Chef Michael Solomonov was born in G'nei Yehuda, Israel and raised in Pittsburgh, PA. At the age of 19, he returned to Israel with no Hebrew language skills and took the only job he could get – working in a bakery. It was in that bakery, making bourekas, that his culinary career was born. A 2011 James Beard Award winner for “Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic” and along with his business partner, Steven Cook, a 2016 James Beard Award winner for “Best International Cookbook” and “Book of the Year” for "Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking" – Chef Michael Solomonov is the executive chef at Zahav, Philadelphia’s renowned modern Israeli restaurant. In addition to Zahav, of which he is co-owner, Chef Solomonov is partner in Percy Street BBQ, Federal Donuts, Abe Fisher, Dizengoff, and the newly opened Dizengoff NYC. Today, he can most often be found covered in flour, working the bread station at Zahav's open kitchen.