At what is typically the peak of thousands of tulips blooming, Tulsa Botanic Garden will be hosting their third annual Botanical: A Weekend of Culinary Wonder. Over three days, the Garden has three distinct events exploring the food, drink, and culture of a storied region of the world. Proceeds from the events support the Garden, a non-profit organization.
The event is April 3-5 and will explore Israeli food and culture, which is gaining international recognition. Chef Gabriel Israel, culinary director at L28 Culinary Platform in Tel Aviv, is the featured chef.
Chef Gabriel’s culinary style is inspired by the combination of his North African-Ashkenazi roots, his free-spirited artistic side and a reference of NY-Jewish style food from his time living and working in New York. Before joining L28, Gabriel worked in New York City for Michelin-starred chef Daniel Boulud, was the head chef at Yotel Hotel and later opened his own Shuka Food Truck - while also focusing on his other passion as a graffiti and tattoo artist. He was involved with conceptualizing and building L28 Culinary Platform as a restaurant, an accelerator for innovative chef entrepreneurs and an incubator for creative interpretations of Israeli cuisine.
The Botanical weekend begins Friday, April 3, with A Taste of Tel Aviv, featuring gourmet mezze, cocktails, wines and music. The Garden’s Passport Dinner on Saturday night will include a multi-course dinner by Chef Israel and the local culinary team. The dinner will start with cocktails among the tulips in the Garden followed by a one-of-a-kind dinner with wine pairings inside. Sunday afternoon is The Tasting where guests will learn about the culture, food, agriculture, and history of the region through short talks and a guided sampling of regional foods. Naama Shefi, executive director of the Jewish Food Society, will be sharing about Jewish and Israeli food and heritage. For information and tickets visit BotanicalTulsa.org or call 918-289-0330.