Kosher catering is leaving behind its stodgy image, as chefs respond to a younger and hipper clientele, new kosher-certified delicacies surface, and mainstream caterers establish kosher kitchen to meet increased demand. The food is so exciting at some kosher events these days that guests have to ask if it's really kosher.
The kosher category has burgeoned and diversified along with the kosher-eating population. Menachem Lubinsky, president of IMC Inc., which publishes Kosher Today magazine and runs the Kosherfest trade show, cites a growth spurt in the sale of kosher foods to 15 percent per year over the last eight years. By the year 2000, there were 10 million consumers buying kosher-certified products. This growth is attributable not only to the expansion of the core market - Orthodox Jews who eat kosher year-round - but to the emergence of kosher as an option for other interest groups: Muslims, who rely on kosher foods to satisfy their own dietary restrictions forbidding pork; vegetarian and lactose-intolerant consumers, who trust that kosher is clear about labeling food content; and ordinary consumers who perceive kosher as healthier and better food. Especially significant for caterers is the increase in young Jewish adults who are choosing to keep kosher although they weren't raised that way.
"I like to think of the glass as half-full," explains Jon Weinrott, who with his wife Lori owns both the kosher Catered Affairs, Ltd., and mainstream Peachtree & Ward, both based in Philadelphia, PA. "It's about how you apply what you have in the cupboard."
The prohibition against mixing milk and meat at the same meal - which once made "kosher gourmet" an oxymoron - is less problematic now, thanks to today's emphasis on lighter, healthier eating. Chef Sulatycky, from the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto, says that the transition to kosher is much easier than it would have been 10 years ago because "butter and cream are almost non-existent in our everyday cooking." Now, intense flavors and robust ingredients replace the richness of butter and cream. Instead of buerre blanc, once the expected accompaniment for poached fish, Sulatycky substitutes a vinaigrette with peppercorns, orange zest, extra-virgin olive oil, vinegar and shallots. To create creamy soup without cream, he utilizes roasted vegetable puree - squash, for example - and reinforces its already bold flavor with herbs.
"I ask myself what Charlie Trotter or Thomas Keller would do, if they couldn't mix milk and meat," says Weinrott. "Finishing sauces with vegetable purees is one answer, especially parsnip, an amazing flavor with mushrooms. Another solution is to turn fruit and vegetable infusions into vibrant, flavorful sauces."
In an increasingly vegetarian world, fish and vegetables, which may
be served with either meat or dairy, are respectable entrée
alternatives and even all-dairy dinners can rate five stars. When
the Weinrotts prepared a dairy reception for the son Sam's bar mitzvah,
Jon says the food was so good "no one said, oh, my goodness, the Weinrotts
are serving dairy!" Among the hors d'oeuvres was a station offering
country mashed potatoes in martini glasses with smoked salmon, Tennessee
Paddlefish caviar (the only kind that's kosher), sour cream, chives,
or applesauce; three kinds of latkes (pancakes) - traditional potato,
spinach with fresh coriander, and chickpea; butlered beggar's purses
filled with caviar and sour cream; and tiny cordial glasses of ruby-colored
borscht.
At Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa in Phoenix, catering director Lori
Roden recently had to meet a bride's request for a wedding menu comprising
of mainly fruits and vegetables. With the help of the hotel's "creative
chefs" she was able to "customize" this refreshing feast: strawberry
creme fraiche soup with honeydew salsa in Crenshaw melon set on tea
leaf with fresh orchids; fanned red and yellow tomatoes and mozzarella
with avocado, marinated cucumber salad and balsamic paint; teriyaki
broiled arctic char, edamame salad, shaved citrus microgreen salad,
pickled vegetable rolls, and lemon-grass dipping sauce; and coconut
sorbet with fresh berries in macadamia tuile cup.
Appreciation for fresh vegetables is an asset even where clients prefer meat for their big event. At a recent Catered Affairs event, an entrée of cumin-rubbed ribeye beef was preceded by this stunning appetizer: red and golden beet terrine with greens, candied walnuts, and beet chips, plus side plates of chickpea salad with cilantro, red onion and a puree of green apple, hazelnut, lime, and pumpkin seed.
In the past, the rigors of koshering and the restrictions against some of the choicest cuts often resulted in leathery, overdone beef and uninspired baked chicken. Undaunted by these obstacles, chefs now welcome the chance to test their talents, although adjustments are sometimes necessary to compensate for flavor loss or pre-salting. Because he almost always finds kosher meat tougher, chef Jorge Lopez at Catered Affairs marinates it for a day or two. When making stock and sauces, he adds extra herbs and vegetables, because kosher bones "give off less flavor."
Making the right substitutions is key. "It's important to respect each ingredient to get a good result," says Sulatycky, who presides over all food operations there, including the kosher meat kitchen established in the fall of 2000. "You need to learn what each cut is and how to prepare it. Beef tenderloin isn't kosher, so to make a good steak, we often cut down the ribeye. It's also a tender cut, and we can still grill it."
As an entrée, rosemary-crusted beef ribeye is served with fried garlic and grain mustard sauce accompanied by pan-roasted potato. Ribeye also stars at the carving station, where it is peppercorn-crusted and served with horseradish, herb mustard and mushroom-red wine pesto.
More and more challenged to offer global fare, Sulatycky marvels at the "huge market for kosher ingredients. It's amazing what you find out there - kosher wasabi and pickled ginger, for instance." The Four Seasons menu reads like a United Nations of cuisines: dumplings with nac cham sauce, teriyaki beef brochettes, Peking duck in lettuce wrapper, hummus, and stations including Asian, curry, satay, and sushi. "There's a huge demand for sushi," the chef observes. "It's easy to do and clients love it."
Some caterers encourage their Latino or Asian chefs to translate authentic recipes. "This is an opportunity," Weinrott told Jorge Lopez, his Puerto Rican chef. "People are eating Latin food. Why shouldn't we serve plantain chips? Why not serve salmon with his great mango/tomato/red onion salsa, instead of the typical hollandaise?"
While cream replacements and margarine always have been available and top chefs don't hesitate to use them, there are new no-imitation, non-dairy dessert options. Fruit hybrids and tropical imports, sorbets, and fruit infusions are brightening the kosher dessert scene, and caramel is lending ethnic charisma.
Weinrott doesn't accept substitutes or settle for ho-hum desserts. He'd rather play up the freshness of fruit: for example, golden pineapples, blackberries, fresh cherries in season, served with sorbet. For a dazzling dessert, he set frozen sorbets - perhaps mango, raspberry, lime, or pear - into delicate spun-sugar bird nests. He transforms rice pudding into something sensational by preparing it with reduced kosher wine and fruit puree, setting it up, cutting it into shapes, topping it with sugar, bruleeing it, and serving it with fresh fruit or a compote.
With some of the most accomplished chefs applying themselves and quality and availability of ingredients continually on the rise, kosher catering has reached new heights, and there's promise for the future. As Menachem Lubinsky predicts, kosher food can look forward to a "new era both in cuisine and presentation."
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