Hi! Welcome to Green Eggs and Chickpeas!

My name is Tal. I was born in New York and raised in Israel. After many years working professionally in the US, I returned home to Israel with my husband Izhar and our two daughters Danielle and Natalie.

My two food-loving parents helped spark my lifelong passion for food! As a small girl, I would stand on a stool and still could barely see over the counter as I watched my mom cook, that's where my love for food began. I was transfixed! As I grew up, I remember constantly looking for an opportunity to get into the kitchen to make "clean-out-the-fridge-meals," especially trying to impress my mom. I felt so proud to see her (actually) enjoying my no-bake JELL-O- cheesecake and raving about it.

Fast-forward, I graduated from Jerusalem's Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. After working a few years as a professional ceramist in the U.S, I decided to transcend my love for food into a career. I pursued a culinary degree at the professional chefs program at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts in Massachusetts, where I graduated with honors.

While at CSCA, I landed a dream job at Rialto, Chef Jody Adams' award-winning restaurant in Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA. I moved through positions from a dessert plater to baker and ultimately promoted to pastry chef. The years at Rialto would forever change the way I look at food! 

Rialto was highly creative, impactful, and challenging. I was responsible for rotating a seasonal dessert menu, overseeing the production of handmade breads, plated desserts, and confections. Night after night, I served dozens of intricate desserts inspired by Mediterranean-Israeli-American flavors and traditions, using local ingredients and seasonal produce.

Among others, my desserts included a lemon pine nut olive oil cake with rosemary gelato and pineapple, marsala-halvah and apricot semifreddo, and the espresso cardamom float with s'mores and chocolate hazelnut praline sauce. 

In 2006, AOL City Guide named my desserts at Rialto "City's Best Desserts" referring them, "one of the decadent confections from Pastry Chef Tal Shofman-Schejter's Cabinet of Wonders…"

My work was featured on Make Eat Magazine, Laisha Magazine and more.

I now cater for private events, functions and gatherings.

Why "Green Eggs and Chickpeas"?

Green Eggs and Ham, my all-time favorite children's book, Dr. Seuss's timeless classic is about a picky eater -- but I was not one. I did like "green eggs"… with everything! As a toddler I was an adventurous eater, open to all kinds of new foods and flavors.

Most of the recipes you'll find in this blog are inspired by my upbringing and professional career, living both in the U.S and Israel, hence the "chickpeas". I am still a huge fan of Dr. Seuss and love trying out new foods, yes, I am… ;-)

I recipe-develop, shoot, and style all of the photos on this blog.