The Next Top (Kosher) Chef

This should be on TV!

Within the cozy yet well-equipped walls of Brooklyn's famous kosher culinary school, The Center for Kosher Culinary Arts (CKCA), a sizzling competition is in the works and may be destined to change culinary history. Similar to Top Chef, chefs from around Brooklyn will be put to the test in search of the next great kosher chef. Perhaps a visionary kosher chef will be born.

The Jerusalem Post
CKCA, on Coney Island Avenue, is currently the only kosher institution in America. Over the past two years it has enabled over 140 prospective chefs to complete their professional courses.

Attending CKCA is one of the only plausible ways for a non- Jewish chef to learn the art of kosher cuisine that will enable them to perform knowledgeably in a kosher restaurant.

Highly motivated, hard-working, amateur cooks who are committed to building a career in the kosher food industry are invited to enter the competiton. Applicants must be from the United States and must be 18 years of age or older.

They will undergo a scrupulous elimination process based on a personal written entry and a supplement video presentation. Ten semi-finalists will be chosen to advance to the next round. There will then be an interview process in which each applicant's potential will be evaluated.

Ultimately, only three chefs will supersede their opponents and move on to the real competition that will be held at CKCA.

The competitors will all undergo not only culinary challenges but a written examination as well. The finalist who achieves the highest scores will become “The Next Great Kosher Chef.”

The judging panel will be comprised of several senior chef instructors. Chef Avram Wiseman, formerly the executive sous chef at the United Nations and chef instructor at the Art Institute of New York, will be appearing at the judging panel.

The winner of this challenge will be awarded a full scholarship to the Winter 2011 professional training program in culinary arts and the grandiose title of “The Next Great Kosher Chef.”

This thread is oozing Brown........oozing people.

Glenn said:

This thread is oozing Brown........oozing people.

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Bring on the Mow-kosh-hee-toes! :argue: :smash: :beer: :argue:

Coming from a Jew....one who, through marriage, knows and has plenty of family that are Kosher...and having also dined in some of the more upscale Kosher Restaurants in the City.... I have some news for you all.... they all suck compared to other fine restaurants in the City.

marcski said:

Coming from a Jew....one who, through marriage, knows and has plenty of family that are Kosher...and having also dined in some of the more upscale Kosher Restaurants in the City.... I have some news for you all.... they all suck compared to other fine restaurants in the City.

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Try Tevere on 84th between Lex and 3rd. You'll think differently. Then try Nicola's (not Kosher) across the street another time.

Tevere Menu:

http://www.teverenyc.com/current/menu.php

I've hosted several Kosher Catered events. Never once have pieces of kitchen equipment not been destroyed duing the 'kosherizing' process. The last time the destruction included a 10K tilt skillet.

drjeff said:

Bring on the Mow-kosh-hee-toes! :argue: :smash: :beer: :argue:

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Fil-A:


:uzi::smash::uzi::angry::uzi::angry: :argue::argue::lol::flag::

Glenn said:

Fil-A:

:uzi::smash::uzi::angry::uzi::angry: :argue::argue::lol::flag::

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BobE???

Blessed Is The Fruit Of Hagafen Cellars



A full-service kosher winery tucked along the Silverado Trail.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
George Medovoy
Special To The Jewish Week

Napa, Calif. — Hagafen Cellars sits at the end of a country lane bordered by vineyards and olive trees on the Silverado Trail.

There are many wineries on the trail, but what makes Hagafen Cellars different is its distinction as Napa Valley’s only full-service kosher winery. And the man behind it all is veteran winemaker Ernie Weir.

Dressed in a pair of worn jeans and a T-shirt, Weir greeted me in Hagafen’s modest tasting room for a sampling of his award-winning wines — some of which have graced the table of White House kosher state dinners and events for the past 30 years.

It’s no coincidence that Weir’s tasting room has the look and feel of the Mediterranean — his early exposure to agriculture came during a working stint on an Israeli kibbutz.

“As a small producer,” Weir said, “I looked for a niche that would make me unique, that would separate me from the 300 other wineries [in the area].”

That niche, of course, continues to be quality kosher dry wines, which appeal not only to general consumers, but especially to Jewish ones — the people Weir calls “an assimilated [and] culturally and religiously very proud group of people, who are part and parcel of the fabric and the tapestry of American life.”

For religiously observant Jews, of course, Hagafen is a real find while they’re on the road — a lucky chance to sample kosher wines in a field otherwise dominated by non-kosher varieties.

In reality, however, most of Weir’s market is non-Jewish, and there are even some visitors to his winery who ask if “Hagafen” (Hebrew for “the vine”) is his family name.

During my visit, among the wines I sampled were the Late Harvest 2008 Sonoma Coast Sauvignon Blanc, a delicious dessert wine evoking the style of French Sauterne, and the 2005 Reserve Prix Napa Valley Estate Bottled Merlot Vichy Vineya, which has a spicy and cherry-filled taste.

Wine tasting is also available at garden tables, where you can take in peaceful valley scenes near Hagafen’s vineyards.

Those “valley scenes” are everywhere to be found along Highway 29, which winds its way through memorable small towns — many settled by early Italian immigrants who left their mark with lasting traditions of wine and food.

The valley is a perfect place to stay for a while, and one of the newest places to settle into is Hotel Luca, a slice of Tuscany I discovered in the sleepy little town of Yountville, population 3,200.

Rustic Jerusalem stone decorates the hotel’s lobby, spa, bathrooms and public spaces, while reclaimed, 200-year-old roof tiles from Lucca, Italy, and 300-year old floor tiles from Florence further embellish the hotel’s design.

Hotel Luca’s piece de resistance is its Cantinetta Piero restaurant, under whose 15-foot vaulted brick ceiling and massive beams one can sample the sublime tastes of Tuscany presided over by Chef Craig DiFonzo.

Of course, as a food town, Yountville is well known for French culinary influence, including Thomas Keller’s legendary French Laundry, housed in an anonymous old stone building on Washington Street, just a short walk from Hotel Luca and near Keller’s Bouchon French bistro and bakery.

Yountville is a very walkable town, with plenty of boutique shops among the bistros and restaurants of Washington Street.

When navigating your way down Highway 29, be sure to stop at the Oakville Grocery Company, circa 1881, which is across the highway from spreading vineyards.

The outside of this establishment looks pretty ordinary, but once inside, you’ll be surprised by a food cornucopia of some of the best that Napa Valley has to offer, like artisanal deli sandwiches, grilled paninis, cheeses and charcuterie, signature salads and boxed lunches perfect for a Napa Valley picnic.

Don’t be surprised if the place is packed, so be ready to spend a little time in the store.

One of my favorite wine-associated things to do around here is the Napa Valley Wine Train, a restaurant built into an antique train. While you enjoy lunch or dinner, the train winds its way blissfully through the valley along 25-miles of track.

Closer to the San Francisco Bay Area, there are definitely things worth seeing before you reach the Napa Valley.

One of my favorites, across the Golden Gate Bridge, is Sausalito, which I have always called “California’s Portofino.” It’s a picturesque waterside community offering breathtaking views of San Francisco.

Besides the views, my favorite thing to do in Sausalito is people-watch at one of the town’s many cafés.

If you like hiking, keep going past Sausalito to Mount Tamalpais State Park in Mill Valley, which offers more than 60 miles of hiking and biking trails in a setting of stunning California redwood groves.