Ori Menashe's Life in Six Scenes
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Ori Menashe; Bestia, Los Angeles
Best New Chef Ori Menashe moved from L.A to Israel and back again. Here, his life in six scenes.
Scene 1:Ori Menashe's father moves the family from Los Angeles to Israel. He opens a bakery; little Ori sells baguettes from a cart.
Scene 2:When Ori is eight, his parents take him to Paris to eat at restaurants run by the best chefs — Ducasse, Robuchon. They dress him like John Travolta circa 1977, in unbuttoned shirts and leather vests, and give him a nickname: Little Gourmet.
Scene 3:Menashe serves the Israeli army. One morning he wakes up to discover bullet holes inches above his head.
Scene 4:Menashe enrolls in cooking school in California, then drops out. But he finds a mentor in L.A. chef Gino Angelini. Five years later, he's running the kitchen at Angelini Osteria.
Scene 5:Menashe opens Bestia on a street of downtown L.A. that is so derelict he has trouble finding workers.
Scene 6:Bestia is packed; everyone wants the incredible SoCal-influenced antipasti, pizzas and pasta.