No Shakshuka For You, Donald!
Family Dinner: Chef Segev Moshe (center) stands at the table with (clockwise from left) President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, the Netanyahu’s son Yair, Sara Netanyahu and the prime minister. Image by Courtesy of Haaretz
By Liza Schoenfein May 23, 2017
When the American First Family dined at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence on Monday night, Israeli celebrity chef Segev Moshe made sure the menu would appeal to President Donald Trump’s all-American tastes.
Among the safely familiar offerings were hamburger sliders, steak with barbecue sauce and molten chocolate cake (sprinkled with edible gold-leaf). Israeli food might be trending in the United States, but the Israelis decided to give Trump what they knew he’d enjoy. (In Riyadh, the President was fed steak and ketchup, while also being offered a choice of local dishes.)
Meeting of minds? For dessert the two leaders could gaze at their own profiles, which were fused as the backdrop for pralines shaped like chess pieces. Image by Courtesy of Haaretz
“It was important to the Netanyahus that the president feel at home,” Moshe said, according to a report in Haaretz.
The slider course was called “A Taste of America” on the printed menu. It was followed by a course called “A Path To Peace,” which consisted of salmon with a miso-caramel glaze. Next was “Lifting the World,” a choice of fish or fillet of beef with barbecue sauce.
In addition to the chocolate cake, dessert included apple pie as well as baklava and a rose-scented rice pudding called malabi — finally, a touch of local flavor.
Liza Schoenfein is food editor of the Forward. Contact her at [email protected] or on Twitter, @LifeDeathDinner
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Dive In
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion My Jewish moms group ousted me because I work for J Street. Is this what communal life has come to?
- 2
News Student protesters being deported are not ‘martyrs and heroes,’ says former antisemitism envoy
- 3
Fast Forward Suspected arsonist intended to beat Gov. Josh Shapiro with a sledgehammer, investigators say
- 4
News Who is Alan Garber, the Jewish Harvard president who stood up to Trump over antisemitism?
In Case You Missed It
-
Fast Forward Dozens of members of UK’s largest Jewish group sign letter condemning war in Gaza
-
Culture Actor Ben Platt says his Jewish identity is ‘not defined’ by Israel, showing a gap between him and his influential family
-
Fast Forward Shapiro house fire suspect targeted Jewish governor over pro-Israel stances, search warrant says
-
Fast Forward Jewish family killed in New York plane crash
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.