Kosher by Design Cooking Coach Book Signing

It’s always interesting to see how fame re-frames a person.  This past Tuesday eve – on the tenth anniversary of Susie Fishbein’s first book of her wildly successful Kosher by Design (published by ARTSCROLL) – the launching of her 8th cookbook (Cooking Coach) took place at Pomegranate Supermarket.

Photos by: Photos by Tibor Tóth

Gavriel Sanders introducing Susie Fishbein..

Susie, fresh from a summer cooking tour of Tuscany, is as gracious, unpretentious and down to earth as ever.  Amazingly, she still has that warm, approachable ‘everywoman’ in the kitchen, poised well within a comfort zone honed by years of test and taste experimentation and exploration of ingredients prepping meals for family and friends. Her early training as a teacher who inspired fourth graders to harness the essential techniques and tools beyond the blackboard factoids through cementing experiences, was very much in evidence now as chef extraordinaire. Susie seeks to achieve similar goals for her avid fans in cooking coach; “My true job is to free people from cookbooks and the written word to become more intuitive cooks”

Susie, in action!

As Albert Einstein once said: “I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.”   Susie ‘s latest features easy to follow step by step pictorial Game Plan covering essential equipment, stocking one’s kitchen and key essentials for prep and cooking of meat & poultry, fish, salads & soups from appetizers through desserts. Cooking Coach has a well-organized Playbook detailing creative makeovers for yesterday’s leftovers to new alternate dishes bearing but a dash of resemblance.

Fellow bloggers and members of the press sampled Playbook in action as Susie demoed onstage; ground turkey sautéed with frozen spinach transformed into three wonderful fresh dishes: Turkey Taco Eggrolls, Turkey Stuffed Mushrooms and a terrific pasta penne dish using Pomegranate’s own Marinara Sauce.

Turkey Taco Eggrolls

Gavriel Sanders, Artscrtoll‘s publicist for the Kosher by Design series, mc’d and fielded questions from the audience, delivering a seamless media event. Pomegranate was the perfect host and venue for this private media reception.

Susie Fishbein and her dad, at the book signing

Susie signed copies of the complimentary Kosher by Design Cooking Coach that the evening’s participants received in their swag bag along with complementary products from Pomegranate.  A full review of Susie’s new cookbook will be featured here next week along with a recipe. Thanks to Susie Fishbein and Pomegranate for a most delightful evening and an exciting new cookbook to reach for, until we intuitively ‘get it’ and need but reach within.

SYR

This Evening’s Kosher Scene’s Internet Radio Show

Our guest for this evening’s special show at 8:00pm (Eastern Time) is Avi Gantz, the General Manager at Pomegranate Supermarket (1507 Coney Island Avenue – corner of Avenue L – Brooklyn, New York 11230; Tel: 718.951.7112). We will be discussing Pomegranate‘s special offerings for the Nine Days.

With many new items and some items specially made for these Nine Days, meals need neither be drab nor boring. Avi will tell us how we can avoid meat and still have delicious, healthy, meals.

Partial views of the Salad department (above) and the Sushi Department (bottom)

Meanwhile in case you missed it, please listen to our show with Naomi Sugar, ice cream confectioner extraordinaire, blogger at 365scoops.com.

Don’t forget to tune us in this evening, at 8:00pm (Eastern Time), when our guest will be Avi Gantz, the General Manager at Pomegranate Supermarket (1507 Coney Island Avenue – corner of Avenue L – Brooklyn, New York 11230; Tel: 718.951.7112).

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

Seasons

The four seasons succeed each other in a natural progression throughout the year, each one bringing something new though it is but the progeny of its predecessor. So too it was logical and natural that Mayer Gold would one day own a supermarket. During his yeshiva days he operated the vending machines, in camp he ran the canteen, later became a low level manager at Glatt Mart, Assistant Store Manager at Supersol and Store Manager of Pomegranate.

When Supersol recently closed in Queens, Mayer quickly bought it up and is now in the process of remodeling it, expecting to open up his own supermarket, Seasons, in January 2011. So, who is this maverick supermarket owner? I found him a very down to earth, likable, businessman; a foodie ready to serve a very price conscious demographic. As he put it, “I want to serve both the $9.99 a pound steak customer who will douse it with a $.99 sauce as well as the $18.00 a pound consumer who prefers the exotic spices and rubs.”

What is his vision for Seasons? That became very obvious when he recently run a contest to find a name for the supermarket. The name – Seasons – was chosen from over 4000 entries. Mayer Gold and his team of professional managers believe that the client should have the last word on what is offered when, where and how. As we spoke, last week, he told me that while product cost and type is very important, the voice of his customers will be equally valuable. Again, showing how significant consumer input is, the supermarket’s site seasonsny.com, asks people to choose the company logo.

Photo by: vosizneias.com

Artist's rendition of Seasons storefront

“The gardener’s work is never at at end; it begins with the year, and continues to the next: he prepares the ground, and then he sows it; after that he plants, and then he gathers the fruits…”

– John Evelyn, Kalendarium Hortense, 1706

Mayer Gol is such a gardener.  He will proudly share with you how his experience prepared the groundwork for the dream he is currently sowing in Queens.  Having recently acquired  the fallow fileds of a demised Supersol, Mr. Gold is taking the experience of working a field and cultivating it with the kind of attention to detail, care and seeds just right for this soil that will deliver a quality kosher supermarket. He’s learned from the best. He knows how to bring the right product, a solid value and above all, helpful, informative and courteous service to an industry and a culture that has nearly forgotten how much all that means.

The common man is not concerned about the passage of time, the man of talent is driven by it.
– Arthur Schopenhauer

Seasons is a very appropriate name for Mayer Gold’s dream of a kosher supermarket, in more ways than one. Not only does Seasons tell us of his commitment to bring the freshest, highest quality, in-season products but it also it also bears witness to the relentless pursuit of his dream… a dream that can and will greatly benefit the kosher consumer in Queens.

CS