L28 Culinary Platform, a restaurant and chef accelerator created by Israel’s Start-Up Nation Central–an NGO connecting the world to Israeli innovation– has launched to explore and define Israeli cuisine and boost Israel’s position as a leader in culinary innovation.
Named after its address on 28 Lilienblum Street in central Tel Aviv, the culinary platform is part of a new building complex which houses Start-Up Nation Central. L28 provides a platform for emerging chefs to get a first-hand experience at what it takes to run their own restaurant, while at the same timing presenting various interpretations of Israeli cuisine from a vibrant, fresh, and locally sourced Israeli menu. Each “start-up” chef is given a six-month residency and a full-stack support package, including expert kitchen crew, a top-flight restaurant manager, marketing, and close mentoring by some of Israel’s leading restaurateurs.
“We’ve taken the basic ingredients of Israeli entrepreneurship, combined them with the fundamental attributes of a start-up accelerator and coded them into our culinary platform’s design,” says Amir Mizroch, Director of Communications at Start-Up Nation Central and L28 Culinary Platform. “Through food we’re aiming to add new threads to the tapestry of Israel’s innovative community and bring people together all over the world.”
With the introduction of a new executive chef every six months, L28 is constantly transforming and exploring new interpretations and creations, becoming a completely new restaurant twice a year.
The First Handover
April 16th marks the entrance of a new phase for L28 Culinary Platform, with its first ever chef handover. Shuli Wimer, L28’s first resident chef, will wrap up her six-month residency during an exclusive, one-time kitchen collaboration, officially passing the torch to her successor, Stav Naveh.
Beginning her tenure at L28, chef Naveh, joins with a completely different culinary approach, replacing Wimer’s mix of Israeli Galilee-Italian dishes with a combination of Jerusalem-French-Moroccan menu. Naveh’s food is inspired by her family’s aesthetic of French cuisine, and an influence of rich flavours and the strong aroma of spices from Moroccan cuisine. Her menu has three courses – petite, medium and main.
“I’ve devoted my entire career to exploring the culinary scene, expanding my knowledge in all aspects of food innovation, ergonomics, and sustainability. I look forward to bringing my journey to L28, together with everything I’ve gathered and cook my own menu in an atmosphere that allows me to focus on what I love most: the food, the service, and the experience,” said chef Naveh.
Start-Up Nation Central is an Israel-based non-profit whose mission is to help ensure that the tech sector remains strong in Israel. The organization leverages its in-depth knowledge of Israel’s innovation sector to help it grow and expand in Israel – all in partnership with industry, government and other NGOs. SNC curates a free-to-use innovation discovery platform called Start-Up Nation Finder that maps the entire Israeli innovation ecosystem in real time. Start-Up Nation Central connects business leaders, governments, and NGOs from across the globe to the relevant people and technologies in Israel that can address their most pressing challenges.
L28 is not only a restaurant, but an innovative culinary platform that seeks to explore and define Israeli cuisine through the introduction of the first ever chef accelerator concept, which ties back to the core ideas of its founding partners, Start Up Nation Central. Recently opened in the heart of Tel Aviv, L28 enlists a new rising chef to take over the kitchen every 6 months and present their interpretation of Israeli cuisine. Each chef is supported with all the operational elements needed to succeed, in a similar manner to that of a start-up accelerator.
Image Credit: Ilya Melncov
