Have you ever wanted to learn more about Jewish culture? How about meet a James Beard Award winner? Here’s 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.
The first event will be Sept. 30 at 5 p.m. It will include cocktails, dessert, h’ors doeurves 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.
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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.”
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Congregation of B’nai Israel was founded in Baton Rouge in 1858. It is a member of the Union for Reform Judaism and aims to provide opportunities for worship and prayer at its synagogue, educational services for children and adults, and social activities for people of Jewish faith and those interested in joining the Jewish 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 and a members-only Hanukkah party Dec. 7. The food festival will be open to the public and feature traditional home-cooked Jewish dishes by members of the congregation. The Hanukkah celebration will include a Shabbat service and a B’nai birthday cake with live music by New Orleans Klezmer Allstars.
Tickets for all three events are on sale through Eventbrite. Prices vary. Purchase your tickets and find out more information here.