Guest: Graphic Artist & Writer Ben Katchor

Who knew there would be so much to say about the history of the dairy restaurant? Ben Katchor begins the story for us during biblical times in the Garden of Eden (the first restaurant) and takes us on an amazing world-wide ride through his new book, The Diary Restaurant.  Our conversation is the perfect way to dig into the holiday; so sit down with a pot of tea, some cheesecake and listen while Ben gives me insight into his book and the world of dairy. Chag Sameach to all.

Guest: Amanda Dell

My guest on this episode is Amanda Dell, Program Director from The Jewish Food Society. The work they are doing to capture and archive Jewish family recipes and recipe stories from around the globe is critical to our understanding of our history. Amanda talks here about the many programs available through The Jewish Food Society and includes information on the pivot they’ve done since COVID-19. A great example is this program with Hila Alpert for Shavout: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/from-the-kibbutz-to-tel-aviv-conversation-shavuot-cooking-w-hila-alpert-tickets-104987873556. 

I hope you enjoy the episode AND the recipe which is accessible through the link above.

Guest: Sonat Birnecker, President Koval Distillery

Koval Distillery Founders:  Dr. Sonat Birnecker & Dr. Robert Birnecker, Master Distiller & CEO

I am talking with Sonat Birnecker from my favorite distillery, Koval. These days they aren’t just producing their excellent whiskeys – they’ve pivoted; big time. They are now in the new business of producing hand sanitizer! It turns out that helping in a crisis is not such a simple matter. Sonat describes this new focus in a most humble and thoughtful way. I hope you enjoy listening to our conversation.

Guest: Carolyn Sherman Gutierrez

I had great fun talking with Carolyn Sherman Gutierrez of ISH. Who knew horseradish could be so versatile? Or come in so many flavors? I’ve had fun experimenting at home (too much time) and even got my husband on-board! But that’s really only part of the story. What is so cool is that Carolyn took this hobby of her dad’s and made it into a serious business on her own. Hope you enjoy the episode. AND if you are the first two people to email me at: beth@thebigschmear.com Carolyn will send you a package of 4 jars (they’ll go way faster than you think) so you’ll get to sample all four flavors! I hope to hear from you soon 🙂                                                                                                                                                                      Happy Listening!

Guest: Liz Alpern & Jeffrey Yoskowitz

Liz Alpern and Jeffrey Yoskowitz, co-founders of Gefilteria join me to talk about creative ways to think about Passover during this time of Covid-19. Passover will be a challenge for sure but maybe we can find a silver lining.