“It’s a matter of wanting to do it,” he says, “I find it amazing, and that’s why I have so much to explore; because it’s all over the world.” Lior knows this from experience: he was born and raised in Israel, where he grew up in a kibbutz eating Eastern European food, and eventually completed three years as a sergeant in the Israeli army. He has since lived in Rome, Brussels, France and New York, cooking and patiently educating his palate one country at a time. Asked what his turning point from the kitchen to trade and retail was, Lior says he just “kept on coming back to spices.”
This appreciation of old world tradition runs parallel to what Lior calls the grandmother era, the point in a chef’s career at which they pivot back to their cultural roots. On his years of exploration in the culinary world, he affirms, “I think you’ve got to go there to realize that you are who you are,” reiterating his doctrine of touching base with heritage through food, but being sure to add a little zest of your own. He values different cultures’ dishes, daring flavor concepts and each individual’s techniques (his Instagram profile—which celebrates others’ creations just as much as his own—is mouthwatering proof of this). “It’s about understanding how to bring spice into your household, your dishes and the way you cook,” he says; as such, Lior both teaches and embodies the notion that the first ingredient in your life’s blend is really your sense of self.
“The future is about awareness, education…” he says. “And when you grab a jar of spices, for maybe a split second, it crosses your mind: what is this thing and where did it come from? I think that would be a great moment.”
