Michael Solomonov

2017 Outstanding Chef by the James Beard Foundation

2019 Outstanding Restaurant for Zahav by the James Beard Foundation

Chef Michael Solomonov is the executive chef/co-owner at Zahav, a modern Israeli restaurant that brings the authentic flavors of Israel’s culture to Philadelphia and winner of the 2019 James Beard Foundation Award for “Outstanding Restaurant”. He is known for his extraordinary skill at transforming simple foods into artful culinary masterpieces and is widely regarded as one of the country’s top chefs and entrepreneurs. In addition to his duties at Zahav, Chef Solomonov is a partner in Federal Donuts, Dizengoff, Abe Fisher, Goldie, K’Far, and Merkaz, and the recently opened Laser Wolf – all in Philadelphia.

Some of Solomonov’s accolades include:

  • 2011 James Beard Foundation Award winner for “Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic“
  • 2012, Food & Wine magazine named him among the country’s top “Empire Builders,” admiring his devotion “to reinventing overlooked cuisines”.
  • 2014 Eater National Chef of the Year
  • 2016 James Beard Foundation Award winner for “Best International Cookbook” and “Book of the Year” for Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking
  • 2016 James Beard Award nominee for “Outstanding Chef”
  • 2017 James Beard Foundation Award winner for “Outstanding Chef”
  • Co-author of three highly acclaimed cookbooks — Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking, Federal Donuts: The (Partially) True Spectacular Story, and Israeli Soul: Easy, Essential, Delicious

He has been widely featured and recognized for his many accomplishments, on television and in print, including:

The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Today Show, Nightline, Good Morning America, ABC’s The Chew, Toronto Star, LA Times, Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, Esquire, Condé Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure, and Men’s Health

Restaurant Awards/Lists:

  • 2019 James Beard Foundation Award winner for “Outstanding Restaurant” for Zahav
  • Zahav was recognized by Food & Wine Magazine as one of “The 40 Most Important Restaurants of the Past 40 Years” in 2018
  • Zahav voted one of Philadelphia Magazine’s Top 10 Restaurants of 2017
  • Craig LaBan at the Philadelphia Inquirer rated both Abe Fisher and Dizengoff “Three Bells” and Zahav holds a coveted “Four Bells”.
  • In 2016, Zahav was named to the “The National Eater 38″
  • In August of 2016, Ligaya Mishan in her column “Hungry City” awarded Dizengoff NYC a New York Times Critics’ Pick.
  • Both Abe Fisher and Dizengoff were featured as two of Travel + Leisure’s “50 Best New Restaurants, 2014”

Before opening Zahav, Chef Solomonov was the executive chef at Marigold Kitchen which he and business partner Steven Cook co-owned until 2009.  Born in Israel and raised in Pittsburgh, Solomonov frequently travels back to Israel. He is also an avid snowboarder, surfer, and overall fitness fanatic.

Available for:

  • Virtual Cooking Classes
  • Private Events
  • Endorsements
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Restaurant Buyouts
  • Cooking Demos
  • Recipe Development