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The concept of "Mediterranean cuisine" has been gaining traction as of late, amongst both the health-conscious and the gourmet-conscious. For Israel, poised as it is on the Mediterranean Sea's easternmost coast, and with a history of cultural exchange with both Rome and Greece, pan-Mediterranean cuisine is a natural choice for chefs hoping to make their mark on the dining scene. In culinary hot spots throughout Jerusalem, the city's top chefs are using pan-Mediterranean flavors and techniques as springboards for doing their own thing - taking the traditions of southern and southeastern Europe and giving them an Israeli twist.

The members of this new generation of Israeli chefs, many of them trained abroad and well-versed in French cooking techniques, are choosing to use what they learned to blend the flavors of their Mediterranean neighbors - France, Span, Greece, Turkey and Italy, especially - to create something that is both pan-Mediterranean and at the same time uniquely Jerusalem-flavored.

Chef Lior Heftzadi (pictured in whites), of downtown Jerusalem's Lara bistro, which boasts a menu running the gamut from Middle-Eastern to classic Italian, helps to explain the trend. "Mediterranean cooking means a lot of use of olive oil, which is one of the products most associated with the Mediterranean region," he tells GoJerusalem.com. "We also use a lot of the raw materials which grow regionally: fruits, vegetables and especially olives."

It's all about building on the techniques of French cooking, but with a bit more license. "At Lara, we don't do French cooking, where everything is very precise. We wanted to create something simpler - with Mediterranean tastes but without the rigidity of French cooking," Heftzadi continues. "We use very fresh ingredients, a lot of fish, which people are demanding more of. We were always a Mediterranean style restaurant. We never did all these creams and oils. We focus on olive oil and more olive oil in our dishes."

France does border on the Mediterranean, however, and for many scenesters, there is little distinction between French food and French-inspired food. Indeed, Canela, an upscale restaurant on downtown Jerusalem's Shlomtzion Hamalka Street, which some claim is the epicenter of Jerusalem's fine dining scene, provides a French presentation with a special Jerusalem flare, with local and regional herbs accounting for much of the flavor.

Gabriel, with its gourmet French bistro concept, also puts a Jerusalem twist on high-French cuisine, with its kosher le'mehadrin sweetbreads and a wine list that would do any Paris eatery proud.

Scala, located inside the David Citadel hotel, is another prime example of high-end cuisine dished out with local flavors and cooking techniques picked up from all those countries that share a shore with Tel Aviv. Scala's lamb-stuffed onions served with black lentils, root vegetables, tahini and date honey - or the seared sea bream served with tomato confit, roasted peppers, eggplant shallots, chilies and green olives - are both shining examples of Scala Chef Oren Yerushalmi's grasp of pan-Mediterranean fusion.

For those looking to enhance their Mediterranean food experience with a sports event, Hamoshava 54 is the place to go. This Emek Refaim Street mainstay (where dishes range in price from just 10 NIS to 74 NIS, though a great meal can be had for the eponymous 54 NIS), offers Mediterranean flavors like a mushroom and almond medley (pictured) alongside Israeli favorites like schnitzel and chicken kebabs.

Luciana, a mostly traditional Italian-style restaurant in the German Colony, offers a wide range of pasta and fish dishes, cooked in the style of southern Italy (which means a lot of olive oils, olives and fresh vegetables - including, of course, the tomato, a key ingredient in classic Italian pasta plates.

If pan-Mediterranean-ism seems to be taking over Jerusalem's restaurants, Noam Rizi, co-owner of many of the best of them - namely Colony, Adom (pictured with hanging light fixtures) and Lavan - says this trend is nothing new. Rizi tells GoJerusalem.com, "In my profession as a restaurateur, I learned to listen and understand my clients who are very accustomed to Mediterranean flavors. Adom is regarded as a French-based restaurant but in many dishes you can see the influence of local flavors and techniques - such as the open-fire eggplant, the use of fresh and pickled lemons, olives of many kinds, strong herbs such as cilantro, olive oil and spices such as turmeric, cinnamon etc.

Rizzi asserts that the trend is hardly new in town, though. "I think the Mediterranean influences has always been around in Israel, at least in the last 15 years," he says, "and almost every restaurant, hotel and coffee shop is influenced by it."