Albert and Jeff Rosenberg: The best beef stew you can buy.
Hello Q ui
world of kosher cuisine.
today and nobody knows
about it," says Paul Kohn
of Quality Kosher Cater-
' ing. "What most people
identify as kosher is the
food Grandma burned on
the stove."
"I hear it all the time: 'I
never knew kosher food
could taste so good,' and 'I
can't believe this • is really
kosher,' " adds Phillip
Tewel of Jewel Kosher
Catering.
Nobody knows exactly
when or where it started,
but kosher food has chang-
ed. The old-world spe-
cialties are still available
on request, but the catered
kosher dinner of today is
more likely to feature
chicken breast in
mushrooms and artichokes
than a hearty helping of
fat-saturated kugel.
Many credit the change
in kosher food preparation
with the revolution in
American eating habits.
"When Americans
started eating healthy —
worrying about oils, fats,
cholesterols — that's when
things began to change,"
says Albert Rosenberg of
Farmington Meadows
Kosher Catering.
And while the dried-
cherry covered salads and
broccoli florets are the "in"
kosher foods today, Mr.
Rosenberg says their exis-
tence, too, may be as
fleeting as the sharp flame
atop cherry flambe.
"When does food start
changing?" he asks.
"Every day."
I
t's Wednesday afternoon
and Paul Kohn and his
staff are getting ready for a
big wedding. Hundreds of
guests are expected.
For Mr. Kohn, it's not
just a matter of food. He is
preparing for an event.
"Cuisine means fulfilling
the expectations of the
people you are serving —
not just their palate but
their eye," he says.
In the kitchen, one chef
wraps zucchini slices
around thin green beans.
Another places a fresh
pastry topping over in-
dividual onion soups. A
third is working on a
mustard sauce for lamb. Its
aroma — wine, garlic, basil
and rosemary — permeates
the room.
Mr. Kohn speaks of the
food as though it were a
work .of art.
"I'll take broccoli, steam
it for a few minutes, then
take it out and shock it in
an ice bath. That seals the
flavor in."
"Beef has to be aged," he
says. "Chicken breast? We
marinate it in spices and
herbs and grill it so it has
body and flavor; it's not
just a piece of dead
chicken."
Fish gets the royal
treatment, too.
"We serve Alaskan hali-
but on a pastry boat, with
sauce and red peppers.
That's more than just
Alaskan halibut. It feels
good."
The one thing he won't do
is make a spectacle.
"No flaming steak on the
dance floor," he insists.
Mr. Kohn grows his own
herbs in back of Congrega-
tion Shaarey Zedek, where
his office is located. One of
his favorite tricks: using a
fresh rosemary sprig in
place of a toothpick to hold
his delicacies.
A former biology and
chemistry teacher, Mr.
Kohn "grew up always
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