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Chef Loel Miller: Leading Malka's Global Culinary Vision · Forking Around with Flavor South Florida

0:02
Thank you. Welcome to Forking Around with Flavor
0:06
South Florida. I'm Kerri Paizzi, CEO of Flavor
0:09
South Florida. We are sitting down with entrepreneurs,
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business owners, and influential community partners
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to talk growth, trials, tribulations, and more.
0:17
These conversations lead into Flavor South Florida,
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the region's largest restaurant month, happening
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every September from the 1st through the 30th.
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If you're in hospitality or thinking about building
0:27
something meaningful in this industry, you're
0:29
in the right place. Pull up a chair and let's
0:31
get into it. This episode is sponsored by Altima
0:38
Caviar. Visit them at AltimaCaviar.com. Today,
0:44
I'm joined by Chef Loel Miller, Executive Chef
0:47
and Culinary Director of Malka, the kosher restaurant
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concept by Chef Eyal Shani, with locations around
0:54
the world, including West Palm Beach. We'll talk
0:57
about his journey from Israel to the global culinary
1:00
stage and how he's helping redefine modern kosher
1:03
dining. Please welcome Chef Loel Miller to
1:06
the show. So happy to see you today. Thank you
1:09
so much. I'm very happy to be here. I am thrilled
1:11
to be here. I've been to Malka several times.
1:14
I think it's a fantastic concept, delicious,
1:18
fresh ingredients. We'll dive deeper into that,
1:22
but I really just want to start at the beginning.
1:25
And get your story. So your culinary career began
1:28
after your service in the Israeli army. Yeah.
1:31
How long did you serve for? So I served for around
1:34
five years. Basically, the minimum is three years,
1:37
but I became an officer. So I stayed extra two
1:39
years and commanded around 100 soldiers by the
1:42
time that I finished my service. Wow. Yeah. What
1:46
years were we talking about? So that was 2012
1:49
until the end of 2016. I was part of a search
1:53
and rescue unit. So everything regarding missiles,
1:57
earthquakes, first response situations, all of
2:00
that, that was our basically profession. Wow.
2:03
I don't even have words for that. Yeah. That
2:05
is, can't even fathom. So how did you go from
2:12
that? to commanding these soldiers in the army
2:17
to where you're at now as an executive chef of
2:22
a fantastic concept worldwide. First of all,
2:26
thank you. I think that a lot of the skills and
2:28
a lot of the stuff I've been through during my
2:30
service, a lot of the experience with my soldiers
2:32
and the people I was around, I think that it
2:35
helped a lot. I think that now it's definitely
2:36
doing service and working in a lot of places
2:39
around the world and meeting chefs and working
2:41
in the kitchen. It has obviously its hardships.
2:43
And I think the ability to stay cool under pressure
2:46
and to be supportive and to be focused and to
2:49
be able to work in a team or stuff that helped
2:51
me a lot during those years. I always had a passion
2:54
for food. My parents got divorced when I was...
2:57
I think 14 or 15. My mom is an amazing cook until
3:00
this day. I'm sure that she cooks better than
3:02
me. And my dad has like his things that he makes
3:05
that are very good, but we used to eat out often.
3:08
And I think I got kind of like both worlds of
3:10
like home cooking and something that's very warm
3:12
and very cozy and like eating at home with my
3:14
mom. And my dad kind of like showed me and revealed
3:17
to me basically the world of like fine dining
3:20
or nice restaurants or going out to eat. So from
3:22
a very young age, I felt like very connected
3:25
to food and what it brings. you in all the whole
3:27
hospitality business. That's awesome. That's
3:29
a great mix of both worlds. What is your favorite
3:32
dish that your mom makes? Wow, that's so hard.
3:36
I think it will sound a bit, a bit kitschy, but
3:40
schnitzel. Yeah. But like, don't ask me about
3:44
it because if I'll have to choose between the
3:46
Malka schnitzel and my mom's schnitzel, I'm not
3:48
going to answer. You've got, you're picking your
3:50
mom's schnitzel. You have to pick your mom's.
3:52
You can't pick Malka's. I mean, listen, I've
3:54
eaten Malka's schnitzel. It's freaking delicious.
3:58
But I want you, you know, maybe, is your mom
4:00
here or is she in Israel? So all of my family
4:03
is in Israel. She tries to come once a year,
4:06
actually, because of the whole situation in Israel.
4:08
She hasn't come in the past few years. But she's
4:11
going to come this September and maybe we'll
4:13
do something at Malka. I think we should. I think
4:16
we have mom schnitzel night and have her. Oh,
4:19
better yet. You have a blind taste test competition.
4:23
You invite diners in, like myself. And then you
4:27
give us both the schnitzels, but don't tell us
4:30
who made what. And then we have to taste them
4:32
and then we vote. That sounds good. It's perfect.
