About the Participants
Ron Arazi
Growing up in Israel, in a Jewish Moroccan-Lebanese family, Ron Arazi was introduced to a world of vibrant,
flavorful food prepared from scratch, and from the heart. He learned the fundamentals in culinary school, and
gained professional experience traveling through France and working in some of Israel and New York City's
most established kitchens. But his culinary heritage and the value of tradition remain at the foundation of his
work. Through New York Shuk, Leetal and Ron are grateful to have the opportunity to establish their own version
of Mediterranean-Middle Eastern cuisine and, most importantly, to share it with you.
Beejhy Barhany
Beejhy Barhany was born in Ethiopia, raised in Israel, and moved to New York 20 years ago. She is the founder
of BINA Cultural Foundation Inc., a cultural organization dedicated to the empowerment of the Beta Israel
community within the US. She is also the founder of the annual Sheba Film Festival, a showcase of films portraying
Beta Israel life and other aspects of Jewish and African cultures. She owns Tsion Café, an Ethiopian and
Mediterranean café in Harlem.
Joan Nathan
Joan Nathan is the author of numerous cookbooks, including Jewish Cooking in America and
The New American Cooking, both of which won the James Beard Award and the IACP Award for best cookbook
of the year. She was the host of the nationally syndicated PBS television series Jewish Cooking in America with
Joan Nathan, based on the book. A frequent contributor to The New York Times, Tablet magazine, and other
publications, Nathan is the recipient of numerous awards, including James Beard’s Who’s Who of Food and
Beverage in America, Les Dames d’Escoffier’s Grande Dame Award, and Food Arts magazine’s Silver Spoon Award,
and she received an honorary doctorate from the Spertus Institute of Jewish Culture in Chicago. The mother of
three grown children, Nathan lives in Washington, D.C., and on Martha’s Vineyard.
Yehuda Sichel
Born in Elkins Park and raised in Baltimore, Yehuda Sichel is a graduate of the Jerusalem School of
Kosher Culinary Arts. He spent time in the kitchen of Grace Restaurant in Los Angeles before returning to
Philly to work under legendary Chef George Perrier at Brasserie Perrier. In 2010, Chef Sichel came to work
at Zahav where he quickly rose to the rank of sous chef, becoming Chef Michael Solomonov’s kitchen
confidant. In 2014, Chef Sichel took the helm at Abe Fisher where he executed a nightly menu that pulled
together centuries-old flavors from Montreal to Budapest to Brooklyn that both modernize and elevate
the long-familiar classics of Jewish soul food. In 2020, he opened HUDA, a fast casual concept inspired
by a love of sandwiches.
Naomi Kehati Bronner
Naomi Kehati Bronner is an Israeli-born psychologist in private practice in New York. She earned her PhD
from Columbia after undergraduate study at Tel Aviv University and a masters from Boston University. She was
born in a refugee absorption camp in Tel Aviv to parents who immigrated to Israel from Yemen in 1949 as part
of the wave known as Operation Magic Carpet. She is married to Ethan Bronner, a former Jerusalem bureau chief for
The New York Times. They have two grown sons. An occasional essayist, she is writing a memoir of her family’s journey.
Georgette Farkas
Georgette Farkas created her restaurant, ROTISSERIE GEORGETTE, inspired by the simple yet sensual and
time honored traditions of rotisserie cooking. Her love of those succulent roasts sets the tone for refined French
accented comfort food, paired with her caring service. The setting combines Georgette’s own personal take on
relaxed refinement and every restaurateur’s dream - creating wonderful memories around enjoying meals together.
This native New Yorker is a restaurant professional with an international career of over 20 years. She began
apprenticing as a cook from age 16 gaining hands-on culinary experience at Roger Vergé’s Moulin de Mougins,
Alain Ducasse’s Louis XV in Monte Carlo and with Daniel Boulud while he was executive Chef at New York’s Hotel
Plaza Athenée. Georgette later returned to work for Daniel serving as his Public Relations and Marketing Director
from 1995 to 2012.
