The Naked Truth

Israeli Chef Eyal Shani Believes The Simplest Ingredients Tell The Greatest Stories

by

Chef Profile

Enter Naked Tomato, tucked inside the Moxy Miami South Beach hotel, and you’ll find a single, robust tomato resting atop butcher paper on every table. The premise is simple: Both the restaurant’s name and that understated centerpiece reflect Israeli chef Eyal Shani’s belief that the purest ingredients need no adornment.

“When I hold a tomato in my hands, I can see far beyond the fruit itself,” Shani says. “I can see the soil, the weather, the harvest and all of the decisions that brought it to that moment. A tomato carries the story of its entire journey.”

Shani has built a culinary empire spanning more than 50 restaurants in cities including Tel Aviv, London, Paris, Dubai and New York, where his neo-Levantine place Shmoné has received a Michelin star. Thanks in part to his television appearances, Shani is one of Israel’s most recognizable chefs. He has served as a judge on “MasterChef Israel” since the show’s debut in 2010 and also starred in the culinary travel series “Food for Thought” (“Ochel LaMachshava”). 

With Malka in West Palm Beach, Bella in Miami Beach and now Naked Tomato, Shani has established a growing presence in South Florida. Yet despite his international acclaim, his cooking remains rooted in Jerusalem, where he was born and raised amid Jewish, Arab and other culinary traditions that have long existed side by side. 

“The strongest memory from my childhood is not a single dish, but the flavors and aromas that filled the streets of Jerusalem,” he recalls. “When I was growing up, there was not yet a clearly defined Israeli cuisine. Israel was a young country built by immigrants from many different places, and much of the culinary heritage they brought with them had been left behind in the effort to create something new. What inspired me most were the markets, the Old City and the food prepared by the Palestinian communities around me. The scent of olive oil, fresh herbs, vegetables, tahini and wood-fired breads felt deeply connected to the land itself.”

That connection was strengthened by another important influence: his grandfather, an agronomist who introduced young Shani to farms and vineyards. “He never tried to dominate the land,” Shani says. “Instead, he listened to it and worked alongside it. That lesson has stayed with me throughout my career. In the kitchen, I try not to impose too much on an ingredient or force it to become something else. My role is to reveal its natural beauty, not to hide it.”

That reverence for vegetables — and the land that produces them — takes on an emotional dimension for Shani.

“The soul of a vegetable reveals its character and purpose,” he explains. “If you cannot recognize that essence, it becomes very difficult to create a meaningful dish. Cooking begins with understanding the ingredient before trying to transform it.”

Shani’s philosophy comes to life at Naked Tomato, where every menu description reflects the chef’s voice, and each offering tells a story. Among the starters are “Charred Beetroot torn apart violently but carefully, now it is resting on horseradish cream”; “Whole corn on the cob in flaming fire”; “Hamachi sashimi, the way we do it in the Middle East” and “Freshly baked 4 spicy instruments that swirl your soul,” the final item a quartet of delicious dips over tahini served with fluffy, hot pita.

If these descriptions read like short poems, the food arrives in strikingly simple, restrained presentations. “The Original World-Famous Baby Cauliflower,” a whole head that is boiled, then baked until delicately charred, arrives wrapped in parchment paper, and nothing else. The “Bag of green Beans in a lemon garlic vinaigrette” appears in a small foil cup, with the crunchy beans jutting upward like frites at a French bistro. Perhaps it’s no surprise that Shani studied cinematography before becoming a chef. 

“Cinema taught me the importance of composition and dramatic structure,” the chef says. “A meal unfolds much like a film, with rhythm, emotion, surprise and moments of reflection. Each dish plays a role within a larger narrative.”

While vegetables are the stars of the show, steak and fish receive the same thoughtful, minimalist treatment. Shipudim — traditional Israeli grilled meat and vegetable skewers — are described as “It’s dripping… the RIBEYE skewer” and “The perfect Chicken Thighs skewer. Yes, the one from your childhood,” capturing the emotion behind every dish. 

For Shani, it all returns to the bustling markets and layered cultures of Jerusalem, where something as ordinary as a tomato can reveal extraordinary depth.

“For me, the tomato is not a humble ingredient at all,” the 67-year-old says. “It is one of nature’s most complete creations, capable of revealing complexity, emotion and beauty in a single bite.”

Whether in Miami Beach at Naked Tomato and Bella, in West Palm Beach at Malka or at any of his other restaurants around the world, Shani remains driven to deepen people’s connection to the ingredients on their plate.

“If I have given anything,” he says, “I hope it is this: to open a small door, or maybe just a crack, so that people can look at food and understand that it is not only nourishment, but a living thing, something emotional, something poetic, something deeply, deeply human.”

Cabbage Cake Melting Into Itself

Serves: 6-8 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 green cabbage 

• olive oil, for roasting

• 2 carrots, roughly chopped

• 2 white onions, roughly chopped

• 6-8 tablespoons unsalted butter 

• 3-4 cups reduced cabbage stock (see preparation)

• 6-8 tablespoons sour cream 

• 1 teaspoon finishing salt, or to taste 

PREPARATION 

Preheat the oven to 500°F.

Toss the carrots and onions with olive oil and spread them on a baking sheet. Roast for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

Place the whole cabbage in a heavy-bottomed pot large enough to hold it comfortably. Add the roasted carrots and onions and fill the pot with enough water to float the cabbage. Bring to a boil on the stovetop over high heat, then reduce to medium heat and cook for 30 minutes.

Cover the pot tightly with parchment paper and aluminum foil. Transfer to a 325°F oven and roast for 6 to 8 hours, or until the cabbage is completely tender. 

Remove the pot from the oven. Discard the parchment and foil, then put the uncovered pot in a 500°F oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the top of the cabbage is caramelized. 

Transfer the pot to the stovetop and simmer over medium-low heat until the cooking liquid has reduced by half, forming a thick sauce. 

Remove the cabbage and let it cool at room temperature. Strain the carrots and onions from the cooking liquid. Reserve the reduced stock.

TO SERVE

Cut a thick slice of cabbage and place in a saucepan with ½ cup of reserved stock and 2 tablespoons butter.

Simmer gently until the cabbage is heated through and the liquid has reduced to a thick, shiny glaze, basting the cabbage frequently.  

Transfer to a plate, add 2 tablespoons of sour cream and finish with a sprinkle of salt.