The Israeli chef creates kosher food as an artist in the heart of Debrecen
Debrecen’s first kosher restaurant opened its doors to gastronomy lovers a few days ago. In connection with the event, we spoke with the restaurant operator and its chef about flavors and goals.
Kosher at its finest
“Kosher meals have certain basic rules: the local rabbi, in this case Rabbi Faigen, provides the kosher seal, and a kosher inspector turns on the fire, since it is religious to cook these dishes on a Jewish fire, which are made from meat products from kosher slaughter,” Preiszler pointed out. Dániel, who is responsible for the operation of the restaurant. He added that the fact that something is kosher has nothing to do with Israeli or Hungarian Jewish cuisine. You can make kosher or non-kosher soup, matzo ball soup or Israeli salad.
And why is it important to have such catering units in our city? – After Budapest, here is the second largest Jewish community in the country, in addition, hundreds of Israeli students study at the University of Debrecen, and the city’s airport also has direct flights to, for example, Tel-Aviv or London. there are many large pilgrimage sites nearby, so a relatively large number of religious tourists can come here, he pointed out.
Eating well, being together
As he explained, the purpose of establishing EMIH, the Jewish House of Debrecen, which includes the Hamsza Restaurant, is to restart education and Jewish community and religious life. The fact that Judaism and kosher food can be seen as a foundation should be available to anyone. – In Debrecen, we can create a special restaurant if we bring something new. Most of the spices come from Israel, there are many lamb and beef dishes on the menu, and an Israeli chef takes care of the authentic oriental flavors.
In addition to welcoming the local community and those participating in tourism, the restaurant aims to integrate Judaism as much as possible into the lives of the religious people of Debr. – Israel also works in such a way that everyone gets along perfectly, this is the goal here as well. Eating well and being together can build community everywhere – concluded Dániel Preiszler.