Guest: Zenash and her granddaughter Nebbe

I’m at Ras Dashen, a wonderful cozy Ethiopian restaurant in my own neighborhood in Chicago. I’m talking with owner and chef Zenash and her granddaughter Nebbe. She tells an amazing story of how she comes to Chicago and starts her own restaurant. She’s one of the most passionate food people I’ve ever met. To say she puts her whole self into everything she prepares does not do her food or her story justice. I’m sure you’ll find her as engaging and endearing as I did.

Guest: Rabbi Yisroel Finman

While on a dream vacation in Greece I got a call about a Kosher food company focused on bringing kosher food from the Balkans to the US and Israel and around the world. What a crazy coincidence. Once back home I decided to follow up on that call and bring that information back to you. There’s nothing like olives and wine from Greece experienced in Greece but the next best thing is to try some of that at your own kitchen table.

Guest: Moran Birman, Consul for Public Diplomacy, Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest

On this episode you’ll meet Moran Birman, Consul for Public Diplomacy with the Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest. I met Moran a little over a year ago when he connected me with Gil Hovav, Israeli food critic and entrepreneur. This time I had the opportunity to talk with Moran about a food topic of special interest to me, Food Diplomacy. It can be a weighty subject and Moran and I barely scratched the surface. It’s so interesting to think about food as a creative art, as a critical human need and at the same time, the important role it can play in world politics, I hope you enjoy our conversation in this episode.  Be sure to check out the recipe for Moran’s favorite Israeli go-to snack: M’sabacha.

Guest: Marc & Maureen Schulman

I’ve heard about Eli’s Cheesecake for years, and not because I live in Chicago. When I knew Shavout was coming up I thought it would be the perfect time to see if I could get an interview with Marc Schulman, President of Eli’s Cheesecake. It turned into a great conversation with Marc, learning more about this company and their cheesecakes. I even had the opportunity to talk with Maureen, his wife and co-creator of their amazing cookbook: Eli’s Cheesecake Cookbook- Remarkable Recipes from a Chicago Legend. Warning: you might want to have some cheesecake handy, it will be difficult to listen to the episode and not have some at the ready … just saying.

Check out the giant cheesecake below- it was made in Chicago and traveled all the way to Washington DC for President Obama’s Inauguration in 2013.

Guest: Alon Munzer, Co-Owner of Mamaleh’s Delicatessen & Restaurant

Whenever I’m in the Boston area to visit with family one of my new favorite restaurant stops is Mamaleh’s Deli in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I made a promise to myself after my visit in December that whenever my next trip to Boston would take place I would find a way to be more than a diner at Mamahleh’s. My goal was to manage to get an interview with one of the co-owners so I could get the inside story on this wonderful place. I managed to do just that in March. I had the opportunity to talk with Alon Munzer and it was great fun. Alon was generous with his time and was a wonderful host and even better we had a great conversation about Mamaleh’s. I hope you enjoy the episode and if you get a chance to stop in let them know you heard about their deli from The Big Schmear! I also encourage you to try out his family recipe for Chopped Liver.