There’s more to Jewish food than bagels and matzah ball soup. And the first Jewish Toledo Food Festival is determined to prove it.
The area’s newest celebration of food and culture will offer some tantalizing tastes of the depth and breadth of Jewish cuisine from 11:15 a.m. to 1 p.m Sunday at Temple Shomer Emunim, 6453 W. Sylvania Ave., Sylvania.
“We’re cramming a lot” into a small space and a limited time frame for this first effort, said Hallie Freed, community program director at the Jewish Federation of Greater Toledo.
Ashkenazi dishes from central and eastern Europe — what many people think of as “Jewish food” — will include brisket sliders served on rye bread, chicken schnitzel (thin breaded cutlets), two varieties of kugel (a sweet dairy noodle pudding and savory spinach prepared by Lynn Nusbaum, executive director of the temple and a renowned cook in the Jewish community), stuffed cabbage (both beef-filled and veg-e-tar-ian), and chopped liver.
Mel Siegel and Danny Becker of Congregation Etz Chayim prepared the kosher brisket, which Ms. Freed described as “barbecue, smoky.”
Sephardic Jewish cuisine comes from those whose ancestors were expelled during the Spanish Inquisition in the late 15th century.
Samples of these foods will include bourekas (potato-filled puff pastries) and two salads: Israeli Salad with cucumbers and tomatoes, and one with hearts of palm. Hummus and falafel — which are ubiquitous throughout the Middle East — will be provided by Labib Hajjar of The Beirut.
The bourekas and the chicken schnitzel were prepared by a team of volunteers at Congregation B’nai Israel led by Paul Blower, a chef who worked for two decades at the Canadian embassy in Israel. His daughter, Sharon Lapitsky, is the director of the Jewish Community Relations Council at the Jewish Federation.
Challah — the beautifully braided ritual bread — will be offered in three varieties: miniature classics from Marshall Goldstein, culinary instructor at the temple; whole wheat, baked by Mushka Matusof of Chabad House of Toledo; and a za’atar-flavored one, featuring Middle Eastern spices and herbs, by Deborah Norin-Kuehn, who used to prepare the weekend brunch at the Flying Joe coffee house.
Desserts will include mandelbrot (biscotti-like cookies) and seven-layer cake as well as rugelach and mini black-and-white cookies from Jeff Sherman of Simply Delicious Catering.
Each food station will be labeled to aid those who keep to strict diets for religious or health reasons. Some designations include meat, dairy, pareve (neither meat nor dairy), gluten-free, kosher, and glatt kosher (a stricter observance).
“Something special and different,” said Ms. Freed, will be Israeli chocolates and Krembo, chocolate-covered marshmallow treats that are beloved in Israel. And guests will be able to sample the Jewish baked goods that have been entered into a competition being judged by a team including Joel Marcovitch, chief executive officer of the federation. Prizes will be awarded at noon.
Children 18 and under will be served a free hot dog lunch with potato chips, dill pickles, and juice boxes. There will also be klezmer music, bounce houses, carnival games, face painting, and other entertainment.
Admission is $10 per adult in advance and $15 at the door; children get in free. Contact Colette Lundberg at 419-724-0361 or colette@JewishToledo.org to buy tickets. For more information, contact Ms. Freed at 419-724-0362 or hallie@JewishToledo.org.
“Bitayavon [bee-tay-ah-VOHN],” said Ms. Lapitsky. “That’s how you say ‘bon appétit’ in Hebrew.”
Contact Mary Bilyeu at mbilyeu@theblade.com or 419-724-6155 or on Twitter @BladeFoodPage.
First Published May 2, 2017, 4:00 a.m.
