Food Celebrity Sightings: Gil Hovav in Montreal

One thing that is almost as good as a great meal is the chance to meet a food celebrity in person. We had no idea who Gil Hovav was but this event, organized by the Consulate General of Israel in Montreal and Loblaws Cavendish (November 9, 2011), was all about discovering new things. We were very pleased to learn that Hovav is a big television food journalist and culinary ambassador for his country Israel. His television shows include the cooking series, Pepper Garlic and Olive Oil. His other series, Captain Cook has reviewed some of the world's best restaurants including elBulli. 

Gil Hovav: Tabouleh Time

Hovav explained during his cooking demonstration that Israeli food is influenced by the cuisines of the world but also local bounty and culinary traditions in the areas surrounding Israel. We were given a taste of this cuisine first hand with Hovav offering his spin on tabouleh. We have eaten a-lot-of tabouleh but this culinary experience was unexpected and nothing like the parsley, bulgar, and tomato salad that you may have eaten in the past. If this is a preview of Israeli cuisine then we definitely want to learn more. Hovav’s version of the salad is a cornucopia of ingredients and flavors that includes parsley, couscous (instead of bulgar), tomatoes, cucumbers, scallions, pomegranate seeds, pine nuts, dill, coriander and lemon zest. With so many fresh ingredients in one salad the result can only be delicious.

We found a video of Hovav doing a cooking demonstration in Toronto