jews d

in
the

Smokin’
Fundraiser D

Farber Hebrew Day School teams
with Slows Bar-B-Q for a tasty event.

ALLISON JACOBS CONTRIBUTING WRITER
PHOTOS BY SHERYL KORELITZ

TOP: Slows Bar-B-Q Chef Michael Metevia mans the new smoker in the Farber Hebrew Day School
parking lot. The smoking process went from Sunday through Monday, with volunteers and kashrut
supervisors on hand always. Event co-chairs Asher Goldberg, Lisa Winer and Rebecca Klausner.
ABOVE: FHDS President Leah Ann Kleinfeldt and grandson Avi Selesny work the packing line. Sarah
Kornblum packs up and Polina Stryk picks up her order; hers was among 125 orders placed.

20

July 5 • 2018

jn

etermined to reach a broader Jewish network this year
with a fundraiser, Farber Hebrew Day School (HFDS) in
Southfield hosted a kosher barbecue featuring meats
smoked by experts from Slows Bar-B-Q in Detroit available for
carryout.
FHDS board member Asher Goldberg’s love of food, plus his
experience with smoking kosher meat at home, sparked the
innovative idea of offering kosher barbecue to the Jewish com-
munity.
To make this concept a reality, Goldberg and fellow board
member Lisa Winer consulted with Slows chefs Michael
Metevia and Brian Perrone. “Brian had some experience in
the kosher catering world, so I felt like that was just beshert
(meant to be),” Winer says. “It didn’t intimidate him, and he
knew the lingo.”
After gaining approval through Rabbi Scot Berman, head
of FDHS, the team opted for an interactive fundraising event
where Perrone and Metevia would prepare barbecue in the
school parking lot.
While Winer and Goldberg hoped the school’s kitchen
equipment would suffice, they soon realized they would have
to make a few extra purchases, including a massive smoker
weighing 1,300 pounds. The group also collaborated on the
menu, modeling it from popular Slows Bar-B-Q dishes like
smoky chicken, tender brisket, melt-in-your-mouth sweet
potato mash, jalapeño black beans and their epic coleslaw.
Metevia and Perrone sought out Council of Orthodox
Rabbis of Greater Detroit (Vaad)-approved kosher condiments,
testing them beforehand to ensure they met Slows’ standards.
“They are so particular — they are craftsmen; they are arti-
sans. I think that’s why they have the reputation they have,”
Winer says.