After studying European history at Harvard, Georgette went on to the Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne. She learned
her trade hands-on at fine hotels and restaurants, including Hotel Richmond (Geneva), Hotel de Crillon (Paris),
even worked as a bartender at Blake's Hotel (London) and with night club impresario Régine at the Hotel Marignan
in Paris. Her first exposure to culinary communications came as assistant producer for Chef Pierre Franey’s
"Cooking in France" series.
Ms. Farkas has been recognized with a “Restaurateur of the Year” (2015) award from the Manhattan Chamber
of Commerce, a Wine Spectator “ Award of Excellence” (2015), a Women Chefs & Restaurateurs “Golden Fork
Award” (2014) for excellent service and NYC Hospitality Alliance “Front of House Award” (2018).
Peter Hoffman
Chef Peter Hoffman was the chef owner of the renowned Savoy in Soho and Back Forty in the East Village
from 1990 until 2016. His book, What’s Good? a memoir in 14 Ingredients (Abrams) will be published in June 2021.
Named “A Locavore Before the Word Existed” by the New York Times and recognized by Slow Food NYC with a
Snailblazer award, Hoffman served on the advisory boards of the Greenmarket (1986 – 1999) and Chefs
Collaborative (1997 – 2010). An engaging speaker and writer, his work can be seen on youtube giving a TEDx
talk on fracking and in print on the op-ed page of the New York Times and in Edible Manhattan. For over thirty
years, he has bicycled to Union Square Greenmarket to source the best in local and seasonal ingredients, the
core of his cooking.
Leah Koenig
Leah Koenig's writing and recipes have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, New York
Magazine's Grub Street, Saveur, Epicurious, Food52, TASTE, Departures, and Tablet Magazine, among other
publications. She is the author of 6 cookbooks including The Jewish Cookbook (Phaidon), Modern Jewish Cooking
and The Little Book of Jewish Feasts (Chronicle). In addition to writing, Leah leads cooking demonstrations and
classes all over the world. She lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and two kids.
She can be found at www.leahkoenig.com or on Instagram @leah.koenig.
Brittany Richmond
Brittany Richmond is an art historian, curator, and creator. Her first job was as a pastry cook for French
chef Daniel Boulud's Michelin-starred restaurants. Brittany now combines her love of art and pastry to create
Modernist gingerbread-houses and cookies based on artworks. Born in Los Angeles, California, Brittany received
her BA in Art History and Psychology from Barnard College in 2013 and her MA in Art History in German Modernism
from the Courtauld Institute of Art in 2017. Currently, she serves as Assistant to the Founding Director and Curatorial
Assistant at Performa, a NY-based contemporary art and performance non-profit organization. Previously, she held
the position of Research Assistant at the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation in New York and worked in the Theatre
and Performance Department at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Jeremy Salamon
Jeremy Salamon knew at an early age he wanted to be a chef. He moved to New York in 2012 to attend
the Culinary Institute of America and worked alongside great chefs in restaurants such as Locanda Verde, Prune,
Buvette & Via Carota. In 2017, he created a Hungarian pop-up dinner series called Fond and shortly after, became
the Executive Chef of Manhattan restaurants The Eddy and Wallflower. He’s been graciously recognized by
publications such as Food & Wine, Jarry Magazine, The Village Voice, Thrillist and more. Currently, Jeremy is
working on building his first restaurant “Agi’s” in Brooklyn, NY.
Jeffrey Yoskowitz
Jeffrey Yoskowitz is co-author of The Gefilte Manifesto: New Recipes for Old World Jewish Foods (Flatiron Books,
2016) and co-founder of The Gefilteria, a culinary venture that reimagines Eastern European Jewish cooking. Jeffrey
joined the faculty at The City College of New York where he teaches Jewish culinary anthropology and he serves as
chef and scholar-in-residence for "History, Heritage, and Herring," a culinary heritage tour he developed in Eastern
Europe with Taube Jewish Heritage Tours and POLIN museum in Warsaw. A food entrepreneur and writer, Jeffrey
travels the globe speaking, cooking and teaching. His writings on food and culture appear in The New York Times,
The Atlantic, Tablet, among others. He has cooked as a guest chef at the esteemed James Beard House kitchen
and was named to the Forbes Magazine 30 under 30 list for Food and Wine, as well as The Forward 50.