Landmark restaurant Rama's Kitchen a victim of Nataf fire

According to Rama Ben Zvi, the restaurant will rise again, but at the same time, she appeared to be overwhelmed by the loss.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A firefighter works during a wildfire, near the communal settlement of Nataf, close to Jerusalem November 23, 2016. (photo credit: REUTERS)
A firefighter works during a wildfire, near the communal settlement of Nataf, close to Jerusalem November 23, 2016.
(photo credit: REUTERS)
A Jerusalem-area landmark fell victim over the weekend to the spate of fires that engulfed the country. Rama's Kitchen, nestled in the Judean hills in the hard-hit community of Nataf, burned to the ground on Friday.
Shortly after cutting short a wedding celebration and evacuating the gourmet restaurant , the Ben Zvi family which owned and ran the restaurant learned that the building had caught on fire.
“We got the message at about 2:30 p.m.that a fire had started down in the valley,” Maya Ben Zvi told Channel 2 on Saturday. “By 3 p.m., the flames were approaching the community and our home.”
The building apparently caught on fire from a large tree that stood nearby.
 “I saw a plume of smoke and immediately realized where it was coming from. I just started crying,” Maya's mother Rama, who opened the restaurant 20 years ago, told Channel 10.
Rama's Kitchen was described by Jerusalem Post's restaurant reviewer Buzzy Gordon earlier this year as "one of the premier gastronomic destinations of the region… a meal at Rama’s Kitchen is meant to be a leisurely affair, and it is sure to be one that richly rewards the time invested."
According to Rama Ben Zvi, the restaurant will rise again, but at the same time, she appeared to be overwhelmed by the loss.
“It is denial, I feel like I don’t know what I feel. There are moments I weep and there are moments I block it. I cannot contain the force of 21 years invested in this place,” she said “Don’t pressure me, give me time.”