The Jewish Food Society Wants To Save The Recipes Of Grandmas Everywhere

The Yiddish word schmaltz and its adverb cousin schmaltzy refer to two very divergent concepts: rendered chicken fat — that hard stuff on top of a cold homemade soup — and something that is overly sentimental. When it comes to the foods we love and cherish, there can be no shortage of either.

Naama Shefi would agree. Recently, over a bag of schmaltz-infused popcorn, 90 people came together in lower Manhattan to celebrate the formation of the jewish food society, a new organization Shefi created that aims to honor the global wonder of Jewish food.

Born on a kibbutz in central Israel, Shefi’s early days included the highs and lows of childhood food: pizza at the communal dining hall and adventures at a local market. It also included the army, a prerequisite for all young people in her country. When she was done, Shefi moved to New York, where she earned a Master of Fine Arts in film from the New School. But for her, it’s all about the food.

Before starting her society, Shefi organized a press trip of food writers to Israel while working for the Israeli consulate planning local New York cultural events; she worked for EAT-WITH, a company focused on dinners inside people’s homes; and she hosted a 21-day Iraqi-Jewish food pop up featuring kubbeh, a food Shefi craved but could not find easily in the city. Lines for the sold-out dinners wrapped around the block.

“I’ve been dreaming about the Jewish Food Society for the past decade and I did all sorts of projects to promote this dream,” says Shefi. She imagines a real home for dinners, pop-ups, Friday night shabbat celebrations and a library.

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