Ep 30 – Interview With Chickpea Restaurant Owners (Rotem & Itamar)

Food has always played a major role in Rotem Tal & Itamar Shani’s lives. Originally from Israel, both of them experienced the fresh, spicy, homemade flavours of the Mediterranean first hand.

As boys, before ever meeting, they each separately began experimenting with their own cooking styles.

Rotem, a rugged  traveler at heart, left home at the age of 22 in search of new culinary experiences. His travels took him from India to Australia, Amsterdam to Thailand, and many places in between. When he finally arrived in Vancouver, he fell in love with the mountains, yoga classes and the laid-back atmosphere and decided to stay.

At the same time, Itamar, a self-taught chef and Renaissance man, began cooking up new fusion dishes, incorporating many of the techniques he learned from working at Israeli restaurants.

At the age of 24, Itamar, his beautiful wife Jordana and their cat Wesley moved to Vancouver to be with family and take advantage of the healthy West Coast lifestyle.

Although Rotem and Itamar loved their life in Vancouver, they both felt something was missing. Working at various jobs unrelated to food, they yearned for a proper hummus or falafel place in the city.

In order to fill the gap, they each began cooking their own Mediterranean dishes at home and sharing them with friends and family. Each one dreamed of opening up a restaurant with a cozy, funky BC atmosphere that featured delicious plant based Israeli food.  Fate brought them together a few years ago and they finally met, bonding over their Israeli roots, their love of food and their common vision.

A few short years and a lot of hummus later, the Chickpea Food Truck was born!
In the Summer of 2017 they opened their first storefront in the bumping Mount Pleasant hood.

Both Itamar and Rotem believe that their way to connect with the world is through people’s stomachs. 

Through delicious, healthy food, prepared with love Chickpea hopes to make a difference to each person they interact with.

(Source: http://ilovechickpea.ca/about/)