New trendy non-kosher menus inspired by Jewish canon

Nikki Cascone, 38 years old, opened Octavia's Porch in the East Village and Michael Psilakis, 42, launched Fish Tag on the Upper West Side within days of each other. Both chefs are borrowing from the Jewish canon without going kosher. They've modernized kreplach and smoked fish, giving buzz to Bubbe's best.

Pictures and more after the jump
—Melanie Grayce West

Wall Street Journal

January 6, 2011

Who's Top Kosher Chef? A Jewish Cuisine Cook-Off

December 12, 2010
At Kosher Chefs’ Cook-Off, Forget Foie Gras
By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM
New York Times

Culinary school had its frustrations for Seth Warshaw, the executive chef and owner of Etc. Steakhouse, a kosher restaurant in Teaneck, N.J. He had enrolled in a prestigious cooking school in Manhattan, but it quickly became clear that his religious restrictions rendered many hallmarks of fine French cooking — like rich creams and luscious crustaceans — off-limits.

“I sat there with my container of water, drinking while everybody ate,” Mr. Warshaw recalled, sounding a bit pained.

“I didn’t eat foie gras. I wanted to. I wanted to take it home and take a bath in it.”

Mr. Warshaw, an observant Jew, had been asked to ruminate on this topic because he found himself in an unusual role on Sunday: a judge for the taping of an all-kosher cooking competition called “The Next Great Kosher Chef.” It was held at a commercial kitchen in Long Island City, Queens.

The event was being sponsored by the Center for Kosher Culinary Arts, a three-year-old organization in Midwood, Brooklyn, that offers instruction to kosher chefs seeking the secrets to fine dining, minus the tref, or nonkosher. Its founders claim the school is the only all-kosher culinary academy outside of Israel.

“They can come, they can taste, they can eat,” Elka Pinson, the school’s owner, said of her students. At secular institutes, she said, “you pay $45,000 and can’t taste a thing!”

Roman Jewish cuisine

In Rome, a Hidden Jewish Cuisine
By Katie Parla
The Atlantic
December 13, 2010

The cucina ebraica romana (Roman Jewish cuisine) is famous among Romans and visitors alike for its carciofi alla giudia (Jewish-style—deep fried—artichokes), fiori di zucca (fried zucchini flowers stuffed with mozzarella), and aliciotti e indivia (anchovies with endive). These dishes, widely available in restaurants throughout Rome, are seasonal, generally made from local ingredients, and, above all, kosher.

"It is on holidays and Shabbat that these dishes are still made, but the traditions are disappearing quickly."
Far less well-known in Rome, but no less important, are the typical dishes of the Libyan Jewish tradition, called the cucina ebraica tripolina. It is found almost exclusively in homes, especially on T'fina (Shabbat). Its protagonists are hearty stews served with couscous. Cinnamon, cumin, caraway seed, paprika, turmeric, parsley, and hot chilies play supporting roles.

Rome has the most ancient Jewish community in Western Europe, stretching back to 161 BCE. Over the past 22 centuries, the city's community has been shaped and enriched by the arrival of diaspora groups, first in antiquity—the slaves of Pompey (63 BCE) and Titus (70 CE)—then refugees fleeing the Inquisition in Spain and Southern Italy (1492), and most recently, Libyan Jews escaping pogroms (1967).

Several thousand Libyan Jews settled in Rome, arriving primarily from Tripoli. Although they were embraced by the local community, they continued to preserve their unique culinary traditions, which differed greatly from those already present in the city.