4:36
It's done. You heard it here first. We're doing
4:38
this. Mom schnitzel. Happening. It's happening
4:41
at Malka. So where and when did you meet Chef
4:45
Eyal? So when I finished my service, I moved
4:48
to Tel Aviv, which is, I think, like the classic
4:51
Israeli move of like you go to where everything
4:53
is happening. I was honestly looking for anything
4:57
to do, was just looking for a job before starting
4:59
college. And I had a friend of mine from school
5:02
asking if I want to come work at a chef's restaurant.
5:05
And I was like, honestly, that's a good, really
5:06
nice opportunity. I think I'm going to come and
5:08
try. Luckily for me, they really, really needed
5:11
people. So like the chef just hired me on the
5:14
spot, literally interviewed me. He's like, do
5:16
you want to start now? And I was like, okay.
5:18
So I walked into the kitchen and then I think
5:21
the first time I met Eyal was within the first
5:22
few weeks. I've been working in the company for
5:25
nine years. And nine years ago, I was like super
5:28
involved in all the restaurants. We didn't have
5:30
as many as we have today. So we've seen him very,
5:33
very often. Obviously, it took some time. Like,
5:35
you know, we're... Even back then, pretty big
5:37
company and a lot of like employees and a lot
5:39
of restaurants. I think the place that I started,
5:41
North Abraxas, was definitely a place that was
5:43
like close to his heart. So we used to be there
5:45
a lot. And I got to learn a lot from him. He's
5:48
like definitely my mentor and he's such an amazing
5:50
person. But it was really, really close to the
5:52
start, luckily for me. And I'm very happy that
5:54
that was the case. Is that restaurant still there
5:56
now? Yeah. So it opened in 2009. So it's, yeah,
6:01
in a few years, hopefully 20 years. Have you
6:04
been back? I go there every time I'm in Israel.
6:07
You do? Oh, that's nice. Yeah, that's the first
6:08
place I go to. That's so nice. So what are some
6:13
things that you feel like, what are the greatest
6:15
things that you took away from his guidance and
6:18
working alongside him and his mentorship? So
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I think if I have to like really put it in like
6:24
a few words, I think that first of all, it's
6:28
the pureness and quality of ingredients. It's
6:31
the fact that... we try the best as we can to
6:34
use the best produce. And we have basically,
6:37
we call it, we have every dish has like the queen
6:39
of the dish. And she'll be as much as we can,
6:42
almost a single ingredient. We can have a tomato
6:44
dish that has tomato, olive oil, and salt. I
6:47
like the pureness of it. And I think when you
6:49
try to get the best produce that you can, the
6:53
flavors and the highlights of whatever ingredient
6:56
you choose to use is just so amazing and so surprising.
7:00
And I think the second thing is, not even food
7:03
related. It's about the whole hospitality and
7:05
the way we see it is for us, we're in the business
7:07
of opening people's heart. It's not just a restaurant.
7:10
And like, if you come to my restaurant and you
7:11
say, oh, okay, it's very tasty. I kind of failed
7:14
at my job. I want people to leave the restaurant.
7:17
I want them to be a happier, better person for
7:19
it. We don't always succeed, but that's definitely
7:22
our goal. And I think that's the biggest thing
7:24
that I took away from him. Do you find, how many
7:26
locations are there now? Wow, I can't even tell
7:30
you. I would imagine around 50. Really? Yeah.
7:33
Where? Where are they all located? So it's all
7:36
around the world. We have restaurants in Melbourne,
7:38
in Paris, in London, in Vegas, in Miami. West
7:43
Palm Beach, in New York, in Tel Aviv, Ibiza.
7:47
It's really all over. These are not all Malka,
7:49
though. No, no, no. Our Malkas are, the first
7:52
one is in Tel Aviv. It opened in 2019. I was
7:55
part of the opening team as well back then. And
7:57
then at November 2023, we opened the first Malka
8:02
outside of Israel that was in New York. Then
8:05
another one in Brooklyn. And then this one in
8:07
West Palm Beach. Okay, okay. So they all have
8:11
the same menu? So they don't have the same menu
8:14
at all. We do have our Malka staples, like the
8:17
schnitzel, the green beans that you'll definitely
8:18
see on the menu. But I think a big part of who
8:21
we are, and that's at least the way I see what
8:24
we do. I give a lot of room for my chefs and
8:27
managers to kind of like work with me and develop
8:28
the menus. So I think if you'll come to... Every
8:31
Malka, you'll know it's a Malka, but you will
8:33
definitely feel the personalities of the people
8:36
that are running it day to day. And you'll see
8:37
definitely different dishes and different produce.
