PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A fall food series at the National Museum of American Jewish History explores Jewish identity through cooking demonstrations and conversations with food historians.
The free, virtual four-part series kicks off on Nov. 17. NMAJH spokesperson Emily August said guests include Philly-Israeli chef Michael Solomonov, Sephardic food historian Hélène Jawhara Piñer, cookbook author Beth A. Lee and more.
“Appreciating food leads to appreciating a culture. It’s an entry point,” August said. “Food is such an incredible, powerful and tangible way to experience a culture.”
She said food is a universal experience that brings people together. That’s why she’s looking forward to the cooking demonstrations — particularly, with Sarah Aroeste.
“She’ll demonstrate how to make bimuelo, the Sephardic take on the traditional jelly doughnuts eaten on Hannukah.”
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The series wraps up on Dec. 16 with a “Conversation with Michael Twitty.”
“He’s Black and Jewish and he thinks a lot about complex identity,” said August. “He explores those in a lot of different ways, but especially through food.”
And don’t fret — recipes will be divulged.
“One thing that I think these food programs have the capacity to do,” she added, “is inspire everyone to appreciate the complexity that goes into a culture just by looking at the complexity and the history of one dish.”
For more, listen to the KYW Newsradio original podcast What’s Cooking on the Audacy app or in the player above.