Food

The Falafel Wars Come to London — and Israel Loses to Egypt!

By Josefin Dolsten May 4, 2016

Egypt was declared Sunday to have the most delicious falafel, beating its Israeli, Palestinian and Middle Eastern-fusion competitors at a London festival.

Falafel is popular throughout the Middle East, although its origins have been hotly debated.

Israeli chef Uri Dinay, who came in second place, and whose falafel the Guardian described as “crisp but slightly dense” said the chickpea balls did not originate in Israel.

“We didn’t invent falafel,” Dinay said, who admitted that the Egyptian rendition of the chickpea balls had been the tastiest.

Egyptian Moustafa Elrefaey, whose falafel the Guardian deemed “light and delicate and delicious,” was not as humble. “I don’t think falafel is Egyptian. I know it is,” he said.

A Lebanese team was unable to compete because members were denied visas to the U.K.

The event was part of the UN’s International Year of Pulses, which aims to highlight the nutritional benefits of legume seeds, such as peas and beans.

Josefin Dolsten is a New York-based writer who has reported for the Forward, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Times of Israel and other Jewish publications. She currently works as an account director at Fenton Communications, supporting organizations that work to advance racial justice, LGBTQ+ equality, reproductive rights and more. Dolsten earned her B.A. in government from Cornell University and her M.A. in comparative religion and Jewish studies from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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