8:40
And I would say that between 50 to 60 % of the
8:43
menus are different. I find it so fascinating
8:46
that you have the same restaurant with ideally
8:51
the same concept in Florida, New York, and Israel,
8:57
right? Yeah. Do you find any challenges of your
9:04
product or any major differences in getting the
9:08
product, certain things that you're trying to
9:10
get that are in season and or influence of the
9:14
diners and influence of the city itself that
9:17
you're in? So definitely, I think. For me, I
9:21
don't look at it as a challenge. I think that
9:23
it's an opportunity. I think that there is definitely
9:27
differences between even our service and our
9:29
dishes between the restaurants. And I love it.
9:31
Like you come to Florida and you try to use obviously
9:34
like amazing farmers and you have even Gratitude
9:36
Farm that is like really close to the area that
9:38
we get our mushrooms for. It's completely different
9:41
than Israel that you have two weeks of mushrooms
9:44
in a year. So you'll see a lot of mushrooms on
9:48
the menu here in comparison to Tel Aviv. And
9:50
every restaurant, obviously, as you mentioned,
9:53
has different characteristics of the people who
9:56
are coming. In Brooklyn, we'll go have your own
9:58
sandwiches or very Jewish-y, kind of like deli
10:02
-style food. Okay. Which here will definitely
10:04
go kind of like higher end, more fancy, more
10:07
delicate food. For me, it's amazing. It definitely
10:10
makes my job harder to keep track on everything
10:12
that we do. And I have to like, in a way, invent
10:14
myself in every Malka that we do. But I find
10:17
it amazing. And I love the different produce
10:19
and I love the different people. And it gives
10:21
me an opportunity to kind of do something new,
10:23
even every time I do a Malka. I find that so
10:26
incredible. I am so jealous that you get to do
10:29
all the travel you do. So what's your what is
10:31
your schedule look like? Are you are you just
10:34
bouncing around? So most of the time I'll be
10:37
in New York. I'll try to be every day each one
10:40
of the Malkas. So I'll do one day here and then
10:43
one day at the other restaurant. I'm traveling
10:45
to West Palm Beach to the Malka here. around
10:48
once every two weeks for a day or two to work
10:50
on new recipes, to see my managers, to meet the
10:53
chef, to try some new dishes. So I definitely
10:55
travel a lot, but I'll try to be at the restaurants
10:58
at least. two or three times a week. We're also
11:02
working on a new Malka in Beverly Hills. Oh,
11:05
yeah? Yeah, that's going to be some far, yeah,
11:08
it's a bit more far away for me. Let's see, and
11:11
there we go. That is a completely different demographic
11:14
from all the other ones. Definitely. And it's
11:16
funny because I'm from New York originally, and
11:19
I say this to restaurant owners often that are
11:23
not, you know, they're born and raised here in
11:24
Florida. I've been here 15 years now, and I tell
11:26
them every time, like, you're not, this is not
11:29
the same. This is not the same. Your clientele
11:32
is very different. Your expectations are very
11:33
different. Like your traffic is very different
11:36
from being maybe you have a restaurant in New
11:39
York City versus you have a restaurant in Jupiter,
11:41
Florida. Not the same. So actually, I have a
11:46
funny question. If you will, you don't have to
11:48
answer it, but I'm going to ask you anyway. Who's
11:52
the hardest clientele? Tel Aviv, New York or
11:57
West Palm? I don't know if it's the hardest.
12:00
I would say I think in West Palm Beach specifically,
12:04
I think that the people are in a way very well
12:07
educated, were very well traveled and have seen
12:10
a lot of the world and a lot of restaurants.
12:13
So I would say the standards of the people and
12:15
what they're looking for is definitely high.
12:17
I don't know if it's the hardest. I think there
12:19
is something beautiful here. And I think that
12:22
when we opened Malka here, it took us a lot of
12:25
time because... Often we, you know, you have
12:28
this like, you have this feeling that you do
12:29
something amazing. You're the best at what you
12:31
do. And we came here and the opening, it wasn't
12:35
easy for us. We had to learn a lot about the
12:36
crowd here and the community and the people that
12:38
are here. And I think that it created something
12:41
very different than what we do in our other Malkas.
12:43
I would definitely say that our service here
12:45
is, it's definitely like. I don't know. The only
12:52
word I can find is like fancier, which I think
12:55
is the right thing for the people here. And it
12:57
created an amazing balance between what we bring
13:00
as a company and who we are, which is a bit more
13:02
casual. And you'll come and the waiter will sit
13:04
next to you and he'll ask you questions, which
13:06
is something that took us definitely time to
13:08
get people used to here. So I think that the
13:10
middle ground that we found here is very, very
13:12
beautiful. But it was definitely hard in the
13:15
beginning. What month did you open? We opened
13:17
in December. There was your first mistake. It's
13:22
hard to do an opening in season here. It really
13:25
is because you have the good and the bad, right?
