In a 2017 article titled, Gumbo Shabbat in New Orleans – Treyf but True, Sophia Unterman discusses her weekly tradition of cooking a non-kosher, New Orleans inspired meal for the celebration of Shabbat. Unterman still preserves many of the Shabbat traditions, such as purchasing a challah and saying a prayer prior to drinking her wine, yet she knowingly prepares a dish that defies various rules of kosher meal preparation. For her, Unterman states, “Judaism is not just about adapting to non-Jewish spaces, but embracing the contradictions [she] comes up against in those spaces.” Essentially, Unterman is explaining how she has adapted her tradition of celebrating Shabbat to life in New Orleans by preserving the unifying aspects of the holiday, but preparing a meal that is indigenous to New Orleans. She has thus created a way to honor her Jewish traditions while also respecting and combining local traditions.
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In 2015, one of the most renown and respected restaurants opened in New Orleans. It is called Shaya, after its lead chef and owner Alon Shaya, and it serves Israeli cuisine. In a September 2015 interview, Alon Shaya discusses how he willingly and knowingly opened the Israeli inspired restaurant to not serve kosher food. He says that the restaurant doesn’t serve pork because it is not a staple food in Israeli cuisine, not because it is non-kosher. However, the restaurant does serve shellfish, a non-kosher cuisine that is often incorporated in Israeli dishes. Alon notes that he does consider himself to be Jewish, and often partakes in various Jewish traditions, but he does not feel the need to consume and sell solely kosher foods. He built the restaurant to bring Israeli cuisine to a southern city, and feels that kosher food does not always represent the meals that are served throughout Israel. The menu for Shaya can be seen by clicking here.
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