Film and televisionישראל אהרוני

Israel Aharoni

Israel Aharoni is an Israeli chef, restaurateur and television presenter known for bringing Chinese cooking to Israeli restaurants and for his cookbooks and food shows.

born 1950Chinese restaurants in IsraelCookbooks and newspaper food columnJudge on MasterChef IsraelTelevision food series

Born: 3 July 1950, Haifa
Occupation: chef, actor, television presenter, disc jockey
Founded: Pat Qua (1992)

Israel Aharoni was born in 1950 in Haifa

Aharoni was born in Haifa in 1950 to parents who came from Samarkand. He grew up in a working-class neighborhood in the lower city. His paternal grandfather was a rabbi of the Bukharian community in Samarkand.

He served in the Golani Brigade as a combat medic and fought in the War of Attrition. He then studied art in Amsterdam, where he first encountered Chinese food. Back in Israel, he lived on kibbutz Hulata and worked with at-risk youth.

In 1979 he went to Taiwan to study cooking, and he also trained in restaurants in France. In 1981 he opened the Chinese restaurant Yin-Yang in Tel Aviv, followed by Tai-Chi, the French restaurant Tapuach Zahav and Pat Qua in Herzliya. In 2019 he opened a butcher shop on Sheinkin Street with his son Uri.

He wrote a weekly food column in Yedioth Ahronoth until 2023 and authored many cookbooks. He hosted food programs on television, including a series with Gidi Gov from 2011. Since 2017 he has been a judge on MasterChef, and he also works as a DJ.