Keton
Food, culture and Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv, 1945. While the first Hebrew city was still trying to figure out what it wanted to be when it grew up, a young immigrant couple, Zvi and Sarah, opened a small kiosk on Dizengoff Street. Little did they know that between the pots of cholent and gefilte fish, they were cooking up one of the most important cultural institutions in Israel.
“Keton - Food, Culture and Tel Aviv” is a book of recipes and stories about a city that was built on the move, about generations that came and went, about the bohemia of yesteryear, and about one small place that has remained almost the same.
Since 1945 until today.
192 pages | Hardcover | Recipes, stories, art and a touch of nostalgia
Not "another" recipe book
As Haim Hefer wrote: "A Polish oasis in the land of hummus," this is not just another recipe book (although you will find in it the secret to the perfect schnitzel and the calf foot jelly that even Boaz Sharabi thought was Bavarian).
This is a journey through time into Keton's mythological "guest book" – a rare and moving archive revealed here for the first time.
This is the story of four generations of women.
This is an invitation to sit with us at the table, browse through works of art and Tel Aviv nostalgia, smell the aromas of yesteryear, and understand how a small "keton" (small room) became a big home for so many people.
Come in, feel at home.
The food is already ready.
To Keton from Haim Hefer
A Polish oasis in the land of hummus /
Here, the cholent burrows over the jachnun /
And the chopped liver yields not to the stomach /
And the vodka with the herring /
Takes care of the mood /
And the whole menu is Yiddishkeit, there is no argument about that /
And on the walls, Menashe Kadishman for dessert /
And you say A-mechaye and go rest.
From the guestbook: Haim Hefer, poet and songwriter, 2005
The Keton Guest Book
For the first time, the book reveals a rare archive from Keton’s legendary guest book, which Grandpa Zvi carefully passed between the guests: dedications, drawings, poems, signatures and stories that remained for years on pages, walls and napkins.
Inside, you’ll also meet some of the figures who shaped Israeli culture and gave Keton its character: Alexander Penn, who gave the place its name; Hanna Rovina at her regular table; Yigal Tumarkin, who paid for stuffed spleen with a quick sketch on a napkin; Menashe Kadishman, who left behind sheep, words and memories, and many others.
“We are all a little homeless at heart, and the food at Keton reminds us of the home we lost”
- Menashe Kadishman
A small story about a big place
The book began with one question:
How does a small place manage to survive in a city that never stops changing, in an age that is always searching for the next new thing?
Is it the food? The atmosphere? The regular customers? The family?
Or maybe it is that small feeling of longing for something that is hard to explain.
This is a story about being foreign, and about finding home.
About new immigrants, memories and flavors.
About generations that change, and fashions that come and go.
About Tel Aviv as it changed its streets, its faces and its rhythm.
And about a small watermelon stand that grew and took shape alongside all of it.
Four generations of women
Keton is part of the story of everyone who ate there as a child and came back with their grandchildren - or simply passed by Dizengoff and stopped in “just for soup.”
But at the heart of the place stand four women.
Sarah, the founder, arrived at the age of 18, opened a small kiosk and set big pots on the stove. Hedva ran the place with a rolling laugh and a hand that seemed to know everything. Orna brought Keton into the 21st century without putting out the old flame. And Gal, who grew up under the tables - among regular customers, talking walls and the smell of soup - now brings this story into a book.
Through wars, austerity, changing tastes and one global pandemic, each of them carried the same message in her own way:
The story must go on.
And the door will stay open.
Who is the book suitable for?
For anyone who loves food books with people in them, not just measurements.
For anyone for whom Keton is more than a restaurant.
For anyone who ate there with their parents, or brought their own children there.
For anyone who walked down Dizengoff and felt that the city still remembered them.
For anyone who understands that gefilte fish is not a joke, but a serious matter.
And for anyone looking for a gift with a story, the smell of home, and a little longing for something that is not always easy to explain.
This is a book to cook from.
To leaf through.
To place on the coffee table.
To give as a gift.
Or to open when you miss something.
Book Details
Language
Available in Hebrew / English
Pages
129
Cover
Hardcover, wrapped in Efalin clotי
Size
10.6 × 8.3 in
27 × 21 cm
Paper
120 gsm wood-free paper
Approx. 80 lb text paper
Shipping & Pickup
₪30 in Tel Aviv | ₪60 throughout Israel
- International shipping is available by prior arrangement and priced separately.
