American Express Round Tables 2017 Returns to Tel Aviv

by Natasha Wolff | October 26, 2017 12:00 pm

This November, American Express Round Tables returns to Tel Aviv with exciting new opportunities for the traveling foodie. The annual event is a prestigious international culinary festival that brings the best chefs from around the world to the best restaurants in Israel—for a limited time.

This year, R2M Hospitality’s CoffeeBar[1] will host Chef Edgar Nunez of Mexico City[2]’s El Sud 777[3], known for its contemporary Mexican fare and its #11 ranking on the “50 Best Restaurants in Latin America” list by The World’s 50 Best. “We are thrilled to host Chef Nunez for this year’s Round Tables,” CoffeeBar’s Chef Ohad Solomon says in a statement. “He has elevated the culinary landscape in Mexico City, just as we have worked to do in Tel Aviv[4]. We’re looking forward to collaborating on a menu that showcases his background and worldview.”

Here, we spoke with R2M Hospitality’s founder and the mind behind Coffee Bar, Ruti Broudo, to find out what to expect at the international festival.

Courtesy of CoffeeBar

What can guests expect at the Round Tables event?

The Round Tables festival is an international culinary event where 15 restaurants in Tel Aviv host exciting chefs from around the world for one week.  It’s an opportunity to give our customers a new experience, and expose them to a different style of cuisine.  It’s also a chance for us to collaborate creatively and grow and stretch as chefs and restaurateurs.

How does R2M keep its rest is it distinguished from other local restaurants and cafes?

All the R2M restaurants are, conceptually, very specific. We open them with a clear vision, one that we think serves a need in the city of Tel Aviv, and we don’t waver with the wind.  These are not trend-driven places that flame up and burn out. We know what we want to offer with each experience and we try to execute it perfectly and consistently.

What do you consider the restaurant’s main success? (23 years is a long time!)

We do not rest on our laurels at CoffeeBar.  We continue to do our best every day to perfect the experience and evolve the product—even after 23 years! Thanks to a dedicated and skilled staff, our passion and energy for CoffeeBar has never waned. I think our guests can feel it.

R2M Hospitality’s Ruti Broudo

What are you expectations with this collaboration with Chef Nunez? Is he including classic Mexican items on the menu?

Chef Nunez specializes in Modern Mexican cuisine—a genre of food that Tel Aviv has yet to master. I’m thrilled that CoffeeBar will be the portal through which Tel Avivians will be able to experience this style of food. I think they’ll be blown away. Chef Salomon spent a week in Mexico to collaborate with him and left feeling very inspired by what they’re creating in the El Sud 777 kitchen.

Any future collaborations we can expect?

We have never shied away from international collaborations.  We hosted a group of London Chefs last year, and we’ve hosted “So French So Good” dinners in the past. We find these types of collaborations to be so stimulating and inspiring for our staff. Our hotel property, Hotel Montefiore, is hosting an event at Round Tables as well, with Michelin-starred Chef Bech from Geist restaurant in Copenhagen.

From where do you get inspiration for your restaurants and other properties?

From my travels. Our first concept, CoffeeBar was inspired by the types of cafes I loved to go to during my decade in New York, for example. I’ve traveled all around the world, and if I’m drawn to a concept, I try to create a version of that experience that will resonate with Tel Avivians.

Get more information and experience the November 5-10, 2017 event for yourself here[5].

Source URL: https://dujour.com/news/american-express-round-tables-2017-tel-aviv/