13:29
As I'm sure I'm not telling you anything surprising
13:31
or new, but for the listeners who don't know,
13:34
the good I think is you are hitting the masses
13:37
at that time, but you're also hitting the masses
13:40
at that time. Where if you were to open a restaurant
13:42
in summer here, you would have that, you're probably
13:45
going to... operate on uh in the red for a little
13:49
bit there but you're also gonna have time to
13:52
work out your kinks so i feel like when restaurants
13:54
open in season here you really have to have pardon
14:01
my words you really have to have your shit together
14:03
but to to really be like because you have one
14:05
chance you have one opportunity of one if one
14:08
first impression and that's as you said the standards
14:12
are high here which i love and appreciate but
14:16
I, funny enough, I usually don't go to a restaurant
14:19
when they first open for the first month because
14:20
I get it. I understand because I've done it.
14:23
I've worked in restaurants for 20 years. I've
14:26
done a lot of openings. And I know those first
14:28
couple weeks. They're not fun because the computer
14:32
breaks and then some burner breaks in the kitchen
14:35
and that went out. And, you know, even though
14:36
it was a brand new piece of equipment and something,
14:39
you know, it's things happen. It goes and then
14:41
you get in the groove and then and I also tell
14:44
everybody. So now you're open almost two years
14:46
in West Palm. We open in December, so December
14:50
will be two years. Yeah, that's awesome. I mean,
14:52
and I just, I can't speak highly enough about
14:56
your restaurant. And I find it also really interesting
15:00
and awesome that you keep kosher in that restaurant.
15:04
Do you? find any constraints with doing that
15:09
with having it be a kosher space because that's
15:12
a very unique concept for this area in my in
15:15
my opinion i don't see a lot of cultural restaurants
15:17
i only know of like one l like one other restaurant
15:21
right yeah because coming from long island we
15:24
i had i grew up working in a kosher deli i'm
15:27
very versed in the kosher food world i i mean
15:30
i i asked a rabbi questions when he would come
15:32
in and i i learned a lot about that and understanding,
15:36
you know, why you're closed on Saturday, where
15:39
we can touch on that and explain to the viewers
15:41
why we're, why we're closed on Saturday. So I
15:45
know people are like, why are they closed on
15:46
Saturday? Yeah, they're, it's, it's, it's Shabbat
15:49
and they're observing, right? So, but not everybody,
15:51
not every, every diner out there is going to
15:53
just know that, you know, you've spoken about
15:56
using the kosher quote unquote restrictions as
16:00
opportunity versus constraint. Can you tell me
16:04
a little bit about that aspect of it? Yeah, so
16:06
I think first and foremost, just specifically
16:09
about the Saturday, like Friday and Saturday
16:11
not working, I think that's amazing. You know,
16:14
in my opinion, a restaurant, because... As you
16:17
said, you know this business very well. And you
16:20
want to work as many shifts as you can, as many
16:22
days as you can, obviously, so the business will
16:24
be in the green and will make money. There is
16:26
something about being closed for two days that
16:28
gives you this time to breathe, which is very
16:30
similar to the idea of Shabbat in Jewish religion.
16:33
And I'm not religious. I don't observe Shabbat.
16:36
But there is something about having those two
16:38
days that I think gives you time to think about
16:41
the week, think about the food you've done, think
16:43
about new things, in a way even create longing
16:45
to what you do. From the guest's point of view
16:48
and from our point of view. So in a way, I feel
16:51
blessed that we have that. That it's kind of,
16:52
in a way, we can say it's forced on us, but I'm
16:55
very happy that it happens. And in the aspect
16:57
of food, so definitely I see it as an opportunity.
17:01
If I'm being fully honest, butter is amazing
17:04
and it's so flavorful. And it's not the easiest
17:07
thing in the world to cook with no dairy or there
17:10
are certain vegetables that we can't use. But
17:13
there's so many wonderful things in the world.
17:15
I'm going to stop you right there for anyone.
17:17
So when you're kosher, you are not supposed to
17:21
be mixing meat with dairy. So in your style,
17:25
and you can choose either direction. So for instance,
17:27
the deli I worked at, we were kosher dairy. So
17:29
we had no meat, but we had cream cheese and we
17:31
had milk and we had all the dairy products. Whereas
17:34
with your concept, with Malka, you're the opposite.
17:37
You're doing a... Kosher meat. Yes. So you cannot
17:41
have any dairy in your kitchen. We have no dairy
17:43
whatsoever. Anywhere. Anywhere. And if you think
17:46
about, to your note, I would look at that as
17:51
that creates a challenge. Yeah. A full menu with
17:55
no dairy. This episode is sponsored by Altima
17:59
Caviar. Experience exceptional. Visit them at
18:03
AltimaCaviar.com. I mean, I'm not missing it
18:07
when I walk into your restaurant personally,
18:09
but I think, you know. So I think if there was
18:13
a big challenge, I think the desserts are a big
18:15
challenge. It's when something has no dairy,
18:18
we call it pareve. So doing pareve desserts, I think
18:21
was our biggest challenge. We basically brought
18:24
in two amazing people. One of them is such a
18:27
wonderful, such a talented baker that helped
18:29
us a lot with all the doughs. So if it's a cinnamon
18:32
roll or something like that, you know, like a
18:34
babka or a challah bread that we do as a dessert,
18:36
you can find solutions for everything. Do you
18:39
do a babka for dessert? So we're now doing a
18:41
cinnamon roll, but it changes. I vote babka.
