kellygE3434ER
17 Jan 2023
I cannot recommend GalilEat strongly enough! Our guide, the excellent Baruch of Touring With Baruch, suggested that we do an Arabic cooking class while on our trip. To be honest, I’m not sure I would have gone for this if not for the fact that my mom, who was on this trip to Israel, did something similar when she visited India and said it was a fabulous experience. I really value eating well when I travel, and I love visiting restaurants. So to do this home cooking class meant not going to a restaurant one night. Well thank goodness we did this home cooking class! Because, as it turns out, it was my favorite meal in Israel. More importantly, it was a beautiful experience of the profound joy that is making new friends in other countries, and a reminder that language barriers and geographical distance are no match against everyone’s common humanity.
How it worked: Baruch drove us to the home we were visiting, which was the home of a lovely woman named Pnina. There, we also met up with Paul, who owns and runs GalilEat. When we arrived, we visited in Pnina’s living room and asked her questions about her life in Israel and her Druze faith. Paul functioned as the translator. My family and I knew nothing about the Druze, and it was utterly fascinating to learn about their long-ago break from the Muslim faith, their history across time, and their lives in modern-day Israel. Pnina happily fielded or questions, answering all of them, and Paul was the ever-ready middleman, making the conversation feel natural and seamless. Pnina also asked some questions about us, which we were just as happy to answer.
Eventually, we moved into Pnina’s kitchen, quite literally rolled up our sleeves, and got cooking! In advance of our arrival, she made the more labor-intensive and time-consuming dishes of our dinner. We helped her with a salad, an appetizer, and this crazy delicious bread that I’m still thinking about. At some point prior to our trip, I mentioned to Baruch that I’d recently been introduced to the wondrous dessert that is knafeh. He asked Paul if we might be able to make knafeh, and Pnina very graciously granted this request! I was blown away by everyone’s kindness and flexibility, as it was so much fun to make fresh knafeh (and oh my goodness was it good).
In time, dinner was ready, and all of us—Pnina, Paul, Baruch, my six family members, and I—gathered in Pnina’s dining room and broke bread together. It was so special to share in a meal with strangers-turned-friends. We had lively conversation, and Paul always took care to translate to Pnina so she could remain just as engaged as the rest of us. And, as I said, the food was phenomenal. All in all, this was way better than a restaurant! It was a way more personal experience than any restaurant, no matter how great their food, could have ever offered.
I will never travel overseas again without scheduling a similar home cooking experience whenever possible. It’s such a unique and fun way to learn about a country, its people, its culture. It’s a truly immersive experience, and one that comes with the bonus of incredible food. I enthusiastically recommend an evening with GalilEats—it’ll be among your most memorable experiences on your trip to Israel.