Born and educated in Israel, Zeev Zi-Pear joined the Israeli Army in 1977 and served his country for three years, until 1980. During much of that time he was a tank driver and, as a soldier, in 1978, he took part in war in Lebanon which was to drive Palestinian terrorists away from Israel border.

Zeev Zi-Pear was again called up in 1982, and this time fought in the 1982 Lebanon War which was known in Lebanon as ‘the invasion’ - when the Israeli Defence Forces invaded Southern Lebanon after repeated attacks by the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO).

He was duly honoured by the Israeli Government for his contribution to these campaigns.

After his time in the Israeli Army Zeev chose a very different career path and decided to open his own restaurant in Tel Aviv in the early 1980s.