18:46
We'll get there too. When you come in, I'll make
18:48
sure you have babka for you. I grew up with a
18:50
lot of Jewish -influenced food because, like
18:53
I said, one, I worked in the kosher deli. Two,
18:56
my mother... My grandmother, well, we have to
18:59
go back a couple generations. My great-grandparents
19:01
were Jewish. So I'm not religious, really, but
19:06
I was very much always eating babka. And some
19:12
of my friends have no concept of a Jewish food,
19:17
right? They are like, what is a babka? I'm like,
19:21
oh, my gosh, it's the most delicious thing, and
19:23
you have to eat it. Even gefilte fish I love.
19:28
I love it too. And I tell people that and they're
19:30
like, what? I'm like, I love it. I love it so
19:33
much. And I think I love it because it's nostalgic
19:37
for me. My grandmother would make the most amazing
19:41
matzo bowl soup. So every time I'm sick, I'm
19:42
like, I just want matzo bowl soup. And it's nice.
19:46
And for me, it's comfort food. And so maybe that's
19:50
why I love babka so much. I feel like it gives
19:51
me that like. Comfort food, nostalgia, and it
19:54
makes me happy, right? It's like for me, that's
19:56
my happy food. And oh, my mother used to make,
19:59
I hope she listens to this episode because I'm
20:01
calling her out right now. She used to make these
20:04
most amazing rugelach. Yeah. Raspberry ones, chocolate
20:07
ones, cinnamon ones. She hasn't made them in
20:10
a while. I'm a little upset at the moment. So
20:13
I hope she'll see it then. I hope she listens
20:15
to this episode and all of a sudden it's like,
20:17
look what I made you. But those are some, I can
20:21
make you a dessert menu, a par of one. I got
20:23
you. There you go. I'm open for it. So that's
20:26
definitely was a challenge. I think in the food
20:30
being from Israel and the fact that we do a lot
20:33
of Mediterranean food, I think that either way
20:35
we kind of like, we try to find our way into
20:39
the olive oil situation. For me, butter at the
20:42
end of the day is very flavorful and very tasty.
20:44
And obviously like. I use it on my day-to-day
20:47
life, right? Like not in malka, but I'll use
20:49
it. But there is something about butter that
20:51
you reduce the sauce and it makes it heavy and
20:54
whatnot. There is something about olive oil that
20:56
almost kind of like, in my opinion, brings the
20:58
sun into the dish. It makes it a lot lighter.
21:00
Oh, I agree. A really great olive oil is so amazing.
21:04
It makes a big difference. Oh, yeah. So there's,
21:06
again, there are things like... We won't do this
21:09
like classic French sauces, right? It's not what
21:12
we do, but I don't know if we want to do it.
21:14
So I can't say that I really miss it. I like
21:16
having those kind of, I look at them as like
21:19
guiding rules instead of constrictions. And I
21:22
try to find new ways and new produce and new
21:25
stuff that we can use, different sauces or even
21:28
different vegetables that can work and build
21:30
an amazing menu without using dairy. Yeah, I
21:33
think you're doing a fantastic job at that. And,
21:36
you know, to speak with you, do you ever bring
21:38
any product from Israel to here for the West
21:42
Palm location? So first of all, when we started
21:45
opening restaurants outside of Israel, there
21:47
were a few things that we don't give up on, which
21:50
one is the olive oil. So the olive oil we use
21:52
is olive oil from Israel. And a funny note is
21:55
that. When we opened Malka's, the olive oil was
21:58
not kosher enough for us to use. And we talked
22:02
back to the olive oil company and they made a
22:04
different kosher certification so we can use
22:06
it in Malka. Oh, wow. That's awesome. So we use
22:09
kosher olive oil from Israel called Magal. We
22:11
use it all around our company in every single
22:13
restaurant. And we use tahini that's called Har
22:16
Bracha from Israel. And the rest not really because
22:22
it's important for us to be local. It's important
22:24
for us to be fresh. So like, I don't think we
22:27
would want to bring something from so far away,
22:29
even though the produce are amazing. Can you
22:32
purchase, can one, can a diner purchase the olive
22:36
oil from you? We don't really do that. You know,
22:39
like if someone will come and ask specifically,
22:41
we'll kind of like take it on like, you know,
22:44
each time we'll make a decision. It's not really
22:47
something we do. First of all, it's a really
22:49
expensive olive oil. And also it's a huge kind
22:51
of like bulky situation. So it doesn't happen
22:54
often. If you want one, like... I want one. Yeah.
