Michelin-starred Israeli chef leaves Berlin for Prague in new restaurant chapter

Israeli chef Gal Ben Moshe, who leads the acclaimed Berlin-based restaurant Prism, is closing its doors – only to reopen 300 kilometers away in Prague.

The announcement comes amid broader changes in the fine-dining industry, with several chefs across Europe rethinking the sustainability of high-end gastronomy. The news comes just a month after Prism earned its sixth consecutive Michelin star.

“For the past seven years, we put our everything into this restaurant. And while we can’t deny we enjoyed basking in our success…the truth is, we are exhausted,” the restaurant posted on Facebook this week. 

Originally envisioned as an intimate neighborhood restaurant, Prism gained international acclaim for its Mediterranean-European plus Levantine cuisine and a wine list focused on Israeli and Middle Eastern producers. The chef said the restaurant’s growing profile brought with it mounting pressure.

“While we wished to create a small, intimate neighborhood restaurant…the times became more and more difficult to justify a fine dining restaurant,” Prism added.

According to Ynet, a major Israeli news website, the closure does not mark Ben Moshe’s exit from the European culinary scene. Details on the new location or opening date have not yet been announced.

There’s no doubt that Ben Moshe’s planned relocation comes at a socio-culturally sensitive time. Anti-Semitic incidents in the Czech Republic nearly doubled between 2022 and 2023, according to a report last year by the Federation of Jewish Communities. 

The surge is largely driven by a wave of online hate, especially on social media. Strikingly, 98 percent of the incidents were internet-based, while only two physical attacks have been reported in the past five years.

Czechia is one of the EU’s strongest backers of Israel: in late July, the country did not join a group of 29 countries that called for an immediate end to the war in Gaza. With President Petr Pavel expressing surprise at the move, though, the state may not be entirely harmonious in its views.

Despite past challenges and potential future problems, Ben Moshe said the Prism team remained committed to their vision until the very end.