Jewish Food Fest set for Sunday at Temple Beth Shalom
Matzoh ball soup, brisket sandwiches and rugelach are just some of the traditional fare to be featured at the fourth annual Jewish Food Fest.
Hosted by the Temple Beth Shalom Sisterhood, the festival runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at the temple, at 702 S.E. 24th Ave. A wide variety of freshly made specialities will be available for purchase. Admission is free.
“It’s a fund-raiser,” Nancy Swanson, a member of the sisterhood, said of the festival. “We give a majority of the profit to the temple’s general fund.”
The event typically draws between about 650 and 750 attendees.
“We hope the same or more,” she said of this year’s goal.
Organizers have doubled the ticket lines, and the food kiosks will be individualized to help with the flow of people through the grounds.
Local vendors will offer crafts, jewelry and more.
“We’ve had jewelry, we’ve had silk flowers,” Swanson said.
Music at the event will be provided by a deejay.
“We also have a guy that does balloon twisting,” she said.
The focus on the festival, however, is the food.
“We cook our own corned beef. We cook our own brisket,” Swanson said.
There are sandwiches made from both, along with noodle kugel – a noodle casserole or noddle pudding dish. Matzoh ball soup and knishes are available.
“It’s like a baked pirogi dough with a potato filling,” she said.
Potato latkes, also known as potato pancakes, as well as kosher hotdogs, pastrami, kasha varnishas and cabbage rolls will be other items available.
“I think we’ve been such a big success because it’s the only place you can go to get authentic Jewish cooking,” Swanson said.
Costs range from $1 for a soda to about $8 for a sandwich.
“You just pay for what you eat,” she said.
The temple also is hosting a bake sale during the festival.
There will be homemade cakes, pies and cookies, along with rugelach – a cream cheese dough with fruit filling – and hamentaschen – pastries filled with fruit or poppy seed. Mandelbrot, a Jewish biscotti, will also be there.
A raffle will be held to give away a $100 gift card.
“It’s just so much fun,” Swanson said. “People are crazy for this food.”
Organizers reported that food will be available to go at the festival, as is throughout the year by calling the temple at (239) 772-4555.
For more information, visit online at: www.templebethshalomcc.org.