Acknowledgements

Writing a cookbook requires a great deal of time, creativity and of course, eating. I am blessed with three wonderful children, Abbie, Samantha and Nicholas, all of whom love to try my new creations and provide constructive criticism. Special thanks go to my husband Jeremy who never complains about the unusual dinner combinations that he receives after a day’s food photography and experimentation; he just gamely asks, ‘Is it milk or meat?’

Also thanks to Marsha Schultz who has spent many hours checking and reviewing my recipes and introductions as well as always being there at the end of the phone to discuss foodie ideas. Her honest opinion is greatly valued. Her husband Martin also deserves recognition for letting her spend so much time with me.

My good friend Lynne Misner has also been very supportive and her help and encouragement are much appreciated.

For a cookbook to be a success the recipes must work well in all circumstances and I owe a big thank you to my small army of testers who have made and evaluated every one of these recipes:

Abbie Phillips, Alex Galbinski Newman, Angel Gordon, Annabelle Hodgkinson, Audrey Kostick, Aviva Wilford, Barbara Hodgkinson, Catharine Ross, Claire Barsam, Debbie Bello, Debra Kasler, Emma Viner, Gail Garcia, Gilly Shulman, Helen Carr, Jane Rome, Janice Fairfield, Jenny Bracey, Karen Golanski, Katy Jones, Lauren Schogger, Laurie Sherman, Lindsay Treger, Liz Maykels, Lynne Misner, Marsha Schultz, Michele Gilford, Pearl Moore, Philip Ettinger, Rachel Sinclair, Reena Joseph, Reva Demant, Sharon Phillips, Shelley Levy, Simone Leboff, Sue Morgan, Vivien Collins, Vivien Morris, Yael Jackson.

I am thrilled with the photographs that Ilian Iliev produced for this book. We cooked and photographed thirty recipes in three days – a marathon task with exceptional results.

With all the cooking comes the washing up and cleaning and I could not work at the pace that I do without the help of Silvia Burlui.

A special thank you must also go to my Uncle Sidney from South Africa who sent me emails full of vivid descriptions of Jewish foodie life in the ‘Old East End’ during the early 1930s.

I would also like to thank Rabbi Dr Moshe Freedman of Northwood United Synagogue for ensuring that the Kashrut and religious content of the book is correct. In addition, every Monday I expand my Jewish learning with two special teachers, Chaya Borden and Lesley Glassberg – both nourish my spiritual spark and enable me to bring so much Jewish passion to the recipes. I particularly like the following commentary:

‘If three have eaten at a table and have not spoken words of Torah there, it is as if they have eaten of offerings to the dead idols. But if they have spoken words of Torah it is as if they have eaten from the table of God Himself.’

– Ethics of the Fathers, chapter 3 verse 4

As this book includes recipes from around the world, I would like to thank Chabad, who operate an amazing service of outreach for visiting Jews all over the globe and have been a great source of information, especially on isolated Jewish communities.

Finally, I would like to thank Jeremy Robson, my publisher.