Shuki Shukrun has been both chef and owner ofAl Dente for the past two years. He has a nice,gentle personality and not only is he very articu-

late, but it is obvious he is very proud of having cre-ated a high-quality restaurant and is very concernedand attentive to the needs of his patrons.

How it startedBorn in Dimona to Moroccan parents, the single

young man grew up on Moroccan food. “My motherwas a very good cook. She was my main influence.”

After high school, Shukrun started to do moderndance, working with choreographers. To make a living,he worked as a cook part-time in several restaurants, andabout 10 years ago he started to cook for his friends.

ExperienceAl Dente had operated as a restaurant under several

owners since around 1998. Shukrun came to workthere in 2005. First, he was in charge of evening shifts;then he started working with soups.

“Then I started to cook part of the menu, and I wentto the next level to manager of the kitchen. I discov-

ered I’m good at Italian food,” he says.“This was a big discovery for me – you don’t have to

be Italian to be a good Italian cook! You have to under-stand the soul of the kitchen and how to work withsimple ingredients.”

In March 2009, he learned that the owner wanted tosell Al Dente. “I always had a dream to have a place ofmy own, and I always thought this place had greatpotential.”

So Shukrun bought the restaurant, and now heworks with four cooks.

The decorAl Dente is a wood frame building with a glassed-in

porch with stone walls, seating 14, usable year-roundand heated in winter.

Inside, the walls are painted cream color, with a serv-ing bar at the back and a see-through area open to thekitchen. There are blond wood tables and chairs, seat-ing 20, and basket-weave place mats.

The dishes are handmade by a specialceramist. The walls are adorned with theartwork of a different artist everytwo months.

“I wanted to design a place a

bit elegant and modern,” explains Shukrun. “I wantedto create a different place in Jerusalem – intimate yeta family place where people would love to come tobecause it had a special atmosphere.”

The menuAl Dente offers appetizers such as antipasti, bruschet-

ta, focaccia and soups; three kinds of pizza; seven salads;16 sauces and types of pasta; 11 specials including ravi-oli, gnocchi and rotelle; two types of calzone; five fishentrees with salad and potatoes or a side dish; eightdesserts; cold and hot beverages, beer and an impressiveseparate wine menu of all Israeli wines. The tortellini,gnocchi and rotelle are all homemade.

“My vision is to give the range from simple food tovery complicated and sophisticated dishes,” saysShukrun.

Al Dente also offers business lunches from 12 to 5p.m. at NIS 50, NIS 60 and NIS 65.

Most popular dish on the menuFor this tough question, Shukrun consults with his

restaurant manager, Anat Hurwitz, before they decideit is a three-way tie between mushroom pappardelle,porcini pappardelle and truffle tortellini.

Favorite item on the menu“Porcini pappardelle.”

Biggest cooking failure“That is hard because I really check myself very care-

fully. I try to be precise. Some of the dishes here werenot precise before and I got feedback from clients, so Iadjusted the flavors.”

Biggest accomplishment“To give a special experience to the people.”

Best part of the job“To see people really enjoying the food and satisfied.”

Who cooks at home?“I practically live here during the week, so I

don’t cook at home. On the weekends, I cookfor friends.”

Al Dente is located at Rehov Ussishkin 20, tel.625-1479. Open Sunday through Thursday, 12noon to 11 p.m., closed Friday, Saturday and

Saturday evening. Kosher, Jerusalem Rabbinate. •

F E B R U A R Y 4 , 2 0 1 124 I N J E R U S A L E M

Chef and owner: ShukiShukrun, 35 years oldRestaurant: Al DenteCuisine: Dairy Italian

Shuki Shukrun. ‘I practically live here during the week, so I don’t cook at home.’ (Photos: Barry A. Kaplan)

• By SYBIL KAPLAN

Shuki Shukrun bought Al Dente from the previous owners andnow works with four cooks

CREATING A STIR

Since a number of the dishes use the homemadepasta, this special dish (NIS 56) can be duplicated athome with purchased dry or regular pasta.

Before having the pleasure of sampling this unique-tast-ing dish, the writer watched it being expertly prepared,with Shukrun precisely measuring each ingredient.

2 tsp. olive oil2 sliced garlic cloves100 ml. vegetable broth100 gr. Gorgonzola (blue cheese)60 gr. mascarpone cheeseSalt and pepper according to taste30 gr. chopped walnuts or pecans15 gr. Parmesan cheese

400 gr. dry fettuccine or tagliatelle14 rocket leaves

Heat oil in a frying pan or a wok. Add garlic andcook until soft. Add broth and cook for 30 sec-onds. Add Gorgonzola and mascarpone cheeses,let melt and cook, mashing with a spoon untilsoft, about a minute in all. Add salt and pepper,then nuts and Parmesan cheese.

Meanwhile, boil water, then add the fettuccineor tagliatelle and cook 4-5 minutes. Drain.

Add pasta to sauce, shake in the pan and stir.Spoon gently onto serving plates. Garnish withrocket leaves and stir gently.

Makes 2 servings

Drop in for a bite

Fettuccine with Gorgonzola sauce