Its East End roots helped Ashkenazi Jewish food gain its unpalatable reputation here as stodgy and flavourless. It may have been true of the cuisine, but Claudia Roden describes in The Book of Jewish Food, the colourful vista of street vendors offering baskets of bagels and herrings, sauerkraut and pickled cucumbers sold from barrels.
The food sellers were also colourful characters.
"There were two women, Esther and Annie, who sold bagels from baskets on Brick Lane in competition with one another. They shouted all sorts of obscenities at each other," laughs Kendler.
The bad service at Bloom's restaurant on Whitechapel Road was renowned.
"Everyone has a Bloom's story," says Kendler. "It was not exactly fine dining. The waiters were paid no salary, just a proportion of their customer's bill, so they needed to get as many customers as possible served. Hence their reputation for whipping plates away before you had finished."
Despite this, it had many salubrious fans. Frank Sinatra was reputed to have ordered a take-away, to be delivered to him at The Savoy. The silver plates on which the meal was served were apparently never seen again. Sir Cliff Richard's visit attracted so many female groupies leaning outside the glass frontage, the window smashed.
Bloom's closed its Whitechapel branch in 1996, and few tangible signs of the bustling life at the turn of the last century remain.
"It's hard to recreate the dominance of Jewish life in the East End," says Kendler. It was littered with butchers, bakers and delicatessens - even a herd of cows on Petticoat Lane - kept for kosher milk.
"You could get milk directly from the cows," she adds.
Another brand born there was Grodzinski's.
"Some of the Grodzinski family came here and some went to Canada, where they changed their name to Gunn. When they opened here, Grodzinski's offered only one product - a wedding roll, which is a bread roll made with egg, which would have been a luxury item that reminded people of the old country."
According to Kendler, they initially operated from premises on Fieldgate Street that housed just an oven.
"They had vans delivering the rolls across the East and West End of London and in time, diversified into baking breads like rye - popular in the old country. Eventually, they opened 25 shops across the suburbs the Jews had moved to - well-placed shops on high streets. The Grodzinski name displayed on the fascia was a sign of confidence - they were here to stay."
"At one time they baked kosher versions of very English treats, like iced fingers and even minced pies, with holly sprigs and a season's greetings message."
Back in the East End there were other popular foodstuffs that are now less familiar.
"There was a cake called a 'stuffed monkey', which was a pastry filled with dried fruit. The odd name was probably a shortened version of the name of the Dutch Jewish family - Monnickendam - who made them," explains Kendler.
Another Ashkenazi staple - the humble herring - would have been easily available for the immigrant population.
"Billingsgate was the centre of London's fish industry, of which herring and salmon were the most important fish. Britain was, at the turn of the century, the largest exporter of pickled herrings. Much of the herring was exported to Russia and Germany. In 1914, Britain exported £5.5 million of pickled herrings, mostly to the Baltic.
"British Jews were exporting the herring to Jews in Eastern Europe so it was wonderful for them to arrive here and find a favourite staple easily and cheaply available."
Today, there are a handful of Jewish and/or kosher eating opportunities east of Baker Street, including 1701, Bevis Marks the Restaurant and Rinkoff's Bakery as well as the Brick Lane Beigel Bakery.
For many, the memories, stories, flavours and smells of the old East End still remain.
Details: gefiltefest.org/walking-tour-2014
