About
Chef Uri Buri

The two characteristics that define my life; Each one is a symbol that points towards who I am and what I do.

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I was born in Nahariya in 1944, on the coastline. Holding a Palestinian birth certificate, it was just prior to the establishment of the state of Israel. At the time, there was no infrastructure to handle the exceptional cases of parentless children who sought refuge on our borders after the war, or who immigrated all alone under other unique circumstances. My parents opened our home to a few of them. Some stayed a few months, some a few years, and some grew up to remain in the family to this day. These kids whom I shared my childhood with came from different backgrounds, and brought with them a mosaic of traditions. My home was full of different languages, cultures, rituals and beliefs. 

 

The sea was my refuge. It interested me far more than school or my teachers ever did. At thirteen, for my Bar-Mitzvah, I received my first fishing rifle. I went diving every chance I had. To avoid bringing the mess home, my mother asked that I scale and clean the fish by the sea. This is how my introduction to the world of cooking and handling fish began. This world opened itself to me with loving arms, eventually guiding me to the opening of my restaurants. 

 

By the tenth grade, I was kicked out of school, something I had seen coming for a while. Growing up, it was always obvious to me that I had a different way of thinking than most of my friends. I later learned I had ADHD, which looking back, I dealt with by spending most of my time by the sea. Though it took me some years to realize that my way of thinking wasn’t an ailment, but a strength and a blessing. That’s when my life changed; 

I understood that thinking differently didn’t necessarily mean I was wrong. In fact, I realized many people don’t think much at all, and instead prefer to follow the herd. 

 

After the state of Israel was established, my parents started hosting hitchhikers and volunteers who came to our country from all around the world. Among them were some young Germans and beatniks. My daily life was offbeat and dynamic, always buzzing with music and conversation. 

 

By the age of 16, after being kicked out of school and without a job, I had no structure. I decided to go on a trip to Europe. I had a little bit of money and some addresses I collected from guests who had stayed with us throughout the years. My trip started in Cyprus (which was not yet divided at the time) and continued to Greece, Italy, Switzerland, and finally, Germany. (I especially wanted to visit Germany because I felt the need to understand how this "enlightened nation" could carry out such evil.) 

 

Whole new worlds opened up to me as I traveled. In terms of food, I indulged in meals that I could only dream of growing up in Israel. I ate halloumi in Cyprus, pizza and cherries in Italy, muesli, fondue, and cheese in Switzerland. But the sausages and rotisserie chickens in Germany took the cake. For one of my meals, I had an entire chicken all to myself. It was a real treat. Back at home, during the height of the austerity, when meat, eggs, and chicken were strictly rationed, we would divide one of those between ten people. 

 

In Hannover, I stayed at a socialist youth camp called ‘Rote Falken’ for a week, and as I continued through Germany, I encountered the ‘Jonge Union’, the youth of the Democratic party, in Hamburg. Many were born at the end of World War II, like me, and the diversity amongst them astounded me. I got to know them, their dreams, and their perceptions of the world. 

 

One of the greatest loves of my life has always been music. Any kind of music, any genre. When I was a teenager I played the accordion, the trumpet, the drums, and the flute. My ADHD prevented me from staying consistent with practice, and unsurprisingly, I was kicked out of the school band. Despite my deep love for it, this discouraged me from pursuing music later on in life. When I arrived in Hamburg, one of the instructors of the ‘Jonge Union’ took me on a tour through Saint Pauli, where we visited all the music clubs, among them jazz, folk, and rock. I was shocked by how much I still deeply loved and felt connected to music. 

 

After I returned home, I started my military service in the air force. I trained as a technician, and finished my service as a military plane mechanic. It was clear to me that when my time in the army ended, I would save some money and travel again. There was a 300 dollar limit on foreign currencies withdrawal at the time, and once I had saved all those 300 up, I hit the road. 

 

I spent the first two months hitchhiking anywhere anyone would take me. My only plan was to head in the general direction of Hamburg, following in the footsteps of my friends and of music, and seizing any opportunity to work and save up a little more money. When I eventually arrived in Hamburg, I bought a VW Minibus, and I drove through Europe with musicians I had met along the way.