A little-known chef from Jerusalem entered one of the world’s most prestigious culinary circles this week, making history after his kosher restaurant in Miami earned a Michelin star. His restaurant, Mutra, is currently the first and only kosher restaurant in the world to receive the honor.
The moment was overwhelming. In a video posted on social media, Shabtai is seen breaking down in tears after learning of the award. Two days later, speaking by phone from Miami, he still sounded as if he was trying to catch his breath.
“I still haven’t processed it,” Shabtai said. “It is a great honor for me. Michelin, for me, is a symbol of excellence. When I got the star, Assaf Granit and Moshik Roth texted me. Do you know what that means to me? I always looked up to them. Chef Yossi Shitrit wrote to me too, and so did Matan Zaken from France, who also has a star. Chefs from around the world wrote to me. It’s huge, like winning the Super Bowl or an Emmy or an Oscar. I’m processing everything and always trying to stay humble.”
Shabtai, 42, began working in kitchens at 13 as a dishwasher in a Jerusalem restaurant. Over the years, he says, he worked almost everywhere, including pizzerias. For the past five years, he has lived in Miami with his fiancée.
Before opening Mutra, he worked as a private chef. That is how he met his partner and investor, Michael Wertzberger, with whom he developed a close friendship.
Mutra opened only a year and a half ago in North Miami, far from the city’s main restaurant scene. Shabtai named the restaurant after his grandmother, who helped raise him and was one of the most important figures in his life. The restaurant serves Middle Eastern food in an open kitchen, using a farm-to-table model.
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'I wanted something that would remind me of Jerusalem' Chef Raz Shabtai
(Photo: Adir Avivi)
“I worked everywhere,” he said. “I believe food connects people, and because I missed home, I decided to open this restaurant here. It was my selfish need. I wanted something that would remind me of Jerusalem, of home, of my family.”
After cooking at an event for Wertzberger, Shabtai said his future partner told him that if he ever wanted to open a restaurant, he should call him. “And that’s what I did,” Shabtai said. “When I was looking for a place, I met Noa Figari, an Israeli real estate agent, and suggested that she join us and manage the restaurant and the group. She agreed, and here we are.”
Did he aim for Michelin from the beginning?
“I wanted Michelin and hoped for Michelin,” he said. “Winning a star from them is the biggest thing a restaurant can receive. The fact that they visited us and we managed to intrigue them was already an achievement. I aimed for Michelin because, to me, it is a symbol of excellence and consistency. I simply wanted to be the best, driven by a genuine desire to make every guest enjoy the food.”
Still, he said, his food is not built around fine-dining theatrics. “My plating is not the most beautiful in the world, and I don’t arrange food on the plate with tweezers,” he said. “I have lamb ragù with local cabbage on the menu. It is baladi food.”
Receiving that kind of recognition at a time when Israelis are not exactly popular around the world makes it even more moving. How have people in Miami reacted?
“Miami is one of the few places in the world where Jews feel truly accepted,” he said. “You can walk here in the street with a kippah, with an Israeli flag, or sit and speak Hebrew without worrying.
"We are not immune, and my fiancée was attacked because she wore a ‘chai’ necklace, but it almost doesn’t happen here, certainly not like it happens in other places. In general, Florida is a state that supports Jews, and it's beautiful to see that here. Miami is the closest place to Tel Aviv, and that is what drew me there.”
How do you balance fine dining with keeping kosher?
“I am not a religious person,” he said. “Today I put on tefillin and eat kosher, but I do not observe Shabbat and I have tattoos. For many years, I both cooked and ate non-kosher food. But at 30, I had a moment when I looked at myself and did not know who I was - Jewish? Israeli? American? It is easy here to get lost and forget who you are, and I felt that I had lost my way.”
That search, he said, brought him back to kosher food. “I reached a point where I wanted to understand who I am and what I am, and I asked myself who I am and what I want to be. That is when I began putting on tefillin and eating kosher,” he said. “I run a kosher restaurant inside a huge culinary world. I knew that the fact that I don’t mix meat and milk shouldn't prevent me from receiving a Michelin. I want to believe that God told me, ‘You deserve it.’ Today, kosher food is me. It is my root, and it is what I eat at home.”
When are you coming to celebrate your Michelin star in Israel?
“In two weeks, in mid-June, I’m coming to Israel to get married,” he said. “I work hard and spend a lot of time away from home, and my fiancée’s support for me and my career means everything. I don’t take it for granted. After the wedding, I’ll keep doing things the way I believe in, with humility, honesty and a commitment to being a good person.”