Raphi Cohen

Raphi Cohen was born in 1976 in Jerusalem

Raphi Cohen was born in Jerusalem and grew up in the German Colony. He learned Moroccan cooking from his grandmother Aziza, who was born in Casablanca. At 13 he began an apprenticeship in the pastry department of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem.

As a teenager he worked at the Grappa restaurant. During his military service he worked at Arcadia in Jerusalem from its opening. After his release he trained abroad with Alain Passard and Pierre Gagnaire in Paris, Marco Pierre White in London, and at Don Alfonso near Naples.

Back in Israel he became head chef of La Regence at the King David Hotel. In 2001 he opened the Raphael restaurant in Tel Aviv, mixing French cooking with Moroccan dishes. In late 2013 he opened a second restaurant, Hamesh, in Tel Aviv.

From 2015 he was in legal disputes with former employees he accused of embezzlement. In 2016 he was convicted of assaulting a waiter. Raphael closed in April 2017 after workers went unpaid, and he was arrested twice in 2017.

He was declared bankrupt in April 2018. In 2026 he created the menu for the Nora restaurant in Kiryat Anavim.