Film and televisionאייל שני

Eyal Shani

Eyal Shani is an Israeli chef and television presenter who created the Miznon restaurant chain and is a judge on MasterChef Israel.

born 1959Creating the Miznon restaurant chainJudging on MasterChef IsraelWhole roasted cauliflower

Born: 6 January 1959, Jerusalem
Occupation: television presenter, chef
Founded: Miznon (2011)

Eyal Shani was born in 1959 in Jerusalem

Eyal Shani was born in Jerusalem on 6 January 1959 and grew up there. He studied at the Hebrew Gymnasium Rehavia.

He served as a combatant on the navy missile boat INS Romach. After the army he turned to the restaurant trade, learning to cook on his own.

In 1989 he became chef and partner at Ocean, a fine dining restaurant in Jerusalem, which closed in 1999. He opened HaSalon in Tel Aviv in 2008 and the first Miznon in Tel Aviv in 2011 with partner Shachar Segal. Miznon later opened branches in cities including Paris, Vienna, Melbourne, New York and Toronto.

On television he presented food programs and has been a judge on MasterChef Israel since 2010. In 2022 he was criticized on the show for remarks to a contestant living in Bat Ayin, beyond the Green Line.

In 2022 he opened Shmoné in New York, which earned his first Michelin star in 2023. He has opened 40 restaurants around the world, some of them kosher, such as Malka and Dvora. His restaurants have drawn both praise and criticism, including over prices at HaSalon in New York.