Jewish cuisine in São Paulo is renewed without leaving tradition aside

In São Paulo’s restaurant guides, the section on Jewish cuisine was never the most extensive and was a bit frozen in time. It is still a contradiction, considering that the community is numerous — 65,000 Jews live in the capital of São Paulo, according to the Israeli Federation of the State of São Paulo.

Gradually, however, its rich culinary traditions are making news again, starting with the celebrated reopening of the Adi Shoshi Delishop, now with another name on the sign: Shoshana Delishop.

The last Jewish restaurant in Bom Retiro, opened in 1991 by the couple Adi and Shoshana Baruch, was about to close down when it was bought by a group of customers who were unhappy with the closure.

Officially reopened on September 1, it now has a menu signed by chef and researcher Clarice Reichstul, who used the founder’s recipes as a basis. On a day-to-day basis, Graziela Tavares, a partner at Bar Sabiá, in Vila Madalena, runs the kitchen.

Andrea Kaufmann, who once ran AK Delicatessen and AK Vila, is also back. She has just arrived from Portugal and signs the new Jewish menu at Casa Manioca, the events arm of Grupo Maní. These are take-out dishes, which can be ordered until this Tuesday (20th), for delivery on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, between September 25th and 27th.

AZ Deli Delicatessen, in operation since 1981 at Alameda Lorena, is also undergoing renovation — heir to the restaurant founded by his grandmother, Rosa, and great-aunt, Zenaide, Julio Raw plans to present a rejuvenated version of the house by the end of the year. year.

The idea is to keep the bold DNA of the family. “At the time when restaurants were concentrated in Bom Retiro, they pierced the community bubble. They opened a house in Jardim Paulista and introduced this cuisine to non-Jews.”

Shoshana, Andrea and the Raw family became famous for the recipes of Ashkenazim cuisine, from Jews who settled in Central and Eastern Europe. These are dishes that people from São Paulo associate more easily with Jewish cuisine, such as guefilte fish (fish cake), varenikes (potato ravioli) and kneidlach (mazza flour dumpling soup).

But there is another facet of Jewish cuisine, Sephardic, which is also spreading throughout the city. It’s the one that appears on the menus of young establishments that opened from 2021 onwards, such as Shuk and Bubbeleh Delishop — and it still demands a lot of explanation from the clientele, who see pastas like hommus, or dishes based on grains and lamb meat, and turn them on immediately. to Arabic cuisine.

Traditionally, these two Jewish cuisines did not mix—even intermarriage between the two groups was prohibited. To understand the reason for such differences at the table, it is essential to know the origin of each one of them.

“Coming from a cold region, the Ashkenazim used chicken fat, onions, garlic, cabbage, carrots, beets and potatoes, in addition to smoked and salted fish, such as carp and herring”, explains Marcia Algranti, author of ” Jewish Cuisine – 5,000 Years of History and Gastronomy” (Record).

Horseradish, pickles and pickled cucumbers accompany various preparations, Algranti amendment. The flavors are bittersweet, by the combination of vinegar, lemon juice, salt and sugar (or honey).

The Sephardim dispersed throughout the Mediterranean, in fertile regions with a mild climate, where fruits, herbs, grains and spices in abundance gave rise to “one of the tastiest and most characteristic cuisines in the world, much more varied than that of the Jews who faced the harsh winters of Eastern Europe”, according to the author.

Not by chance, these are recipes that also appear in Syrian-Lebanese cuisine, which has become so popular in São Paulo — hence the confusion.

Partners at Shuk, Suzana Goldfarb, from a Jewish family, and Mauro Bosso, of Syrian descent, have already become accustomed to teaching their clientele.

“Even the Jews who live here know little about this Jewish cuisine from the Middle East, since the communities that migrated to Brazil and Argentina came basically from Eastern Europe”, says Mauro.

The daughter of a Russian Jew who survived the Holocaust, Suzana grew up eating Ashkenazi food. It was only in her teens, when she lived in Israel, that she became acquainted with the other facet of Jewish cuisine. “These recipes pulled from the Middle East were what we found in street food. And what we brought to Shuk.”

The cuisine of Bubbeleh Delishop has the same origin. Grandchildren of Jews who left Jerusalem for Greece before arriving in Brazil, brothers Marcelo and Shemuel Shoel also lived in Israel in their teens. There, they learned to eat sandwiches like shawarma and arais, house specialties.

Among the new generations of Jewish cooks, the attachment to traditions takes on another meaning. Far from being a straitjacket, it reveres origins while flirting with new techniques and authorial touches.

On the Rosh Hashaná menu at Casa Manioca, dishes from Ashkenazim cuisine coexist in peace with Sephardic recipes, under the personal touches of Andrea Kaufmann. There’s tongue pastrami and smoked haddock, as well as hommus and duck magret with pomegranate.

“My guefilte fish takes egg whites in snow, to be fluffy, and sea fish in addition to carp, because river fish have a very earthy flavor. I know I’m despised by Jewish grandmothers”, she laughs. “One day, I’ll still make a T-shirt that says ‘I’m Not Your Grandmother’.”

At Shoshana Delishop, the founder’s classics are still there, such as Shoshi’s tongue, served with varenikes and salad. But Clarice Reichstul also promoted changes, knowing that she would face resistance from the most conservative. “I’m attached to my story, but I’m in Brazil in 2022. We don’t need to stand still in time, I can have a more contemporary look”, she ponders.

Shoshana herself, who continues to live above the restaurant and participated as an adviser in the process of renovating the menu, confesses that she has never been too attached to traditions —perhaps that is why her house has won so many customers outside the community.

“I’ve always mastered both cuisines, Ashkenazim and Sephardic, because people from São Paulo like it. I served guefilte fish and also eggplant stuffed with ricotta.”

The process of renovating São Paulo’s Jewish cuisine maintains respect for the most severe restrictions: pork does not go near, meat and milk never mix. But it distances itself from formality when it comes to service.

At the new Shoshana Delishop, Friday nights were reserved for happy hour, ironically called Boteco do Shabbat, with decoration and food inspired by the Jewish ritual. According to Benjamin Seroussi, a new member of the place, Jews and non-Jews from various parts of the city have been meeting there.

“It’s still an experiment, the menu is being designed with roll-mops [rolinho de arenque e picles]tongue canapé, fried guefilte fish… The night needs to be better scripted to bring a little more solemnity, music, party, but we got there.”

Julio Raw also promises a lot of news in the new incarnation of Z Deli. “I will never stop serving Jewish food and I want to reinforce the old deli’s face, but I plan on opening at night and exploring until breakfast,” he announces. “I’m in the step of rejuvenating, thinking that anything is possible.”

Bubbeleh Delishop

R. Francisco Leitão, 77, Pinheiros.

Manioca House

www.maniocapralevar.com.br

Shoshana Delishop

R. Correia de Melo, 206, Bom Retiro.

Shuk

R. Ferreira de Araújo, 385, Pinheiros.

Z Delicatessen

Al. Lorena, 1689, Jardim Paulista.