Tali Friedman is the kosher cooking guru to politicians and celebrities — if they know who to ask.
“I don’t advertise or do any marketing,” said the Jerusalem-based mother of four. “People find me by word-of-mouth.”
Last summer she was spotted leading Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, who are Jewish Orthodox, through Jerusalem’s bustling Machane Yehuda market, where the cooking instructor keeps a well-outfitted culinary atelier to teach the ways of kosher cooking.
But her business was born out of a dark time in Jerusalem.
Friedman, now 46, started the atelier during the second Intifada, a violent Palestinian uprising that lasted from 2000 to 2005, during which Machane Yehuda was the site of numerous deadly terror attacks.
“The market was basically empty during this time,” she said “People would run in and run out” because they were so scared.
Eventually, the situation subsided and Friedman’s business took off.
Intimate and personalized, the tours — which begin at NIS 1000 per person (US$285) — are followed by a cooking class and multi-course meal in her atelier using produce and products sourced from the market. All the meals are kosher and meat- and fish-focused.
“There is no butter or cream or anything dairy,” in accordance with Jewish tradition, Friedman explained. Instead, her cooking is anchored in local olive oils, which “I use almost as a spice,” she said. “My tours, while focused on food, are really all about tastes and flavors.”
“Most of my initial clients were Israeli,” she said of the day-trippers from Tel Aviv and the surrounding suburbs. That is, until Martha Stewart came calling in 2011, “tweeting her way” across the nation.
Friedman, who led the star on a comprehensive market tour followed by a light meal in her atelier, said she was impressed by Stewart’s sheer curiosity. “She was very interested in ‘tips’ — such as how to remove the seeds from a pomegranate we found. She wanted to learn about solutions to everyday culinary challenges.”
That visit provided Friedman with a level of international exposure that quickly attracted other bold-name clients. Mitt Romney toured and dined with Friedman during his 2012 presidential bid. Billionaire investor and New Jersey Devils co-owner David Blitzer and former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper have been on Friedman’s tour. The Presidents of Israel and Cyprus and assorted mayors, ambassadors, ministers and secretaries — as well as traditional tourists — have all joined Friedman’s tours, eager for her insider market experience.
The fact that the operation is fully kosher certainly appeals to folks like Trump and Kushner, “but the majority of clients aren’t necessarily observant,” Friedman said.
Their whole family prepared a meal together, including freshly-baked focaccia made by the three Kushner kids.
“We had ceviche and branzino and Jerusalem artichokes,” Friedman said.
Born in Tzfat, the hilltop town that’s the center of mystical Kabbalah, Friedman is a professionally-trained chef who studied in Jerusalem and at Paris’ Lenotre Culinary Arts School. She has cooked at celebrated Israeli restaurants including Le Regence at the landmark King David Hotel and with chef Eyal Shani, who’s gone on to open Israeli-styled restaurants across New York and the globe.
But the Machane Yehuda market — a century-old warren of spice stalls and produce peddlers, hummus joints and pastry-makers — always called out to her.
“I used to walk past it every day on the way home from school,” said Friedman, who moved to Jerusalem from Tzfat during elementary school. When she switched her focus from conventional kitchens to the market itself, she began organizing first-of-their-kind tours highlighting her favorite makers and vendors.
Today, as the market prepares to celebrate its centenary, Friedman is busier than ever. She was elected as the first female chair of the Machane Yehuda Merchants’ Association, advocating for the 1,000+ vendors. She’s also busy cooking for private clients in New York and Europe and South Africa.
“Tali always seems to be doing the impossible,” Orly Segal, Israel’s leading culinary press and marketing agent, told The Post. “Especially during the pandemic, she fought incredibly hard for the interests of her vendors.”
In 2023, Friedman will accompany the Israeli modern-dance troupe Catamon — which is based is Mahane Yehuda — to New York, where they are planning to perform and she will host a series of pop-up dinners.
As for the market itself, Friedman say Machane Yehudah is now packed with shoppers and vendors and tourists, and is a far cry from when she first opened up shop.
“Today, people have finally discovered Machane Yehuda,” said Friedman, “because a market is the beating heart of every city and symbolizes and reflects the larger society around it.”