Food for 1,600 hungry students? No problem – as long as there are no bugs in the lettuce

“I then walk around and make sure everything is as it should be and I check the dry stores to make sure everything is kosher.”

JFS does not serve meat as the kitchen isn't large enough to have two zones for meat and dairy.

The food being prepared looked very tasty – pasta in tomato sauce with grated cheese, and salads, among other dishes.

Braham said “the biggest job of all is the lettuce”, and he wanted me to have a go at kashering it.

Now, I don’t keep strictly kosher, so I had no idea how much work goes into preparing lettuce.

Braham explained you have to rinse it in salt water with a special vegetable wash. “You have to agitate the lettuce without getting agitated yourself,” he said.

Kashering the lettuce is a lengthy process, found JC reporter Jamie Shapiro (Image: JC)[Missing Credit]

I then hand-picked the lettuce leaves out one by one and put them in a separate basin.

“It mentions in the Torah six times that Jewish people cannot eat creepy crawlies, compared to mentioning that we cannot eat pork only twice,” Braham said, as he handed me a white plate, which I had to use to run through the lettuce water to check for insects.

You then repeat the process, and if you find even a single insect in the water, you have to start all over again. Braham said it is very irritating when you are in a rush and you find an insect on the second wash.

“However much of a rush you are in, you cannot stop until there are no insects. We do not do Bushtucker trials at JFS,” said Braham, referring to the endurance games on TV show I’m a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, which frequently feature creepy crawlies.

I then experienced an existential feeling of dread. If a bug did indeed turn up taking a dip, I would feel compelled to rescue it from drowning and put it outside to go about its day, but I wouldn’t have time because of the strict lunchtime deadline.

Oy vey.

I was very relieved to find no bugs in the lettuce. Crisis avoided.

After successfully kashering the lettuce, I went into the canteen to speak to catering manager Juliette Berthier to see how she deals with the pressure of the job.

Berthier manages 16 employees and has worked at the school for 28 years.

“Catering for roughly 1,600 students a day looks like a lot of pressure, but after years of doing it, you get your act together, and that is what I have done with my team.

“We know what we are doing on a daily basis, and as hectic as it is, we are organised and we make it work."

Berthier isn’t Jewish – she’s Catholic – but she said she feels “truly part of the family”.

JFS support manager Esther Bharier (left) and catering manager Juliette Berthier(right) (Image: JC)[Missing Credit]

“Judaism is the second part of me. 28 years in the community, you cannot help but feel part of it.”

Because Berthier started her catering career at JFS, she has never experienced what it is like to work in a non-kosher kitchen, and after so many years in the business, she even eats kosher herself. “I never eat non-kosher meat at home. I get most my produce from Kosher Kingdom in Golders Green.”

Before lunchtime, there is a mad rush to get everything finished in the kitchen. I watched in amazement at the speed everybody worked, whilst still sticking to the strict rules of kashrut, to get lunch ready on time.

I spoke to JFS support manager Esther Bharier, who told me about a big change that happened at the school several years ago.

“We started allowing students to bring in packed lunches. This has sometimes caused headaches because different students have different levels of observation. Everything has to be kosher. We don't allow meat on the premises. Whatever students bring in has to be on the KLBD list.”

A cook hard at work in the JFS kitchen (Image: JC)[Missing Credit]

I felt like I was slacking on my shift, so I went back into the kitchen to continue preparing meals. Before long though, I realised I was getting in the way far more than I was actually helping, so I thought I would hand back my apron and take the afternoon off.

All in all, the day went well, the students were fed, the lettuce was kashered, and no bugs drowned.

It was an exciting and rewarding shift, and I was in awe of how fast the cooks can prepare such a large number of meals, how methodical Braham is, and how much of a tight ship Juliet runs.

In admiration? Yes. Want to do it again? Probably not. I think I will stay in the newsroom next week.