Michael Solomonov

Michael Solomonov (born 1978) is an Israeli chef and restaurateur known for his landmark Philadelphia restaurant, Zahav. He won the James Beard Foundation award for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic in 2011.

Solomonov began cooking Italian cuisine at Vetri in Philadelphia. In 2003, his brother David, was killed on Yom Kippur during a military campaign which he volunteered. Solomonov decided to change his focus to Israeli and Jewish cuisine. After meeting with financier Steven Cook, they opened Zahav in 2008. During this time Solomonov had a hidden addiction to heroin, cocaine, and other substances.

With his business partner Steven Cook, Solomonov is co-owner of several Philadelphia restaurants: Abe Fisher, Dizengoff, Percy Street Barbecue, and Federal Donuts, a fried chicken & donut chain. Bill Addison, writing for Eater Philadelphia, called Chef Solomonov "the Genius of Modern Jewish Cooking" after eating at Abe Fisher, Dizengoff, and Zahav.

In 2015, Cook and Solomonov published a cookbook based on their restaurant Zahav. Zahav: A World of Israeli Cuisine was nominated for a James Beard Foundation Book Award in the International cookbook category.