A Conversation with Ari White

At last week's KFWE 2012...

This evening, February the 22nd, at 8:00pm (Eastern Time) we will host Ari White on our internet radio show. Ari runs (together with his wife Gemma) Got Cholent? Inc/Gemstone Catering. Ari started Got Cholent? Inc., a few years ago, because he was fascinated with the variations of cholent around the world. Whether you want a standard Ashkenazi cholent, like mama used to make or you prefer the Moroccan Dafina, or a Texas, Asian or other versions, Ari’s company offers them all with more than 12 finger-licking choices. At last year’s KFWE he debuted Gemstone Catering (Gemstone? In honor of his wife Gemma, of course!).

Presentation and unusual combination of flavors makes these two companies stand out from the crowd, their imagination and creativity has elevated their food into art. Tonight Ari White will tell us what/who inspires him, what he’s done and where he’s going next.

Meanwhile in case you missed it, last week we did two internet radio shows, on Wednesday we did the first part of our interviews with winemakers from around the world, company executives and attendees and on Thursday we featured the second part. Why don’t you give us a listen, you’ll hear how the quest for a perfect kosher wine transformed the lives of winemaker, winery owners and just how often their life journey took them to unexpected, and originally unwanted harbors that turned out to be far warmer and welcoming than they could have believed.

Why not tune us in this evening at BlogTalkRadio.com/kosherscene? We will be talking to Ari White from Got Cholent? Inc/Gemstone Catering at 8:00 pm (Eastern Time).

We’ll be wait’n for ya!

CS

A Conversation with June Hersh

This evening on our radio show we will talk with June Hersh, author of Recipes Remembered: A Celebration of Survival and Kosher Carnivore. June is teacher, writer and passionate home cook.

In Recipes Remembered she not only gives us some great recipes of yesteryear, but the author brings us  the personal stories of Holocaust survivors, or their children, with memories of their childhood, their struggle for survival, ultimate success and each one’s personal favorite recipe. It is a book filled with love and admiration, as only someone who understands life and is passionate about food could write. In a way it is as a record of Jewish life as it was, a glimpse of what we lost…

In Kosher Carnivore, the author gives us her favorite meat recipes but teaches us how to buy meat, which cuts are best for what type of meal, she also talks about wine and food pairing. Both her books are beautifully written, both are more than just cookbooks!

We will be speaking to her this evening at 8:00pm (Eastern Time) on BlogTalkRadio.com. June Hersh is an exceptional writer, a superb storyteller we a passion for all things Jewish. As we speak to her tonight, her charm, her warmth, her genuineness, will shine trough, enveloping each and every listener.

If you missed last week’s broadcast about The Peppermill, you can hear it right here.

Please tune us in this evening at 8:00pm (Eastern Time) on BlogTalkRadio.com. We’ll be waiting for you.

CS

Pomegranate Supermarket on Radio this Evening

This evening’s show was prerecorded at Pomegranate Supermarket (1507 Coney Island Avenue – corner of Avenue L – Brooklyn, New York 11230; Tel: 718.951.7112). We spoke with Avi Gantz – General Manager, Ari Heineman – Meat Department Manager and Chef Boris, one of the main wizards in Pomegranate‘s kitchens. It will broadcast this evening at 8:30pm Eastern Time on BlogTalkRadio.com.

From left to right: Ari Heineman, Avi Gantz and Chef Boris

While I never considered it a pleasure to go to a supermarket, it was just one of those places one had to shop at, that all changed when Pomegranate opened in 2008.

A partial view of the meat department...

The wide aisles, the cleanliness, the well stacked shelves, the fresh fruits and vegetables, the rich selection of items, the colors of food as it is displayed, all have made Pomegranate a place where a foodie – a kosher foodie – can spend a long time shopping and enjoying the experience.

...a partial view of the Deli department

We spoke about the philosophy behind the store, we spoke to the special people who make every customer feel special and every visit a delectation.

Some of the salad selections

Please tune us in this evening at 8:30pm Eastern Time on BlogTalkRadio.com. Meanwhile you can listen to our earlier programs from this week: The Center for Kosher Culinary Arts and A conversation with Jack Dahan.

CS

This Week’s Radio Show

This week’s radio show on our BlogTalkradio hour, this Wednesday evening, November 2nd, at 10:00pm (Eastern Time) will feature a panel of new media and traditional media personalities. These are:

• Esti Berkowitz, mom blogger at Primetime Parenting.
• Kim Amzallag, who is Director of Advertising for the 114 year old The Jewish Daily Forward and website which features the popular blog The Jew and The Carrot, as she continues to do sales and marketing for Mishpacha and Kosher Inspired magazines.
• Soshana Raff, mom blogger at The Kosher Shopaholic.

