NOVEMBER 5 • 2020 | 27
not for the monetary gain of it
but for the competition itself.
I love the precise nature of
baking. Follow a recipe exactly,
and things turn out great.
”
Months later, after applying
and starting to interview, she
realized the increasing chance
she’
d need to take a month off
from her previous job as chief
operating officer at Jewish
Family Service. Everyone there
who had been on the receiving
end of Braunstein’
s confec-
tions at staff and committee
meetings was supportive of her
potential baking fame.
“When I approached my
boss, Perry Ohren, about the
possibility of taking a month
off, he turned to me and
said, ‘
We’
ll figure out a way
to make it work.’
”
At the same time she
was being quizzed about
specialty flours and precise
baking temperatures and
times by the show producers,
Braunstein was also making
her way through the final
rounds of interviews for the
top post at JARC.
As she Zooms from her
own kitchen into the kitch-
ens of her JARC friends,
all who know her by name,
Braunstein patiently teaches
how to measure out flour
and other ingredients for
challah, cookies and cakes.
Until they can bake together
again in person, Braunstein
said JARC has put technol-
ogy to good use to teach a
new skill and to cultivate a
sense of pride.
One of those students is
resident Nichole Rubin, who
enjoys baking challah at
Braunstein’
s instruction.
“It is lots of fun,” said
Rubin. “I get to see Shaindle
bake over Zoom, and I enjoy
all the amazing treats she
comes up with.”
As an observant Jew,
Braunstein has always taught
the mitzvah of hospitality.
When she teaches from her
home kitchen in the evenings
after a day at the home office,
she feels like she is welcom-
ing guests into her home.
“As we bake, students will
call out, ‘
Is that your kitch-
en?’
It’
s like they are here
with me in my house, and
it makes us feel more con-
nected. There is not a client
at JARC who does not know
me by name or does not
think of me as their friend
Shaindle. If anything, that
has resulted from baking
over Zoom, it has brought
these relationships to a deep-
er level.”
“I MADE THE BEST DECISION.”
— SHAINDLE BRAUNSTEIN
Nichole
Rubin —
12th Estates
Home.
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