There is not question but that within Israel, the religiously based dietary laws of kashrut (the kosher laws) have played a role in determining cooking and dining habits. For those who follow these rules, pork and various other types of meat are forbidden as are shellfish, fish without scales and the flesh of any kind of scavenger. Nor will Orthodox or traditional Jews, following the proscription in the Book of Leviticus, cook or serve meat and dairy products at the same meal. The rules of dining for Moslems, as detailed in the Koran, are not dissimilar to those followed by Jews.

Recent studies by sociologists Samuel C. Heilman and Ephraim Tabory indicate that somewhat over 60% of the Jewish Israeli population maintain kashrut in their homes and that nearly 40% eat only kosher foods when in their workplaces or at restaurants. Despite that, it is taken for granted within Israel that the food offered at supermarkets and that served at places such as military bases, hospitals and prisons will all be kosher. More than this, nearly every hotel within the country also maintains kashrut. Because of the diversity of the population, however, these rules have not placed major restrictions on the cooking styles found in restaurants or on the food staples that are readily available.

The restaurants that have succeeded best in presenting high quality cookery while maintaining a kosher kitchen have been those serving foods from nations where Jews made those adaptations over a course of many centuries. If it is kosher food one is seeking, the best bets are Moroccan, Tunisian, and other ethnic restaurants, for even though there is a demand for kosher French, Italian and Chinese food, most of the restaurants serving kosher versions of these dishes have not succeeded in attaining high levels of cookery. This is partially true because there are inherent contradictions between the cuisines of these nations and the demands of kashrut.

Fine French cookery, for example, is absolutely dependent on being able to saute meat in butter; Italian dishes often combine meat and cheese; and Chinese cuisine is heavily dependent upon the use of pork and shellfish. Eliminating one vital ingredient or another, substituting butter with vegetable-based margarine or serving industrially processed North Sea Pollack instead of shrimp is simply not conducive of fine dining. While it is true that one can "skirt" these laws by the use of intelligent alternatives, most kosher restaurants have simply chosen to use substitutes such as parve cream (artificial cream that is neither milk nor meat in its content), and similar substitutes. Alas, as if written in the wisdom not only of the Jews but of Christians, Muslims and Buddhists, "if it is similar to an egg, it is not as good as an egg"

With precious few exceptions, hotel dining rooms throughout the country are kosher and even though a few talented chefs have done well within these limitations, hotel dining in the country is simply not as exciting or adventurous as in non-kosher restaurants. Even the best of the hotel-based restaurants are of interest primarily to those who observe kashrut. In short, the very best restaurants in the country are non-kosher. To complicate matters even further, it is sometimes easier to find good kosher restaurants in the United States, France, England and even Argentina than it is in Israel.

© Daniel Rogov