20 Minutes from Tel Aviv, a Forest Full of Culinary Surprises
The road to Ben Shemen passes dense groves, houses hidden among lush gardens, and the yellow of sunflowers, mustard fields and hay bales marking the edge of the harvest.
9:00 | Something to eat: excellent ingredients and dishes for celiacs
The Katerina coffee cart, located near the monkey sanctuary by Kfar Daniel, was the first stop on our itinerary. Before visiting the home of the adorable capuchin monkeys, we wanted ourselves a properly made cappuccino. The cart stands where an events venue once operated, giving visitors attractive, well-arranged seating areas in a large, shaded space.
The owners are the couple Yoni and Hila. Yoni is a chef and culinary consultant who, at some point, decided there were more important things than a life of servitude in a city restaurant. He named the cart after his Hungarian grandmother Katerina, a cook and baker who left him with memories of the aromas of Hungarian cuisine. At Katerina, everyone is welcome, from those seeking kosher food to celiacs and vegans. Yoni prepares the dishes himself, with a chef's touch and careful attention to excellent ingredients. For dessert, we saved room for Grandma Katerina's legendary poppy-seed cake.
10:00 | Something to do: "You can't help but be amazed by the little monkeys"
At the monkey sanctuary, we find Dusty and Chokhmah, the capuchin monkeys, embracing on a branch. "Female capuchins are the ones that court the males in nature," notes Dr. Tamar Friedman, the founder and CEO of the sanctuary. It is impossible not to marvel at the little monkeys leaping here and there, and we whistle in admiration. But Friedman hushes us. "They are very frightened by whistles, horns and beeps," she says, and we begin to understand that behind the monkeys' cuteness lies a sad story.
That story involves criminal organizations that smuggled animals, brutally stolen from their natural habitat, only to sell them to the highest bidder. "Law enforcement tools have broken down and today, among other things, monkeys are used as TikTok stars," Tamar says sadly. The purpose of the tour is to raise awareness among children and teenagers, the main consumers of social media, about the horrifying phenomenon behind the cute monkeys doing unboxing. These videos fuel the smuggling market, and as a result the number of monkeys Tamar has rescued in recent years has grown many times over compared with the period before social networks. Today, about 1,800 monkeys live at the sanctuary, where Tamar and her dedicated team receive them with love, and they undergo a long rehabilitation process and make the place their home. Every Friday morning an organized tour leaves the sanctuary. On other days, tours can be arranged in advance.
11:00 | Something to forage: sauces and pastes from forest plants
"There is poisonous and there is beneficial," Sarah Gold, the foraging guide who takes us out to discover the secrets of Ben Shemen Forest, immediately endears herself to us. "Arum, for example, is a poisonous plant that can cause suffocation, but when cooked properly it is a delicacy," she explains the difference between useful and poisonous. Gold, a microbiologist by training, is a treasure trove of botanical, medical and culinary knowledge. With a sharp and amusing style, she leads us along the forest paths behind her home, through the secrets of plants, fruits and seeds. She quickly picks white mustard plants and makes a pungent aioli dressing for salad. From sticky fleabane she makes a paste against insect bites. At this time of early summer, caper buds, purslane and the juicy fruits of the Rhamnus palaestinus are also in bloom and can be foraged. The tours last about three hours, and at the end everyone sits down to a meal based on the field harvest at Gold's home.
14:00 | Something to buy: candles scented with papaya and purple mint
We met Mor Yitzhaki as she was pouring soy wax into concrete vessels. Natural vanilla oil was also added, and the whole room lit up with a variety of fragrant scents. Mor, formerly a fashion agent, and her partner Shay, who left the IDF, founded the business together at the end of the coronavirus period while in Greece, recalculating the course of their lives. "We were in complete emptiness," she says, "staring at the sea, and then the idea came to open a candle business." The idea took off, among other reasons, because people were staying at home and buying home goods. Shay and Mor moved to the parents' farm in Moshav Ben Shemen, where they established their home and opened Studio Rozilia, a family business producing scented candles and concrete vessels, with Shay in charge of production. In addition to the pleasant purchase of candles with wonderful scents of papaya, lavender and purple mint, the place also holds workshops, where participants learn the differences between synthetic and natural candles.
