Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine collide at the iconic Miami Beach residences as residents are taken on a unique gastronomic journey from Israel to Italy.

Continuum, South Florida’s premier resort-style oceanfront condominium residences, began its new season of culinary collaborations on Thursday, November 6th, with an exclusive dinner that took residents on a gastronomic journey showcasing the finest fare from Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cultures.

The Patio restaurant at the Continuum in Miami Beach presented an exquisite evening of culinary excellence hosted by Executive Chef Claudio Lobina, who joined forces with the Executive Chef of K’Far in New York, Sam Levenfeld. The exclusive event for homeowners and their guests was created to kick off the new season of Continuum’s series of culinary collaborations, showcasing the talents of guest chefs invited from around the country to perform alongside The Patio’s own Chef Claudio Lobina. The popular K’Far restaurant in Brooklyn was chosen for its gourmet Israeli cuisine that revolves around plates from the open grill, with Sam Levenfeld seen cooking over charcoal to bring some of the restaurant’s signature Middle Eastern dishes together with Israeli cultural specialties.

Guests were treated to an elaborate four-course dinner menu that included Cheese Mousse with black truffle; Smoked Salmon with French onion labneh and pita chip; Resek hummus served with fresh pita and laffa; Babaganoush with Israeli pickles, shipka peppers and red cabbage salad; Raviolo with shrimp, schug and ouzo butter sauce. Entrées included stuffed Branzino with artichoke and shiitake mushrooms, and grilled lamb chops with pomegranate molasses, lutenitsa, sumac onions and basmati rice. Baklava dessert with pistachio gave diners a taste of tradition straight from Tel Aviv.

“We’re excited to kick off our new season of culinary collaborations at The Patio with one of our residents’ favourite Israeli restaurants and one of Brooklyn’s finest,” says Rishi Idnani, Managing Director at the Continuum. “We strive to offer our homeowners a world-class gastronomic experience at The Patio with cuisine that will complement gourmet delicacies from Italy, made popular by our very own Chef Claudio Lobina. We look forward to a tasty season ahead and our successful event with K’Far sets us up for an exciting seventh year of official participation in the South Beach Wine & Food Festival in February next year.”

From the team who created the acclaimed Laser Wolf restaurant atop the Hoxton hotel in Williamsburg, spearheaded by four-time James Beard Award-winning Chef Michael Solomonov, K’Far — meaning “village” in Hebrew — is an all-day restaurant, bar and café inspired by Chef-Partner Mike Solomonov’s hometown of K’Far Saba in Israel. As a Philadelphia import, the Brooklyn location of K’Far was established in 2022 inside the Hoxton hotel as a reflection of Solomonov’s upbringing in Israel combined with the local flavours and seasonal influences that pay homage to Middle Eastern cuisine. Chef Levenfeld cooked a specially created menu with his own knowledge of Israeli culture and traditional flavour palettes to bring K’Far menu favourites off the charcoal grill.

“I like to deeply study the cuisine I’m working in before I begin my work,” says Chef Sam Levenfeld. “I need to know about the food, the culture and tradition before I feel comfortable putting my own touch on it. I believe in keeping things simple and letting the flavours and ingredients speak for themselves. The menu we created for Continuum residents in collaboration with The Patio paired K’Far’s signature Israeli dishes with Italian delicacies crafted by Chef Claudio as a perfect fusion from both regions. The flavour combinations and wine pairings for each course worked beautifully. I would like to thank the Continuum’s management for the invitation and for helping to make this one-of-a-kind dinner a resounding success.”