Louisa Kasdon has made her mark on the Boston culinary scene, and after years of being in the restaurant business, set her sights on telling the stories that are so core to why food is more than sustenance. Now, in time for the High Holidays, Louisa launches “Kochleffel,” a new Jewish food podcast that is nourishing for the soul and reminds us of the multifaceted power of food.
Louisa and I have been friends for years because of our shared loved of food, Jewish food, and storytelling, so as “Kochleffel” is released, I was excited to ask her a few questions. Here’s what she had to say.
How did you come to produce “Kochleffel”? Why is this so important to you?
“Kochleffel” is near and dear to me, a passion project of the first order. Over the past years, I’ve been privileged to interview so many extraordinary people in all aspects of food. Hundreds of chefs, writers, government and policy people, nutritionists, farmers, bakers, butchers, entrepreneurs, historians—and I’ve been captivated by all the stories of how people came to focus on a food career. Once we started producing our “Let’s Talk About Food” podcast on iTunes for the Heritage Radio Network, it struck me that so many of our guests were Jewish. Of course, I felt a natural intimacy talking to other Jewish people about food. We shared so much context and humor.
I started to make a list of all the women in the food world who were Jewish, and I observed that collectively our contribution in this arena is huge and meaningful. I began to think about why so many talented Jewish women have chosen professional careers in food. When my informal tally of women got to be over 100, 200, and more, I began thinking, wow! This is quite a concentration! These women could have done anything. But why food? I feel that it’s an archive worth preserving. And I felt great pride. So we began “Kochleffel”—an oral history, an archive of Jewish women in the food world. Jewish women stirring the pot. And, especially now, when there is so much angst about anything Jewish or Israeli, it’s more important to me than ever to call attention, to claim the positive contributions of Jewish women in the world. Because food creates community, and now more than ever, we need community.
What other projects have you done that have helped bring you to create this?
Ever since I left the restaurant world, thankfully and gratefully, I’ve been propelled by a desire to get people more involved in their food. Knowing where it comes from, who grows it, who prepares it, how food fits into health and the environments, and how to cook for themselves and their families. As a writer, editor, and columnist, I’ve had the opportunity to meet and work with a huge array of people in all aspects of food. So, my network is wide and deep.
I’ve written hundreds of profiles, features and columns—and created large-scale and small food-education events with my partners like The Boston Globe and Harvard University through “Let’s Talk About Food.” We’ve created public conversations and seminars at dozens of different venues—in Copley Square, Harvard Square, at churches and universities, at New England Aquarium, the Boston Public Library, the Museum of Science in Boston and the Museum of Natural History in New York. And we started recording people’s first-person food stories. Because everyone has a food story—even if they don’t think they do. Those recordings morphed into our “Let’s Talk About Food” podcast.
What’s your favorite Jewish food story from your own life?
I used to think I came from the only Jewish family in the world that didn’t give a fig about food. If my mother could have fed us cottage cheese and Ry-Krisp at every meal, she would have. Or Special K for the vitamins. She was too intellectual and concerned about world crises to be worried about food. So, I learned to cook accidentally by working in a restaurant in college and watching the chef—and cooking my way through Julia Child for my graduate school roommates.
Ultimately, I married a man who was passionate about food. And so my brisket career was born. First, we made brisket for all the brisket-worthy holidays. Then, people started asking me to bring a brisket to everything from potlucks to Passover. And for some nutty reason, we decided to make hand-carved brisket sandwiches every year for my kid’s school circus. We started with eight briskets—sold out by noon. Next year, 16 briskets—sold out by 12:30. When we got to 24 briskets, my husband, the amazing Jack Sidell, decided it was time to open a restaurant. And so, with our restaurant, Pommefrite, my career as a person smothered in the most “Jewish” of foods began.
Listen to the “Kochleffel” trailer now, and subscribe for future episodes.
This post has been contributed by a third party. The opinions, facts and any media content are presented solely by the author, and JewishBoston assumes no responsibility for them. Want to add your voice to the conversation? Publish your own post here. MORE
