Yaniv Cohen

I grew up as the oldest of five boys in a Sephardic Jewish family in Israel. Our roots stretched across North Africa, Iraq, and Tunisia — and every Shabbat, every holiday, our home filled with the aromas of generations.

My mother's kitchen was small, but the aromas were enormous. Turmeric, cumin, cardamom, za'atar — these weren't just spices to us. They were stories. They were medicine. They were love passed down through centuries.

I was always the one next to her, watching, learning, tasting. While my brothers played outside, I was grinding spices in the mortar, asking questions, memorizing the way her hands moved. That kitchen is where everything began.

My journey took me from Israel to New York City, and eventually to Miami, where I opened the Miami branch of Shiraz Creative — an international catering, design, and production company.

As VP and Creative Director, I found myself directing events for the world's most prestigious brands: Louis Vuitton, Prada, Dior. I cooked for celebrities including Cindy Crawford and David Bowie. Each event was a canvas, and spices were my paint.

But the deeper I went into high-end catering, the more my obsession with spices grew — not just for their flavor, but for their anti-inflammatory and medicinal properties. I began studying the science behind the tradition.

That's when The Spice Detective was born.

What started as a blog grew into a movement. I wanted to share everything I'd learned — the history, the health benefits, the techniques — with anyone who would listen. The response was overwhelming.

In 2018, I opened JAFFA at MIA Market in the Miami Design District — bringing Israeli street food to one of the city's most vibrant neighborhoods. The response led to a second location in Hallandale Beach, a full sit-down restaurant experience.