Kosher event to teach the ‘oy’ of cooking
‘World of Kosher Cuisine’ opening eyes to array
of choices in area
BY GLORIA STRAVELLI
Staff Writer
GLORIA STRAVELLI Robin Cohen (l) and Joy Betesh have coordinated this year’s “World of Kosher Cuisine” event, to be held July 11 in Long Branch. At left, Lime, a kosher restaurant in Ocean Township, will be one of the many kosher eateries participating in the event.
Once limited largely to deli sandwiches, kosher cuisine has benefited from renewed interest in ethnic culinary traditions and has become gourmet fare.
The growing sophistication and availability of kosher food products locally has resulted in more options for consumers and new markets for businesses, according to organizers of a kosher tasting event at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Monmouth in Deal.
"It’s not just the kosher deli and it’s not just Jewish, you do have choices here now. There’s kosher sushi, kosher pizza, kosher Indian and Chinese food," said Joy Betesh, co-chair of "World of Kosher Cuisine," which will take place July 11 at the Ocean Place Resort & Spa in Long Branch.
"In the last five to 10 years, people in the kosher community are looking for places that are at the affluence level they’re at," she said.
"We’re now able to get kosher ingredients to duplicate nonkosher recipes," added Robin Cohen, membership director for the JCC. "The possibilities for us at this point are limitless. I can prepare food for my children today that was once absolutely impossible."
"Upscale kosher dining was always available in Manhattan, but wasn’t available here," explained David Nesser, owner of the kosher restaurant Lime in Ocean Township. "There were never choices here, nothing upscale."
Nesser, who observes kosher dietary laws and is a gourmet dining aficionado, recognized the opportunity to bring fine kosher dining to the area and opened Lime in Cobblestone Village three years ago.
"We are strictly kosher, upscale dining," said the Long Branch resident. "Our focus is fresh seafood, and pasta is secondary. We were a success from day one."
The upscale kosher niche has allowed Lime to tap into a large market that goes beyond the local area.
"We’re drawing from three major markets — the Deal/Oakhurst local area, the Lakewood area and the East Bruns-wick/Marlboro/Manalapan areas.
We are getting everything from Lakewood rabbinical people to the modern gourmet," Nesser said.
Inspired by the new-found gourmet status of kosher cuisine — celebrated by cable TV food shows, new cuisine cookbooks and celebrity kosher chefs — last year Betesh and Cohen helped organize a kosher-tasting event to benefit the JCC’s kosher Meals on Wheels program.
"They have these tastings all the time. If you’re kosher you really don’t take advantage of them," said Betesh, noting that the first "World of Kosher Cuisine" drew 600 people and this year’s event is expected to attract 1,000.
The second annual "World of Kosher Cuisine" will feature signature dishes from more than 30 kosher restaurants, caterers, bakeries, wineries and breweries; some new to kosher cuisine like Ranoosh in West End.
"We have a lot of call for it, a lot is coming from outside the area," explained owner Sam Bayari of the changeover to a kosher menu at Ranoosh. The Lebanese restaurant opened in West End five years ago and became a kosher eatery earlier this year.
"It’s a business opportunity. If I can cater to that population, why not?"
Other eateries participating in "World of Kosher Cuisine" include: J Café and Freddie’s Grill, both Deal; Mazanobeh, Long Branch; Foodtown of West End; Uncle Mike’s and Yogi’s Restaurant, both Howell; Ultimate Caterers, Marlboro; as well as restaurants in New York City and north Jersey including Mosaica, Millburn, which recently won raves from reviewers.
Tickets to the benefit , which begins at 7 p.m., are $40 in advance and $52 at the door and are available by calling (732) 531-9100, ext. 130.
Data cited by Betesh of Ocean and Cohen of Elberon show there are currently 10.5 million kosher consumers in the United States, the kosher market amounted to $6.7 billion and grew 15 percent last year. Muslims account for a share of that market since some food products certified kosher meet their dietary laws as well.
In addition, Cohen noted, more people are opting to be observant.
"We see our children getting married and observing in a very different way than we did," she said. "We couldn’t adhere as strictly. Today, you have a choice of a dozen restaurants. We had to go to the deli."
In addition to ingredients and methods of preparing and serving food that fulfill kosher dietary law, kosher certification requires a rabbi be on premises to ensure adherence to kosher regimens.
"It’s not enough to just use kosher ingredients for the really orthodox community," Cohen noted. "A mashgiach, or rabbi, must be on premises to observe the manufacture or preparation of products from soap to meat."
Nesser acknowledged that factor is one reason the cost of running a kosher restaurant is higher.
"It’s much costlier because food products alone are approximately 25 percent higher than the nonkosher equivalents," he said. "And we have to pay for kosher supervision and for a rabbi to be on premises."
Despite the higher costs, Nesser said prices at Lime are moderate and competitive with other kosher eateries. In fact, he said he has been able to keep the restaurant’s prices competitive with those of nonkosher restaurants because it does a high volume.
"We seat 70," he said, "and serve 150 dinners per night; 150 to 200 on a summer evening."
Business is so good that Lime’s hours were recently extended to include lunch. The restaurant is open Sunday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Nesser said he chose the name Lime in part to dispel the negative image of a kosher eatery.
"We wanted a name that was easy to remember and something indicating the fact that everything is fresh and something that does not sound kosher, because we’re not projecting that image," he explained.
"Kosher restaurants had a reputation of having bad food and bad service and we are completely the opposite."
At Ranoosh, the change to a kosher menu required extensive kitchen and equipment overhaul.
"It’s like starting over again," said Bayari. "It’s a new operation, new everything."
Increased costs are substantial, he said, explaining that kosher meat can cost triple the per-pound price of nonkosher meat and the fee for rabbinical supervision is hefty.
Bayari said it’s too early to tell whether new customers attracted by the kosher menu have offset the loss of others.
"I can’t determine yet whether business is up because we’re still picking up kosher customers but losing regular customers," he explained. "We can see the potential is very high. Business is a little better. It’s not a huge difference, but it’s there and you can see it."
Michael Zimmerman, third-generation owner of Foodtown of West End, said the market’s selection of kosher foods has steadily increased over the years in response to an increase in population and in the number of people who observe the dietary laws and the increase in kosher products that are available.
The market has kosher and nonkosher deli, meat, fish and sushi sections and recently expanded kosher groceries. A kosher bakery was incorporated within the existing bakery.
"We’ve tried to accommodate the observant Jewish customer without excluding the rest of the population," Zimmerman said.
"It’s hard to say if it’s increased sales," he said. "We think we’ve maintained our sales base by accommodating the growth in this ethnic market. But we probably lost some people. Overall, it’s been a wash."