We will be discussing next week’s Kosherfest, the new media presence and the impact of bloggers on kosher food trends. Please listen in.

For those of you who missed last week’s Venice – 700 years of Jewish History, tradition and Food with Alessandra Rovati from the Dinner in Venice website and Corrado Calimani from the Venice Jewish Community Board, you can listen to the taped archive here. It was a very interesting and educational show with two very charming people! We discussed the over seven hundred year old Venetian Jewish community, the upcoming 500 year commemorations (in 2016) of the world’s first ghetto ever (Venice’s Jewish Ghetto), the communities traditions and rites as well the food…

Don’t forget to tune in our broadcast tomorrow at 10:00pm (Eastern Time) on BlogTalkradio, with some of the best schmoozers in blogland. We’ll be waiting for ya…

CS

No Radio Show This Evening

Photo from: HowStuffWorks.com

I got back from Richmond, VA, this morning where I had some important family business to take care of. My guest for this evening had his own emergency. The show I pre-taped earlier needs some editing and there was no  time left before show time; we will have a 60 minute show tomorrow evening, instead, with three guests.

Our guests will be award winning documentary filmmaker and author Joseph Dorman, founder of Riverside Films he will talk to us about his current movie showing around the country: Sholom Aleichem: Laughing in the Darkness. In the second half of the show we will host Aron Ritter, President of the Kosher Wine Society and Alex Haruni, owner of the Dalton Winery in Israel

Please listen to our show tomorrow evening, at 7:30pm (Eastern Time) on BlogTalkRadio. See you there!

CS

Tonight’s Radio Show…

This evening on Blogtalkradio we will be speaking, at 8:00 pm (Eastern Time), to Ezzy Duchman, who founded Jewpon together with his brother Zalmy. At a time when the coupon field is starting to get crowded, do we need yet another player? Does the new kid in town offer anything different or is it more of the same?

Jewpon started out in December 2010, it’s first deal was in Miami and since has expanded to Lakewood, Monsey, Manhattan, Los Angeles, Boca Raton, Toronto and overseas to Yerushalayim. They also have a lot of national deals going at any given moment. Aside from all these, the company also runs various charity drives as we shall hear. The company has been written up and discussed by examiner.com, CNN Money, Market Watch, Yiddish Life, The Miami Herald, Jewish Life and Dan’s Deals.

A typical Jewpon Deal

Ezzy will explain what Jewpon is about, what makes it different. Please listen in this evening to The Kosher Scene Radio Show at 8:00 pm to 8:30 pm (Eastern Time) for an interesting, informative and money saving conversation.

If you missed our show from last week, you can access our archived interview with Poopa Dweck, author of the most beautiful kosher cookbook I’ve ever owned – Aromas of Aleppo, here. Mrs. Dweck is a community activist based in Deal, NJ. Her cookbook is more than just a collection of recipes, the photos are truly amazing, the notes accompanying each recipe, the history and cultural tidbits set it far apart from any other cookbook I’ve ever seen. Both her cookbook and our conversation attest to her passion for the subject, it’s well worth a listen!

Meanwhile don’t forget to tune us in this evening!

CS 

Tomorrow Evening’s Internet Radio Show

Our guest tomorrow evening – on our Blogtalkradio radio show at 8:00 pm (Eastern Time) – will be Menachem Lubinsky, founder and CEO of LUBICOM. We will talk about Kosherfest 2011, its history and evolution and the meteoric rise of Kosher in America.

Kosherfest came to be 23 years ago in 1988, since, it has become the world’s largest kosher food, foodservice, beverage, wine and spirits trade show. It is produced by Diversified Business Communications (www.divcom.com) and co-produced by Menachem Lubinsky, founder of Kosherfest and CEO of LUBICOM (www.lubicom.com)

Prior and during his time at Lubicom, Mr. Lubinsky worked and continues to work extensively with both profit and non-profits. He has an M.B.A. in Marketing and Advertising from the Bernard Baruch College at City University of New York. He has received many prestigious awards and been honored by major organizations for his work and advocacy. As a major player in the field, he is the universally acknowledged expert on the matter of kosher marketing, its history and its growth.