22:58
That I can do. I was hinting that I want one.
23:01
Yeah. So, all right. So now you can get the olive
23:05
oil if you ask per request. But you have to drop
23:08
Loel's name and be like, yeah, I heard the
23:10
episode. I want the olive oil. And this is what
23:12
we're covering for. So what is your... I asked
23:16
you this about your mom, but what is your favorite
23:18
thing to cook at home? Do you even have time
23:20
to cook at home? You're like all over the place.
23:23
Actually, I've tried in the past few months to
23:25
cook a lot at home. I think it definitely evolves
23:28
my creativity and it's so fun to cook in a different
23:32
environment. So I cook at home and I would have
23:36
to say that the thing I do the most is a salad.
23:38
I know it can sound disappointing. No, I love
23:40
a salad. But I think that it's such a huge world.
23:42
Every ingredient that you change makes it a completely
23:45
different thing. And I think for me, when I trial
23:49
a chef or I'll trial a cook, I'll ask them to
23:51
do a salad. I think it says so much about your
23:54
personality and about your cooking skills more
23:56
than any other thing. Can you describe to me
23:59
like that salad? So the base is an Israeli chopped
24:05
salad, which is a cucumber, tomato, and red onions.
24:08
No lettuce. No lettuce. Right. I think that's
24:11
an American creation. Perfect. I'm with you.
24:14
We don't need the lettuce. Give me all the toppings.
24:16
And I do Israeli feta. I do pine nuts. I do tuna,
24:23
olives, green olives, and corn. Is this salad
24:30
on the menu at Malka? No. This particular one?
24:32
That's my home salad. This is your home salad.
24:33
That's my house salad. Oh, okay, okay. I like
24:37
all of that. I love a simple salad with really
24:40
fresh, amazing ingredients. Like I had one recently
24:43
that I've been recreating at home. It's kale.
24:47
It's kale, orange slices, like clementine little
24:51
ones. What else do I put in there? Fresh parmesan.
24:58
Truffle oil. Nice. As the dressing. Well, I mix
25:01
the truffle oil with lemon, fresh lemon. Yeah.
25:04
And I make like a little dressing. But it's so
25:06
simple and light and delicious and flavorful.
25:09
Like it's really, really, really good. And healthy.
25:12
Yeah. And you do have to be very particular with
25:16
the oils because some oils like. The bottle says,
25:19
like, hey, I'm healthy, but it's not. And you
25:21
know how I know. My stomach tells me that. Yeah,
25:24
I think you feel it immediately. Immediately.
25:26
That's why I'm, like, really invested in your
25:29
olive oil because I know it's going to be good.
25:32
I'll take care of you. Don't worry. We'll figure
25:33
that out. So tell the listeners about some dishes
25:36
just in general. Maybe give me your top five.
25:39
favorite dishes on your menu at Malka so it changes
25:42
a lot because we do change the menu seasonally
25:44
and because I have like three Malkas now it's
25:48
a lot of new dishes I'll say that I'll definitely
25:51
go for like something fresh I love Hermese which
25:53
is basically like a very very rustic cut vegetables
25:57
with a few falafel balls. In some of the restaurants,
26:00
we have like chickpeas next to it. In some restaurants,
26:02
we have baba ganoush. It's obviously also the
26:05
dish is a bit different, but for me, it just
26:07
goes well with everything that you eat inside
26:08
it. And it's like fun and nice to have on the
26:11
table. I definitely love our green beans. Our
26:14
green beans is a staple that we have, I would
26:17
imagine in 99 % of our company. It's super fresh.
26:20
It's super light. And like for me, it's, I don't
26:24
know. I'm always in the mood for it. I think
26:26
our hummus is the best hummus in the world. How
26:28
are they prepared though, the green beans? So
26:30
we blanch them. We take them to ice water. And
26:35
then we do a vinaigrette of garlic, lemon zest,
26:40
lemon juice, olive oil, and salt. Super simple,
26:42
but super vibrant, super fresh. And it's just
26:45
so flavorful. It has this like nice crunch, a
26:48
nice bite to it. And I think it's great. And
26:51
hummus is the best in the world. That's a big...
