was selected as one of the "Top 50 Restaurants in the World" by "Academy Black Card New York." The restaurant closed its doors at the end of 2016.

In 2011, Meir Adoni opened a more casual restaurant called "M25," located on Nachalat Binyamin Street in Tel Aviv, with chef Assaf Stern. In July 2013, Adoni opened the dairy restaurant "Blue Sky" on the rooftop of the Carlton Tel Aviv Hotel. The chef of the restaurant was Maor Cohen.

In 2013, "M25" was awarded the title of "Best Bistro in Israel" by "Time Out" magazine. The restaurant closed at the end of 2016.

In June 2014, Meir Adoni opened the meat-focused kosher restaurant "Lumina" at the Carlton Tel Aviv Hotel. The restaurant offered modern Israeli brasserie dishes inspired by Jewish cuisine. The chef of the restaurant was Or Shpira.

In October 2015, Adoni opened "Sarona" at the Caesarea Golf Club. However, he closed the restaurant after only three months, likely due to disagreements with the restaurant's owners, Yaakov and Moran Cohen.

In early 2018, Meir Adoni opened "Donya" as part of the Shwa'rama restaurant chain, with the first branch located in Ramat HaHayal, Tel Aviv.

In 2018, Adoni opened "Lilah" in the Kiryat Herzog neighborhood of Berlin.

Television Appearances

Meir Adoni was named "Chef of the Year" in 2007 by "Time Out Tel Aviv" and participated as a contestant in the first season of the Israeli TV show "Knife Fight" on Channel 10.

Adoni served as a judge in the first and second seasons of the reality TV show "Chef Games" alongside Assaf Granit and Moshe "Moshik" Rot. In 2017, he joined the judging panel for the second season of "Bake Off Israel" alongside Esti Moshkovitz-Leffler and Keren Goren.

Personal Life

Meir Adoni was married for 15 years to Uriane, with whom he has four children. Since 2017, he has been in a relationship with Danielle Barbi, with whom he has three children. They reside in Kibbutz Sde Nehemia.