The CANVAS Compendium: Dispatches from the New Jewish Renaissance
“Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are,” said the famous French gastronome Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin. It’s a maxim that applies to both people and peoples. For individuals, what you had for breakfast might reflect your tastes, dietary concerns, your ethnic background and even your income. On a cultural level, Jewish cuisine reflects religious concerns like kashrut as well as the influence of host countries—their own culture, along with geographical factors and seasonal availability of ingredients.
In fact, given the vastness of the Jewish experience and its culinary diversity, Jewish cuisine might be better considered in the plural, as cuisines. And yet for many North Americans Jews, Jewish food has historically been limited to the typical Ashkenazi dishes—matzo ball soup, bagels, etc.
The good news is that we’re seeing an explosion of interest in Jewish cuisines, with chefs, food writers, and home cooks exploring tastes and textures that draw on the diversity of the Jewish experience. The renaissance of Jewish arts and culture that we’ve been supporting at CANVAS—the artists, writers, and musicians exploring Jewish themes in novel ways—definitely includes those most basic components of a culture, its food and culinary artists.
With this in mind, we spoke to three groundbreaking Jewish food experts about their influences and what excites them right now in the world of Jewish cuisine.
Picnic photo: Dave Katz. Food and prop stylist: Mira Evnine. Courtesy Jewish Food Society
Naama Shefi, Jewish Food Society
Albondigas Di Karne Kon Tomato (Meatballs Poached in Tomato Sauce). Photographer: Armando Rafael. Food and prop stylist: Mariana Velasquez. Courtesy Jewish Food Society.
Since 2017, Jewish Food Society (JFS) has been preserving and celebrating Jewish cuisine from around the world. Its archive houses hundreds of tested family recipes and the family histories behind them, from Austria to Zimbabwe.
JFS brings its archive to life with pop-up dinners, cooking classes, holiday and shabbat events, and its podcast, Schmaltzy. Its founder and Executive Editor, Naama Shefi, has also recently published a stunning cookbook: The Jewish Holiday Table, co-written by JFS archive editor Devra Ferst. It’s a collection of holiday recipes and the family stories behind them, presenting a remarkable depiction of Jewish cuisine and the diversity of the Jewish people.
“Uninteresting food got me interested in food,” Shefi said. She described her childhood kibbutz as a “fun place to be. We were walking barefoot eating fruits from the trees.” But the communal meals with 500 other kibbutz members were “repetitive and mostly Ashkenazi. As I grew up, I was eager to go out of the bubble. Food became this medium to go outside and explore the diversity of food outside of the kibbutz.”
She studied filmmaking, eventually earning a master’s from the New School in New York City.
“It was really in New York that I changed my storytelling practice from filmmaking to food. I was writing for Israeli publications on trends and restaurant culture, and I started to curate events and performances and gatherings around food and identity. It was a way to connect with Judaism that wasn’t religious, which eventually led me to start JFS, out of a sense of community.”
But it was an earlier, more personal connection that also planted a seed, when she met her future husband’s grandmother for a Shabbat dinner in Israel.
“She had this tiny apartment and I wondered how she was going to feed twenty people. Sure enough, she made room around this table covered with variations on eggplant salads, albondigas, swiss chard pie and stuffed tomatoes with ground beef. I’d never eaten anything like this before. It was overwhelming and delicious and beautiful.
“She had stories behind the dishes that tracked her family’s journey from Izmir to Rhodes to Zimbabwe and finally to Israel. I realized these recipes were a treasure box of our cultural DNA. It’s the same for many families, their menus represent a map of their journey, which is why whenever we share a recipe at JFS we always include the family journey. Because it’s rare they have a single origin, and each place adds layers of flavors and textures and stories.”
As for the Jewish food renaissance, Shefi sees “something very interesting happening” in new relationships between Jewish food, Israeli food, and “flavors that many didn’t think about as part of the Jewish canon.” She cites another sandwich that has become a popular Israeli street food, sabich.
“It originated as a shabbat breakfast for Iraqi Jews—eggs with a cold spread of eggplant and parsley. It took some decades for this combination to become a street food, a sandwich served in a pita, and in the past ten years or so you can find creative, modern variations in more fancy Israeli restaurants.”
Shefi is also intrigued by a generational shift. There used to be a tendency among younger Jewish chefs to avoid the foods of previous generations, but now “younger chefs are extremely proud to celebrate their grandparents’ traditions. For instance, Zoe Kanan is a young pastry chef. I love what she does with Old World pastries. She’s opening her first bakery on the Lower East Side [in New York City], and I’m so looking forward to buying her bread and knishes.”
She also mentioned Mendl, a Jewish deli in Mexico City: “They’ve got a matzah ball soup with lime and cilantro and jalapeno, bringing to one plate its origins in Ukraine and Mexico, and I’m so curious.”
But the trend goes happily beyond Ashkenazi food.
