The Tourism Ministry is holding master classes for Israeli instructors from leading culinary institutions with four Michelin-star French chefs Christophe Dovergne ,  Christopher Hache,  Damien Piscioneri and Thierry Marx.

Further to the cooperation agreement signed by the Israel Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov and the French Tourism Minister Frédéric Lefebvre during Lefebvre’s visit to Israel in March 2012, the French Gastronomy Week will take place in Israel from 3-7 February 2013. During the week, called “So French So Good”, the Tourism Ministry will hold unique master classes with a view to improving the Israeli tourism product.

Participating in each workshop will be up to 40 instructors from leading teaching institutions in Israel, including Dan Gourmet (Haifa), Rimonim (Tiberias), Tadmor (Herzliya and Ben Gurion University in Eilat, high schools of the Industry, Trade and Labor ministry and the Education ministry, as well as chefs from the leading Israeli hotels including Fattal, Isrotel, Hilton, Dan and Rimonim.

The four workshops will take place on Thursday, 7 February 2013 at a cost of about NIS 25,000. Two workshops will take place in Tadmor Herzliya: a baking workshop with top patisserie chef DamienPiscioneri and French cuisine workshops with Chefs Christophe Dovergne and Christopher Hache. A workshop on molecular cuisine will be led by Chef Thierry Marx at the Sheraton Tel Aviv and a lecture on French wines will be given by sommelier Jessy Bodec, with tastings and meetings with the managers of French wineries.  

Cooperation between the governments of France and Israel is intended to promote bi-lateral tourism, allow for information exchange and the improvement of the Israel tourism product with the emphasis on gastronomy.  The Tourism Ministry attaches great importance to optimal training of personnel following a career of international standards in tourism.

The So French So Good festival, which is taking place under the sponsorship of the French Embassy in Israel, will feature special meals prepared by the visiting French chefs with their Israeli counterparts in the following restaurants in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem: Mul-Yam, Dallal, Hotel Montefiori, The Salon, Sheraton Tel Aviv, Cow on the Roof, Shila, Kitchen Market, Idelson 10 and Cavalier.

The festival will also include a photography exhibition entitled “Art and Food” from the International Culinary Photography Festival in France and the screening of the French movie “Les Saveurs du Palais”. Representatives from the French school Ferrandi will also arrive in Israel to sign a cooperation agreement with the Dan Gourmet School.

For the first time this year, France will exhibit at the international tourism fair IMTM which will take place at the Israel Trade Fairs and Convention Center in Tel Aviv, 5-6 February 2013. The fair, which is the initiative of Ortra and Israel Travel News, is sponsored by the Tourism Ministry, the Israel Hotels Association and El Al. About 40 countries will exhibit at the fair, including countries who will be represented for the first time: Portugal, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Moldova, Slovakia, Korea, the Philippines and Argentina.