Want to learn more about Jewish culture? How about meet a James Beard Award winner? 225 Dine’s got your chance for both.
This month, Congregation B’nai Israel will kick off its 160th anniversary celebration with the first of three events, A Taste of Southern Jewish Hospitality with Chef Alon Shaya, 225 Dine reports.
The first event will be Sept. 30 at 5 p.m. It will include cocktails, dessert, h’ors d’oeuvres from Shaya’s cookbook, Shaya: An Odyssey of Food, My Journey Back to Israel, and a Q&A and book signing with the chef. The Israeli-born chef owns the New Orleans restaurant Saba. He also happens to be the James Beard Foundation’s 2015 Best Chef: South.
At the event, he’ll be making Jewish dishes like tahini hummus with Aleppo pepper and extra virgin olive oil and pita, borekas (savory pie of Turkish origin) with leek and feta and lamb kebab meatballs over harissa (a hot chili pepper paste) tahini with herbs and charred onion. The dessert menu includes chocolate hazelnut babka and tahini shortbread cookies.
“We wanted to do something that represented our future and our past,” says Adrian Hirsch, co-chair of the anniversary events. “We wanted to create an event that was really exciting for both our members and our community.”
In addition to the first event, the congregation will be hosting Bubbe’s Kitchen and Zayde’s Bar: A Jewish Food Festival on Oct. 21
Tickets for all three events are on sale through Eventbrite. Prices vary. Purchase your tickets and find out more information here.
Read the full story about A Taste of Southern Jewish Hospitality and be sure to sign up for the free 225 Dine e-newsletter to get your fill of local culinary news each week.