“Nir Sarig is a young Israeli chef in New York City. He runs a pop-up restaurant, ETI, which draws inspiration from his Moroccan heritage. We did a picnic event and he made matbucha, a Moroccan salad with cooked tomatoes and spicy peppers and garlic. I love how he cooks seasonally, and he draws inspiration from his tradition.”
Shefi is currently touring to promote the cookbook, and she mentioned an encouraging interest in the food and the stories beyond the Jewish community.
“It’s amazing to see a new interest and excitement from the community about these flavors. But we don’t want to speak only to ourselves. That’s the key to my work—finding inspiration and excitement in unexpected places.”
Rachel Myerson, the Nosher
Sutlach is a delicious Sefardi comfort food. Photo: Susan Barocas. Courtesy the Nosher.
Reading the Nosher is like chatting with a friend who just happens to know everything about Jewish fare, from holiday recipes, to cooking the basics, to food history. It’s also got the Official Guide to Jewish Eats, a fun collection of eateries in cities like Chicago, Buenos Aires, and Paris. (The Nosher is part of 70 Faces Media, a CANVAS grantee.)
Rachel Myerson is the Managing Editor. Originally from Leeds, England, Myerson has lived for the past ten years in Tel Aviv. She’s long been interested in Jewish food and culture, having started her career with culinary tours of the markets of Tel Aviv. She’s been writing and editing for the Nosher for over five years.
Myerson works to make the site a “welcoming” space on the Internet.
“Jewish food is an accessible, dynamic way for people to connect to their Jewish identity,” she said. “We’re catering to people from different age groups, Jewish heritages, and backgrounds. So it’s important to have a space where people feel comfortable.”
In terms of the Jewish food renaissance, Myerson is excited by those who look backwards to go forwards. One example is the work of Alon Shaya, an Israeli-American chef and restaurateur whose Rescued Recipes project raises funds for the United States Holocaust Museum by creating events around pre-Holocaust family recipes.
“He’s working to recreate recipes of Holocaust survivors and their families and thinking about what food actually must have tasted like,” Myerson said.
A second example is the Gefilteria, an organization dedicated to “reimagining Ashkenazi food in exciting ways,” as Myerson put it. Run by Jeffrey Yoskowitz and Liz Alpern, the Gefilteria has a cookbook and workshops, and they market their own artisanal gefilte fish. (The Gefilteria also collaborates with the Nosher on the Official Guide to Jewish Eats.)
“These are two examples of people thinking about Ashkenazi food in more depth,” Myerson said. “Like classic mushroom barley soup. What mushrooms were available to the Jews of Eastern Europe? When they made blintzes, what berries did they use?”
Whether it’s mushroom barley soup, sutlach, a Sephardi creamy rice pudding, or Yemenite porridge drizzled with honey, the Nosher embraces all kinds of Jewish comfort food, the stories behind the dishes, and how the recipes have changed and been adapted over time.
Myerson is also enjoying the trend toward “mixing heritages, when people engage with food and identity through that lens. In Israel we see more and more Sefardi and Mizrahi influences, and it’s really exciting when these influences get mixed together to create something new.”
Like schnitzel sandwiches, a tasty melding of various Jewish culinary traditions. Schnitzel, of course, is a thin, breaded slice of meat; and a sandwich version of this Central European standby has become a thing in Israel. Traditionally it was made with pork or veal, which many Jews avoid for obvious reasons.
“In Israel it’s usually made with chicken or turkey, not only because of kashrut, but because other kinds of meat are expensive. They’ll serve it in a challah roll with tahini and matbucha. Some people put pickles or preserved lemon or fried slices of eggplant on the sandwich. All these components are from different places and not necessarily Israeli, but when you put them together it’s very Israeli.”
Myerson works to have the Nosher relay these trends, as well as a “diversity of stories, exploring many Jewish traditions and backgrounds and ways of connecting to Judaism, and it can all be reflected in food.”
The Nosher itself has exciting initiatives. On June 9th, the Online Jewish Food Festival will bring together chefs, restaurateurs, and food historians for an enjoyable and informative day of classes, demonstrations, and discussions. (More info here.)
Finally, the Nosher has been working with its first cohort of the Jewish Food Fellowship, a group of 17 cooks developing their skills in recipe development, food writing, food photography, and food history. The aim of this new Jewish arts and culture network is both to diversify the field of Jewish cooking and to fortify the storytelling skills of its members.
“We’re really looking forward to seeing how our fellows use their newfound knowledge and skills, both on the Nosher and beyond,” she said.
While you’re browsing the site for something to cook, sign up to their newsletter for recipes, food histories, and to be the first to find out about upcoming events.
Noah Clickstein, Lehrhaus
Lehrhaus’s Beet “Pastrami” Reuben, a kosher take on the deli classic. Photo courtesy Lehrhaus.
Located in Somerville, Massachusetts, Lehrhaus bills itself as a “Jewish tavern and house of learning.” It was founded by Rabbi Charlie Schwartz and Joshua Foer, who also co-founded the eclectic travel website Atlas Obscura and Sefaria, the “living library of Jewish texts and their interconnections.”
