Tel Aviv shoppers will now be able to get their meat, from the first-ever meat vending machine in a process no more complicated than buying a can of soda.
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The machine, located on the busy Dizengoff street between boutiques and coffee shops, is the brain child of Itzik Luzon, a popular restaurateur and butcher who has been feeding meat eaters in his landmark Jaffa eatery since 1995. Correctly named Itzik Hagadol, Big Itzik – for his ample physique the restaurant had no more than eight tables when it opened but word of its quality meat, rich assortment of salads and warm atmosphere quickly made it a landmark, catering to the quarter's Jews, Arabs and many tourists.
"We came up with the idea, during the COVID–19 pandemic, when the restaurant was closed, Luzon said of his invention. "But it can be said that it had been decades in the making. I have a cousin who is building all kinds of bespoke machines in China. I told him what I wanted, and he found a factory that would make it. They sent us a prototype and after a few mild adjustments, we had the first 20 meat vending machines ready to go.
His vending machines save him the costs of a store or restaurant, and all preparation is done off-site. " We have a successful website where people can buy meet for our butcher's shop but most, prefer to see the cuts that they are buying," Itzik says
"Our meat undergoes shock freeze providing a longer shelf life. Israeli tend to put their meat that they buy fresh, in their freezers, anyway," he says. "But if you want to cook it on the same day, it will defrost quickly, probably by the time you get home."
The quality veal and lamb cuts do not come cheap but "they are all Michelin quality, just like we serve in our restaurant," he says.