C.) 4.J • (VI 0 CD Not Your Bubbie's Menu Foodie craze catches up with kosher caterers. Stacy Gittleman I Special to the Jewish News r C 1 4 celebrate! I March 2014 Quality Kosher, food selections may cover "at least" four different ethnic tastes, from sushi and noodles at an Asian station to Moroccan meat cigars and tagines, or Indian curries. Casual, But High End Another trend in eating is that party guests still love their casual food, even if they are in sequined gowns and tuxedos. "You can take burgers and fries and other casual American food to another level and make them high end," Kohn said. A fine menu starts with advanced planning. When Franci Goodstein Shanbom, 38, and Sam Shanbom, 45, of West Bloomfield planned their Nov. 27 wedding — the night before Thanksgiving and the first night of Chanukah — they knew that the food would have to meld these two holidays. Because they married later in life, the Shanboms said they did not want to subject friends and family to just another "sit down chicken and baked potato dinner." What Quality Kosher planned was something completely "off the Ethnic food is prevalent at modern weddings. board," said Franci Shanbom. The evening included four buffet stations 2003 and founded Chef Cari Kosher Catering, a with varied types of potato latkes and pareve Glatt kosher company housed at Congregation sour cream, mini turkey potpies in cups made B'nai Moshe in West Bloomfield. of phyllo dough, a Pan Asian station featuring As vegetarian and vegan kosher venues open Asian noodle slaw and orange chicken, a Tex up in Detroit — such as Gold 'n Greens at Mex station with steak fajitas and a burger sta- Wayne State University and Herskovitz's summer tion including sliders made from salmon and pop-up falafel stand at Campus Martius Park — portabella mushrooms. she loves to hear how they surprise the average "We wanted a fun affair with a cocktail party restaurant goer. They realize that you don't have feel, with lots of casual good food. Daniel is very to keep kosher, or even be Jewish, she says, to youthful, and he had great ideas of how to make enjoy kosher food. What they are enjoying, sim- the party fun and hip," Shanbom said. ply, is good food. Vegan Gourmet Chef Cari Herskovitz also wants to treat her kosher-observant clients to a meal and a catered affair with international flavors they may not ordinarily have a chance to sample. Herskovitz graduated from the Natural Gourmet Cookery Institute for Food and Healing in New York City in 2000 and worked in the food industry there for many years preparing gastro- nomical delights for Lenny Kravitz, Ralph Lauren and Elie Wiesel. She moved back to Detroit in "I want people to come to me to cater an affair, first and foremost, because they are com- ing to me for well-prepared food," Herskovitz said. "I want them to know if they want that vegan wedding that will keep even their non- vegan guests happy, they can come to me. They can also come to me if they keep on the more traditional side and want a meal with beef or chicken as the centerpiece." Herskovitz said she enjoys offering clients the continued on page C16 QUALITY KOSHER CATERING T here are people who eat to live. Then, there are those seeking unique, exotic tastes created with the most superior ingredients chefs can get their hands on. These are the foodies — the people who live to eat. In cities like New York and Los Angeles, it is no longer about the restaurant that just opened, but the foodies who are following the hottest chefs sweating it out in the kitchen of a particu- lar restaurant, which is making it impossible to get that Saturday night reservation. Local kosher caterers agree; the foodie craze has also caught up to their business as well. The kosher-catered affair is no longer about the stuffed derma and kasha served at your grandmother's wedding. Unless, of course, for nos- talgia's sake, you know your guests will want an "Old World Eastern European" station with old stand- bys like knishes and chopped liver spread. Then it will be there. Guests should also be prepared to make room on their cocktail-hour plate Daniel Kohn for cuisine from India, Ethiopia and Japan. Daniel Kohn, manager of Quality Kosher Catering in Southfield, was witness to the global gourmet trend as he worked in the hospi- tality business in New York and Colorado. Now back in Detroit, he keeps the legacy of the business his grandmother started in 1968 going strong for the next generation. He knows that not all in this generation who seek a kosher caterer keep strictly kosher. In fact, statistics from the industry show Cari Herskovitz that 55 percent of consumers buy kosher products for health reasons, 38 percent are vegetarians, and 16 percent eat only halal. Only 8 percent surveyed said they buy kosher products because they adhere to kashrut. "There used to be a time not long ago when the food was just one more element at a big occasion, like the flowers or the band," Kohn said. "Today, as people have developed sophis- ticated tastes and have become involved them- selves with new cooking techniques, the food takes front and center stage." It is this sophistication of the foodie's eclectic palate that is driving chefs to create anything but the standard chicken or beef offerings at catered affairs. At a typical wedding catered by