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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