Among the local chefs with the most international experience possessing great versatility in creating the most varied seasons, homemade recipes, mixtures of flavors and Signature Cuisine dishes, we find the Israeli Chef Avi Barak.
For more than 20 years he has been working in the best kitchens in the country, and is the owner of the Boutique Catering “Rimonim”. His recipes stand out for his experience in preparing Israeli and Mediterranean cuisine. He is also recognized as a specialist in the preparation of Kosher dishes, and his banquets adorn many of the best family and social events in the country. However, his drive to fuse new flavors has led him to work in countries such as Colombia, Mexico, among others.
How this path of being a Chef in Israeli food began?
“It all started at my mothers and grandmother’s kitchen. As the son of two working parents, we sometimes had to pack our lunch. When you are alone in the kitchen, it is fun to invent and use your creativity by making something else with the food that mom left you. I had a love for cooking since I was a child, it was always fun for me to play with food”.
From a very young age, he worked as a cook and pizza chef in restaurants. At the age of 18, he enlisted in military service (in Israel it is mandatory), and from that experience he remembers how he acquired discipline and knowledge to make decisions. Skills that he practices today in his kitchen. In the army, he also met his wife Mirit, with whom he works in the family business.
How is preparing dishes with Kosher specifications different from other foods?
“Kosher food is prepared under the norms of the Jewish religion. There are many rules, for example, use only products with Kosher certification, which indicates that the product was prepared under constant supervision of a qualified person. We do not use any derivative of pork or other animals that do not meet certain characteristics and from the sea, we only use fish with scales.
In the Kosher kitchen, we do not mix meat products with dairy products. That rule is so strict that the same utensils are not used in the kitchen. Everything must be separated, so in the industrial kitchen we use separate spaces for each section – milk, meat and parve (which is the term for products that are neither meat nor milk like vegetables and fish) there are many more rules but that’s for another story”.
How has the flavors from Panama influenced the dishes you prepare?
“My first culinary experience in Panama was with the “patacon”, the plantain – a product that is not available in Israel – it was surprising for me, eating a salty and crispy banana. As well as cassava, yams, otoe, coconut and pineapple, as well as sea products that are found in endless variety in Panama.
All this made me combine techniques and flavors from both worlds, for example a yucca “arepa” that Chef Cuquita taught me to make, to combine it with lamb kebab in recau sauce, which for me is Panamanian chimichurri or “patacon” toast, with chicken shawarma and tahini sauce. Combinations that I use a lot in my events”.
His taste for the exotic flavor that he found on his travels through the Panamanian interior motivated him to create a spicy product “Chunky Caribeño” with Aji Chombo, which can be found in supermarkets.
Gastronomy of Yesterday and Today
Upon his arrival in Panama, chef Avi found a local gastronomy that did not have a marked presence on the street. Restaurants with foreign concepts such as Greek, Italian, Spanish food, among others, stood out a lot.
He considers that the current generation is the one that is taking local gastronomy to a higher level, using local products, new techniques and introducing creativity, either Afro-Latino, Chinese-Latino or Panamanian Creole.
“The most beautiful thing in Panama is that it continues to be a melting pot and the reflection is in the gastronomic diversity that benefits us all, and allows me to leave my mark with the Mediterranean-Panamanian fusion, in the different menus of my events, and for being an ambassador of Panama in international events that we carry out throughout the continent”.
Photos courtesy: Chef Avi Barak
