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Gefiltefest to be revived as part of Limmud Festival

'Smorgasbord' of culinary sessions planned for December event

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After a year’s break, Gefiltefest, the Jewish food festival, is back as part of the programme for the Limmud Festival in December.

The two organisations are a natural fit for as well as celebrating the joys of Jewish food, Gefiltefest has also featured a strong educational ingredient.

The second day of the Limmud Festival in Birmingham will offer a Gefiltefest strand with a “smorgasbord” of sessions including a cooking demonstration and a panel discussion on kashrut and technology.

Gil Hovav — a leading figure in the Israeli food scene and a previous Limmud guest — will return to speak this year.

Gefiltefest chair Jonathan Teacher described the collaboration as “a fantastic opportunity to combine the culinary, creative and educational reach of both organisations for an exciting day of Jewish food-related learning and experiences.

“We continuously look to develop and deliver programming that is fresh, inspiring, meaningful, challenging and consistent with our ethos and I am confident Gefiltefest@Limmud will do just that.”

Gefiltefest was launched by Michael Leventhal at London’s Moishe House in 2010 before moving to the London Jewish Cultural Centre. It attracted an attendance of more than 1,000 when it was first staged at JW3 in 2015.

It has featured dishes from across the Jewish globe and run sessions on barbecuing, baking, pickling and brewing. Previous guests have included Masterchef finalist Emma Spitzer and the queen of Jewish cuisine, Claudia Roden. One of its more offbeat offerings has been instruction on how to cook locusts.

Funding difficulties led to a decision not to hold it this summer but Mr Teacher said trustees were looking to restore a stand-alone festival next year.

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