26:53
No, so I know it's a big statement. That's a
26:54
big statement. Yeah, I know. I apologize for
26:57
that. But I truly, truly stand behind it. And
27:00
I'm a very big fan of hummus. And hummus is something
27:02
that I know in everywhere around the world is
27:05
very personal. Every person has like the hummus
27:08
that he likes or the restaurant that he enjoys
27:10
or people are making it at home. And like our
27:13
hummus is the best hummus in the world. And I'm
27:15
willing to like, how do you say, die on that
27:18
hill? Yeah. Yeah. Whoever thinks it's not is
27:20
invited. The hummus is on me. I see a marketing
27:25
campaign around that. Or the opposite. So how
27:30
are you preparing the hummus? So for me, it takes
27:34
us two days because to me, the most important
27:36
part is, first of all, the chickpeas has to be
27:38
fully soft for the paste to become. super, super
27:42
smooth. That will be the first thing. And then
27:45
we keep it overnight in the fridge because when
27:48
you make, when you blend the chickpeas with ice,
27:51
when it's cold, you get this amazing, very bright
27:54
white color. So it's a lot lighter. It's a lot
27:57
less heavy and it's very, very smooth. And these
28:00
are the main secrets. Besides that, we almost
28:02
add nothing. We do a tiny, tiny, tiny bit of
28:06
citric acid, salt, and tahini. And that's everything
28:11
we do. The most important thing is the chickpeas
28:14
themselves, which takes us a long time to find.
28:16
Wherever we open a restaurant, it's something
28:18
that like we definitely look for. And it's very,
28:22
very simple. It's very pure. But the way that
28:24
we make it is so light, so smooth. And it's just
28:27
like you can eat it at 9 a.m. and you'll feel
28:29
amazing for the rest of the day. For me, that's
28:31
the secret. Where do you get good chickpeas?
28:34
So we get our chickpeas from, it's honestly,
28:36
it's an Israeli company, but they source the
28:38
chickpeas from Israel. To be fully honest, it
28:41
really doesn't have to be from there. There are
28:43
amazing chickpeas everywhere. I would say that
28:45
if someone wants to look and see like what he
28:47
likes best, first of all, like my recommendation
28:50
will be that they'll be as small as you can find.
28:53
Okay. That's like the first thing that I look
28:55
for. And they should just be in a can. No, so
28:58
we buy them dry. we never use, like, the cooked ones.
29:00
Yeah, yeah. We start the process from... See,
29:02
this is important information, Loel, to share
29:04
with the people. No, honestly, like if there
29:07
is one thing that I can confidently say, we don't
29:09
hide anything. If you'll come to my restaurant
29:11
and you'll ask for a recipe, I'll give you the
29:12
full recipe. So you're saying that, okay, if
29:15
I was to create a Flavor South Florida cookbook,
29:19
which recipe would you want to feature? You can
29:24
only pick one. I think it's the hummus, to be
29:27
honest. So we are doing the hummus on the menu
29:29
and it's going to be our vegetarian option as
29:32
a main. But we're doing it with a beautiful skewer
29:35
of mushrooms from Gratitude Garden Farms. And hummus
29:38
with mushrooms is like a classic hummus dish
29:41
that we have in Israel. It's like one of those
29:42
like classic options. So we did our take on that.
29:46
So it's like very, very fancy king oyster mushrooms
29:48
sliced super thinly, grilled on our amazing hearth
29:52
that we have in the restaurant. So it's grilled
29:53
on the charcoal and then it's going to sit on
29:55
top of the hummus and it's just unbelievable.
29:58
That will probably be my favorite. I need, I'm
30:01
overdue. I'll be there tonight. This is ridiculous.
30:04
Amazing. I'll be there too. I mean, maybe. You
30:07
never know where my day is going to bring me.
30:09
I say that kind of jokingly, but I'm like, hmm.
30:13
There might be some truth to that. So I am going
30:17
to definitely visit your New York space ASAP.
30:21
And I mean, ultimately, I would love to visit
30:24
the one in Israel as well. But we'll get there.
30:28
So let's do some quick rapid fire questions.
30:32
I don't want you to put a lot of thought into
30:34
the answers. Just want to answer as quick as
30:36
you can. And then that's going to be that. Amazing.
30:40
Ready? Yeah. What's one ingredient you could
30:43
never live without? Eggplant. Favorite Israeli
30:47
comfort food? Wow. Schnitzel. The first dish
30:55
that you ever cooked successfully that you were
30:59
like, ah, I'm good at this? Chicken soup. Tel
31:05
Aviv or New York City for dining out? Tel Aviv
31:10
by far. By far. I'm sorry. By far. Don't apologize.
31:14
We're being real here. What is your go-to late
31:17
night meal after service? Oh, my God. It's terrible.
31:21
It's Burger King. No way. Yeah. That's it. This
31:25
episode's done. We're done. We're over now. What
31:28
are you getting at Burger King? I don't know.
31:30
Like the regular burger is just so good. Just
31:32
the burger? Yeah. That's definitely my guilty
31:34
pleasure. Wow. All right. I'm shocked at this
31:38
answer, by the way. Mine's Taco Bell. Okay. What
31:41
is one ingredient that Chef Eyal taught you to
31:45
respect differently and utilize differently?
