Eric Elbaz is passionate about kosher dining (Photo: Eric Elbaz)[Missing Credit]
When I speak to Elbaz, Schnitzelhaus has been open for just a couple of weeks. “The response we’ve had has been incredible,” he tells me, explaining that they’re still fine-tuning the menu – working on a portobello mushroom schnitzel for the veggies and vegans, tweaking the coatings of their international schnitzels and creating a new selection of themed side dishes to compliment each flavour, such as a guacamole dip to accompany The Mexican.
“In the first month or so, you’re getting on your feet and understanding what the market wants and how you can improve it. If there are some dishes, say, that don’t sell so well, then you obviously swap that out with something else,” Elbaz explains, telling me that it’s largely the same team behind both establishments, led by Israeli chef Shachar Alkobi.
“Because we’ve got the experience of Kasa, we have an understanding of people’s palates – we’re only five minutes apart, one from the other, so we know what our customers like,” he adds. “Although what we found here is it’s much more of a religious customer base. You’re a little bit closer to Golders Green, and there are several offices with Charedi Jews, and they have their own tastes, so we’re trying to cater for everyone, but without compromising on any of our signature dishes.”
Elbaz with his mother, family and guests (including Rabbi Bensimon) at their weekly havdalah gathering at their old home in Casablanca (Picture: Erik Elbaz)[Missing Credit]
Elbaz was born in Casablanca, and moved to the UK with his parents and four older sisters in 1977, aged ten. “It was a brave, bold move from my parents. We just turned up, as green as anything; didn’t know anything, didn’t know anyone, couldn’t speak the language. It was really weird time, quite challenging, but we obviously got through it and everything was good.”
Food was always central to his home life, Elbaz says, telling me: “My mum, obviously I’m going to say this, but I think she is the greatest chef in the world. She brought us up on absolutely incredible dishes – tagines, Moroccan fish, salads, like matbucha, baba ganoush... I grew up with all of this. Moroccan cuisine is, I think, one of the best in the world, because of the unique combination of spices. I personally love it.”
Strictly kosher and shomer Shabbat, Elbaz is proud to cater for observant Jews like himself. When I ask if he’d ever consider opening an authentic Moroccan restaurant he immediately says no, explaining that to do it properly you couldn’t keep it kosher “and I don’t really want to get it at market”.
Another facet of this dedication is the fact that he keeps Kasa open for Pesach, despite the fact he describes the process as being both “laborious and costly”.
“People rely on us,” he says. “They wouldn’t have a Seder night if we didn’t cater it. People want to have their kids there, but their kids are kosher and they won’t eat in their house, so they get everything from us and they know that it’s completely fine. We make the food for a lot of people for all eight days, and every year it grows.”
Back on the topic of Schnitzelhaus, I’m keen to know how and why he decided that this would be his next venture. “I’d often toyed with the idea of doing something a bit niche that no one else was really doing,” he says, “so we came up with schnitzels, because kids, adults, everybody loves schnitzels”.
At this point in the conversation, I feel it is only right that I fess up, and explain that due to a childhood schnitzel trauma (a story I won’t burden the rest of you with), I am one of the few Jews who does not love a schnitzel. In fact, if I’m being completely honest, I have a bit of an aversion to them.
Best seller: the Shishi Schnitzel in the works (Picture: Erik Elbaz)[Missing Credit]
Undeterred, Elbaz tells me about Schnitzelhaus’s current bestsellers: the “shishi” schnitzel – their Haus chicken served in a challah roll, which they make in-house every day, along with matbucha, fried aubergine, chilli, coleslaw and tahina; and loaded fries – cajun-spiced chips topped with slices of schnitzel and a selection of sauces.
As he’s talking, I notice something strange is happening – I find I’m salivating at the thought of these schnitzel-based dishes. Could my schnitzel-less days finally be behind me? Is there a chance I could yet become a schnitzel fan? I guess I’ll have to make my way over to Schnitzelhaus asap and find out.
