Especially the finest kosher dining — with a cluster of upmarket, meaty restaurants opening their doors during the last 12 months.
Late last year, Delicatessen moved to the lower slopes of Hampstead, serving up colourful modern Middle Eastern/Israeli food in a laid back dining room. I’m a fan of chef Or Golan — who spent time with Yotam Ottolenghi — so knew his food would pack a punch.
It was followed by a slew of meaty kosher eateries in North West London. At JW3, Zest added a meaty offer to its milky restaurant menu. They’re now serving a range of funky new dishes in the revamped restaurant whilst offering a separate milky menu in the adjoining cafe. Best of all worlds. The team are also making a fine job of catering functions.
The meat-fress didn’t stop there. In Temple Fortune, One Ashbourne replaced quirky Café Also with a slick and shiny kosher offering. Daniel and Adam Urinov (whose family brought us Met Su Yan and The Aviv) and their business partner, Ben Teacher, are aiming for an upmarket brasserie style. Other dishes include a fabulous seared tuna Nicoise (above).
The other smart new restaurant in north west London is Tish, a grand brasserie, serving up predominantly Ashkenazi-style grub from breakfast to late night snacks and cocktails.
Disappointingly, my fellow diners have found plenty of negative comments to make about the new choices they have out there. Serial kvetchers will never be satisfied.
Other kosher offerings on my radar include Yerushalmi Home Kitchen, a small Sephardi café on Golders Green Road. Predominantly a more street food-influenced menu — from schnitzel and shawarma to shakshuka and sabich plus hummus, couscous and soups, it has become a destination for my Thursday lunch treat — tasty home-cooked fare.
Israeli restaurants have also been popping up everywhere. Delamina Marylebone and Coal Office have both been notable arrivals with Israeli influenced (albeit non-kosher) kitchens.
A couple of kosher caterers took their food out to the public by creating pop up dining experiences showcasing what they do. A brilliant idea for people, like me, who are post-wedding and pre-barmitzvah and don’t get to many simchahs. Food Story invited me to taste their incredible food at their Social event in their Cricklewood offices and kitchens. Food and styling were both superb. Tony Page put on a show of his own in Hampstead that JC web editor, Jessica Weinstein, raved about.
For those cooking up a storm at home there have a been a few treats this year. Paola Gavin’s Jewish vegetarian cook book, Hazana, was as much a treat on the eyes as it is on the palate. I could have happily cooked every dish — if only there were more hours in the day. From soups and salads through pasta and dumpling dishes, main courses, eggs, grains and desserts, Gavin’s inspiration comes from all over Europe, the Levant and the Middle East. In this current climate of vegetarian and vegan growth, it was a godsend.
Paula Shoyer’s Healthy Jewish book was also a useful addition to the JC food cookery book collection. Who isn’t looking to improve their eating? It’s packed with healthy takes on our favourite foods (Watch out for next week’s edition in which I’ll be sharing some healthier breakfast recipes.)
A favourite book of mine this year was Cherish from the lovely Anne Shooter. Shooter’s first book, Sesame and Spice, showcased Jewish baking. Her follow up offers dishes for every occasion to feed friends and family —from brisket to blintzes with plenty of Sephardi colour as well. It’s a book I’ve been back to more than once — it bears the food stains to prove it.
Haimishe cooks all over have been plotzing over the demise of the Telma’s meaty beef and chicken stock cubes from our kosher supermarket shelves. No one can get to the bottom of the mystery, but if you find any in your store-cupboards and don’t want to sell them on the black market then you know where to find me.
A new addition to the kosher food scene has been the amazing range of smoked meats from Blue Smoke created by Andrew Krauz from the commercial smoke house that he built with his bare hands in his garden . There’s an online queue each week for the juicy cuts of meat and fish that he marinates or rubs and smokes to order. If you’ve not tried his meat you’ll find his Blue Smoke group on Facebook. He also smokes a mean salmon (above).
There was a Gefiltefest-shaped hole in the summer schedule, but by the time you read this, it will have been filled at this year’s temporary venue at Limmud. Another foodie favourite on my schedule also skipped a year — Shabbat UK — as it has moved to a Spring date. Looking forward to challah makes and bakes and fun Friday nights in March.
The fressing continues into 2019, which should be another bumper year for kosher and Israeli food. Eat well!