Please listen in to what promises to be an interesting and informative program. Tune us in at Blogtalkradio.com at 8:00pm (Eastern Time) tomorrow, July 20

CS

It’s Been an Exciting Week! No Radio Show Tonight

It’s been an exciting week, with the first of my granddaughters getting married to a truly fine young man in Baltimore, this past Monday; my youngest son came in from Yerushalayim for 3 days to surprise both his oldest sister and niece. Yes, gentle reader, it’s been very nice but then at the last moment I had a postponement from my scheduled guest; after frantically trying to find a replacement (to no avail!), I feel compelled to cancel this evening’s broadcast. Next week we will be back however with Paul Bensabat, CEO of The Manischewitz Company.

Meanwhile, why not give a listen to last week’s show? Our guest was Esti Berkowitz of PrimeTimeParenting.com. What is her blog about? Mrs. Berkowitz’ one line description says it best: How I Found Kosher Food, A Husband, and Had Children After 35.

We talked about her blog and its purpose, we also discussed kashrus in Chicago, restaurants, take outs and more. As you will hear, Mrs. Berkowitz was an exciting guest and we’ve already had requests to bring her back.

You might also want to listen to something very different from our usual radio style, Jewish Cuisine and Jewish Culture. We’d love to hear your comments and suggestions.

CS

Live at Nargila – Part 3 – Tomorrow’s Radio Show

Tomorrow we will once again, be’ezras Hashem, be transmitting live from Nargila Grill (1599 York Avenue – between E. 84 and E. 85th Street – New York 10028; Tel: 212.535.3700). Why? Because… tomorrow the owner’s mother will be cooking her famed Bukharian dishes.

A corner at Nargila Grill...

With me will be Alessandra Rovati (Dinner in Venice), Esti Berkowitz (Primetime Parenting), Levana Kirschenbaum (Levana Cooks), Kim Amzallag (Kosher Inspired/Mishpacha Magazine), Marlene Mamiye (The Jewish Hostess), and Suzannah Raff (The Kosher Shopaholic).

Another corner...

We will discuss the cultural differences in Jewish foods, how the Jews throughout history were influenced by the local environment, but still managed to keep a strong Jewish tradition. It’s been said that its food defines a people, we will discuss how we adapted ourselves how the Jewish cuisine evolved and is far more than just gefilte fish, brisket and tcholent.

You can tune in to us at 7:30pm (Eastern Time) tomorrow evening at: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/kosherscene or you can join us at Nargila Grill ((1599 York Avenue – between E. 84 and E. 85th Street – New York 10028; Tel: 212.535.3700) for an evening of great talk and superb food. Nargila Grill is under the hasgacha of of the O K Labs.

I can’t wait to be surprised by owner/manager Michael’s mother cooking, I’m sure we’ll likely wash with some lepeshka bread, have some plov (Bukarian rice), or maybe we’ll have some samsa? or kebobs? Hmmnn, my mouth is watering! Oh, what’s the use, I better not think about and just taste whatever delicacies as they come.

So, gentle reader, considering the great food and the low prices we’ll we see you there? Why not come over and say hello?

CS

Live from Nargila!

The Kosher Scene Radio Show, this evening at 7:30pm (Eastern Time), will be transmitting live from Nargila Restaurant (1599 York Avenue – between E. 84 and E. 85th Street – New York 10021; Tel: 212.535.3700). With us we’ll have: Alessandra Rovati from Dinner in Venice, Amy Chana from The Gluten Free Maven, Esti Berkowitz from Primetime Parenting, Kim Amzallag from Mishpacha Magazine, Marlene Mamiye from The Jewish Hostess and Suzanah Raff from The Kosher Shopaholic. Also with us, will be my dear friend Irving Schild, photographer extraordinaire, and possibly my coblogger SYR. We will talk with each of the mom-bloggers about the particular focus of their individual blogs, about the liberating effect of writing, the new contacts and interaction that have resulted, social media in general and – of course – food. We are all foodies, after all!

If you missed our last show on the Wednesday prior to Shavuos, you can hear the archived recording right here. Our guests included Moshe Vogel from Anderson International Foods in the first half hour and Kim Amzallag from Mishpacha/Kosher Inspired Magazine. In honor of Yom Yerushalayim we started the hour with the reading of a very short piece I wrote a few years back (which was reprinted on The Jerusalem Post and on Ynet.com). It was about the first Yom Yerushalayim – Jerusalem Day, commemorating the reunification of Jerusalem. I was there when the Old City – Ir Hatika became ours again…

Please listen to us this evening, from 7:30 to 8:30, on BlogTalkRadio/kosherscene, Call us on the air at: 714.333-3357 with your comments, questions or suggestions or join us at Nargila Restaurant (1599 York Avenue – between E. 84 and E. 85th Street – New York 10021; Tel: 212.535.3700). We’ll keep the light on for ya!

CS