Lehrhaus provides food for the mind with classes like Hasidic Tales and Controversial Topics in Jewish and American Law. As a tavern, Lehrhaus has fun take on food and drink. Mile End Poutine—their version of the Québecois classic of fries topped with gravy and cheese—is named after the traditionally Jewish area of Montréal and adds pastrami flavors. The cocktail menu, created by Naomi Levy, offers drinks like Tres Conversos, a “crypto-Jewish daiquiri.”
Head chef Noah Clickstein grew up outside of Boston and trained at the Culinary Institute of America (alongside co-chef Alex Artinian). His interest in Jewish cooking was piqued when JArts Boston (a CANVAS grantee) invited him to take part in its 2017 food event, Beyond Bubbie’s Kitchen. Clickstein was intrigued by the Sephardic flavors he encountered, but it wasn’t until Rabbi Schwartz reached out about his idea for a restaurant that he “went down the rabbit hole,” as Clickstein put it.
In a thoughtful conversation, Clickstein described his approach to new Jewish food—what he calls “Jew-velle cuisine”—as a pyramid. At the apex is “intentionality,” the notion of creating recipes and cooking with the intention of taking part in something Jewish. The corners of the base are time, constraint, and tradition.
“Tradition is the most approachable aspect,” he said. “It’s the food we’ve eaten because our ancestors did. We’ve always made matzah ball soup or charoseth. ‘Time’ refers to the cyclical nature of the Jewish year, which matches the agricultural calendar. Tu B’Av coincides with grape harvest, for instance, so it’s an opportunity for Alex [Artinian] to conceive of grape-based pastries. For Sukkot, it might be late-summer produce.
“In terms of constraints, obviously there is kashrut, the laws that say what we can and cannot eat, how we’re not able to cook during a certain part of the week. But we’re also constrained by what we have access to. We’re a small, independent restaurant in an area that doesn’t have access to a larger Jewish food infrastructure, like an institutional operation might have.”
Clickstein’s food pyramid is reflected in his Fish and Chips. Lehrhaus’s Talmud-style menu explains that this hearty British standby got its start when Sephardi Jews brought fried fish to England. Clickstein’s batter is inspired by Heston Blumenthal, a British Jewish chef, and he serves it with amba vinegar, a sauce brought to the Jewish world by Baghdadi Jews trading with India.
A sense of fairness and responsibility comes through in how Clickstein runs his kitchen. Early-career jobs in fine dining revealed to him “toxic traits about the industry that I didn’t like. What excites me now is watching our staff grow as cooks and as people. Many didn’t work in restaurants before. One calls himself a recovering lawyer. Another did lab work.
“We talk a lot about mise-en-place, where everything is in place, mentally and physically, to make delicious food—what’s the timeline, the ingredients, the tools, the most efficient use of space, and how do I get myself ready for the next three days of service. And people are telling me that that philosophy, that mentality, is setting them up outside of the kitchen, because the skills prepare them to reach their goals, even to make them a better member of society.”
Outside of Lehrhaus, where does he see the Jewish food renaissance happening?
Clickstein mentioned he uses the Nosher for inspiration. Also, “I really like Joan Nathan, who stopped by Lehrhaus to talk about her new book, My Life in Recipes, and Leah Koenig’s Portico, about Italian-Jewish cuisine. Also Michael Twitty has a fascinating story to tell,” he said, referring to Koshersoul (the 2022 Jewish Book of the Year from the Jewish Book Council, a CANVAS grantee).
Ultimately Clickstein sees his exploration of Jewish food as a way of delving into Judaism, just as he sees food and cooking as an organizing philosophy: “Food is a way to make the rest of the world make sense,” he said.
Further reading (and cooking and eating)
· The Nosher has an informative piece on current efforts to revive pre-war Jewish recipes.
· Lehrhaus bartender Naomi Levy’s Hanukkah-themed cocktail bar.
· Naami Shefi in Vogue.
· More Jewish food experts in the CANVAS Compendium.
· Workshop alum Nemunah Ceesay on the Seder that brought her back to her Jewish roots.
BONUS: More Jewish arts and culture from CANVAS grantees
The Toronto Jewish Film Festival, a Kultura Collective member, will feature the best in Jewish-themed films from Canada and around the world including international, Canadian, and Toronto premieres. May 30 to June 9 at various venues in Toronto. Tickets and more info here.
The Jewish Plays Project, in collaboration with the Berkshire Theatre Group and plays2gather is presenting the Festival of New Jewish Plays, a three-day celebration of the depth and diversity of Jewish theatre. August 15, 16, and 17 at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, MA. Tickets and more info here.
The 44th San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, presented by the Jewish Film Institute, will showcase leading Jewish-themed cinema embracing the full spectrum of Jewish identity. Tickets and more info here. July 18 to August 4 at venues in the Bay Area. Tickets and more info here.
Jewish Art Salon opens its new exhibition, Artists on Antisemitism, on June 9 at 81 Leonard Gallery in New York City. More info here.
Support Jewish arts and culture. Donate to CANVAS today.
