Treść książki
Przejdź do opcji czytnikaPrzejdź do nawigacjiPrzejdź do informacjiPrzejdź do stopki
styles.ThebestexamplehereistheZionistmovement
whichpromotedasimple,agriculturalandcommunallife-
style,whichexertedanimpactnotonlyontheJewishyouth
inEurope,butalsoonthebeginningsofIsraeliculinary
culture.Israelicuisine,createdbysuccessivewavesof
immigrants,aswellastheextraordinarystoriesofmigration
ofAshkenaziflavoursoverseas,theexperienceoffood
shortageduringthetwentieth-centurywarsand,finally,
theattitudetowardsJewishcuisineincontemporaryPoland
completethenarrativepresentedintheexhibitionand
bringitforwardtothepresentday.
Thefourthsectionoftheexhibition,Memories,takesus
intoaslightlydiferent,morepersonaldimension.Init,we
wishtolookatfoodwhichlivesoninmemoryandwhich,
passeddownfromgenerationtogeneration,sustainsthe
identityoffamiliesandindividuals.InthecaseofJewish
families,memoriesoffoodsometimesevokeveryspe-
cificemotions.Jewishhistoryoverthepastfewcenturies
wasmarkedbyvoluntaryandforcedmigration,leaving
homeandadaptingtoanewenvironment.Flavoursand
dishesretainedinmemoryandrecreatedinnewplaces
wereasourceofbothsentimentandasenseofsecurity,
areminderoftheabandonedhomeortheoldcountry.
Storiesaboutfoodcookedbypreviousgenerationsoften
acquireaspecialdimensionbecauseoftheHolocaust.
Preservedrecipesandcustomsevokememoriesofthe
worldlostforeverandofthosewhoperished—sometimes
theyaretheonlythingthatsurvived.
TheexhibitionnarrativefeaturesthestoryofRuth
Ladovsky,athird-generationofthefamilywhorunsThe
UnitedBakersDairyRestaurantinToronto,foundedover
acenturyagobyAronandSaraLadowski,immigrants
fromKielceandwhocamefromfamilieswithbakingand
restauranttraditions—theircousinwasChubbyJosekwho
ranabarinWarsaw.Fordecades,theUnitedBakershas
beenservingavarietyoftraditionalAshkenazidishes,
manyofthemstillbasedontherecipesoftherestaurant’s
founders.Intheinterwarperiod,therestaurantattracted
crowdsofJewishimmigrantswhofeltathomelistening
toYiddishbeingspokeninthevenueandconsumingfood
whichremindedthemoftheirnativeshtetls.IsaacBashevis
SingermentionstherestaurantinhisnoveltitledLoveand
Exile—hecomparesittotheseatoftheUnionofJewish
WritersandJournalistsat13TłomackieStreetwhichhe
rememberedfromthetimeheresidedinWarsaw.
HannaMerlak,theauthorofthebookŻydziodkuchni.
Opowieścirodzinnegostołu[JewishCuisine.StoriesHeard
attheFamilyTable],talksintheexhibitionaboutrecipes
whicharekeptalivewithinfamilies,andwhichareoften
theonlylinktoafamily’sPolishorJewishpast.Inthebook,
recipesareoftenmerelyapretextfortalkingtopeopleand
evokingmemories.TheJewishFoodSociety,anorgani-
sationalsofeaturedintheexposition,pursuesasimilar
goal—itworkstopreserveandrestoreJewishculinary
heritagefromaroundtheworldanditcollectshundreds
ofrecipesandrelatedfamilystoriesinitsdigitalarchive.
TheJewishFoodSocietynotonlyappearsintheexhibition
narrativebutalsoservedasourpartnerindevelopingitby
sharingphotographs,recipesandstorieswithus.
ItwasimperativetoustopresentthestoryofJewishcuisine
asfulloflifeandtoldbymanydiferentvoices.Thatis
whytheexhibitionisaccompaniedbyvideostandswhere
youcanlistentothestoriestoldbytheguestsweinvited:
inadditiontotheabove-mentionedRuthLadovskyand
HannaMerlak,visitorstotheexhibitionwillhaveanoppor-
tunitytolistentoRabbisMichaelSchudrichandYehoshua
Ellis,toJakubChojeckiandMarylaMusidłowska—who
runthekosherkitchenattheJewishCommunityCentre
(JCC)inWarsaw,andtoAgataRakowiecka,headofthe
JCCWarsaw.Amongourotherguestsare:GołdaTencer,
actress,anddirectoroftheJewishTheatre,HannaZarem
-
ska,medievalist,LeahKoenig,publicistandcookbook
author,GilHovav,promoterofIsraelicuisine,aswellas
scholarsengagedinvariousaspectsofJewishcultureand
history,includingculinaryculture:MichaelWex,Barbara
Kirshenblatt-Gimblett,GlennDynner,ShacharPinsker,Eve
JochnowitzandRuthEllenGruber.Mostofourinterviewees
andcontributorstotheexhibitionnarrativealsowrotethe
textswepresentinthispublication.
ItwasourintentiontoimbuethenarrativeonJewish
cuisinewithsymbolicandmetaphoricalmeaning—being
unabletoappealtothesenseoftaste,wewantedtostir
emotionsandimagination.Thatiswhyweinvitedartist
AnnaKrólikiewicz,ProfessorattheAcademyofFineArts
inGdańskandattheSchoolofForm,tocreateanart
installationtoaccompanytheexposition.Food,culinary