31:47
I think olive oil. The fact that you can use
31:50
it for cooking, to finish a dish. Like wherever
31:53
you add it to your recipe, it makes the biggest
31:56
difference. And tomatoes probably. I think that's
32:00
an easy one. I'm a real sucker for good tomatoes.
32:03
Like I really am. So you'll enjoy Israel a lot.
32:07
I love good tomatoes. I can just snack on them
32:09
all day long. Sweet or savory? Savory. Yeah.
32:15
What is one city that surprised you the most
32:18
as a food destination amongst your travels? London,
32:21
actually. I know people might think like now
32:24
it's an easy answer. Me too. But I've been there
32:26
10 years ago and it wasn't the case. So when
32:29
we opened a restaurant there and I came back,
32:31
I think it was three years ago, I was like amazed.
32:34
So London for me now is definitely a culinary
32:38
situation going on there. I a million percent
32:42
agree. And people look at me like I'm crazy.
32:45
I went to Paris and then a year later went to
32:47
London. And I thought I actually I think I enjoyed
32:50
the food in London better. It's everyone's looking
32:54
at me like I'm nuts. I'm like, no, I had the
32:56
best trout. I had the best oysters. I had the
32:59
most fresh, delicious food. And I'm just like,
33:02
I think people are still thinking about it being
33:04
fish and chips. I did have the fish chips when
33:07
I was there and they were OK. But everything
33:09
else was like. You can eat everything besides
33:12
fish and chips now in London and it's most likely
33:15
to be very, very successful. So, so good. What
33:18
is something that's always in your refrigerator
33:21
at home? Yogurt. Greek yogurt? Plain, vanilla?
33:27
Plain, nothing. Plain, nothing. Okay. If you
33:31
weren't a chef, what would you be doing? I would
33:34
be a teacher. What would you teach? History.
33:38
OK, I see this. You're giving me teacher vibes.
33:41
I hope it's a good thing. I totally see you as
33:43
a teacher, actually, because you you I feel like
33:48
you're you're educated, well -versed in our in
33:50
our world, in our history. How many countries
33:53
have you been to? Well, like, I don't know. I've
33:56
never counted, but a few. Yeah. I would guess
34:01
to say like, all right, we'll talk about travel
34:04
for a quick second. When you travel, do you have
34:06
any weird like requirements or do you always
34:09
sit in coach first class or business class? I
34:12
always sit in coach. Window or aisle? That's
34:16
a good question. So always window. In the past
34:19
three months, I think I've learned that I prefer
34:21
the aisle. So I'm still kind of like I'm currently
34:24
like in the making a decision about that. It
34:28
used to be window for sure. I think it might
34:29
be changing to an aisle seat. Like traveling
34:33
is the thing that I like the most. I think learning
34:35
about different cultures, eating different foods,
34:38
meeting different people is the most wonderful
34:40
thing in the world. But I... I really dislike
34:44
flying, so I have no requirements. Basically,
34:47
the day of the flight, I don't want to talk to
34:49
anyone. I don't want anything to be near me.
34:51
I don't eat. I don't drink. When I fly to Israel,
34:54
it's a 12 -hour flight. I don't eat for a full
34:57
day. I don't move out of my chair. I'm like,
35:00
yeah. Really? Yeah. So you don't like flying,
35:04
but you're on a plane a lot. What airline? Delta.
35:08
Me too. Delta's the best. Yeah. It's funny about
35:11
the aisle. I'm a window person myself because
35:15
I like to look out the window and I'm fascinated
35:17
by nature and clouds and whatever else I'm looking
35:20
at down there. But it's funny because I think
35:25
I especially like the window traveling internationally
35:29
because it's a longer flight and I want to sleep
35:32
and I want to just be in the window, crawled
35:35
up over there with my pillow because then...
35:38
You know, then they walk down the aisle with
35:40
the things and then all of a sudden you're in
35:41
the aisle and you're sleeping. You're fine. You're
35:43
finally sleeping. And then they bump your arm.
35:46
Like, I don't know anything to do with that.
35:47
So if I'm going to persuade your decision of
35:50
window versus aisle, I'm team window over here.
35:54
Well, I want to wrap up with one question for
35:59
you. If you could sit down and have dinner with...
36:07
20-year-old Loel, what would you tell him?
36:11
I would tell him to follow his heart and to be
36:15
true to himself. I think that's the, I'm saying
36:19
it to everyone, not just to my 20 years old,
36:21
me, honestly. I think follow your heart deep,
36:25
deep, deep down. I think that we know what's
36:28
good for us and we know what we want. And I think
36:30
that that's the best path that we can choose
36:33
in our lives. I happen to agree with that statement.
36:37
Well, thank you so much for coming on. And to
36:40
all the listeners, check out Malka, wherever
36:43
you may be. Thank you so much for having me.
36:44
In the world, check out Malka. Thank you so much.
36:57
Until next time, keep supporting local and keep
37:15
forking around.