FAMILY ORIGINS AND EARLY INFLUENCES

As a direct descendant of Jewish immigrants from Russia/Poland, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Germany, and France, I grew up surrounded by Jewish food culture. My childhood experiences were filled with fond memories of shopping “just across the bridge” at Zabar’s in Manhattan and the wonderful Jewish bagel shops and delicatessens near my grandparents’ home in River Edge, New Jersey. The wafting smells of fresh bagels, bialys, salt sticks, and Nova coming from my grandparents’ kitchen have been permanently etched into my memory. These memories are the foundation of my obsession with re-creating the perfect NY-style bagel at home.

FROM HIGHLY OPINIONATED BAGEL CONSUMER TO BAGEL MAVEN OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST

As a young woman, I aspired to be a pastry chef. I worked for a handful of restaurants and catering companies while learning the professional side of the food service industry. After a stint in baking school, I chose to continue honing my skills as a self-taught baker.

In the mid 1990’s, I worked at a highly regarded, displaced New Yorker-owned bagel shop. Their bagels were the REAL DEAL. It was during this time that I refined my understanding of what makes a perfect NY bagel. While the shop’s recipe was a guarded secret known only to the owners, I learned many of the processes that paved the way to an authentic NY-style bagel.

A year of living in the heart of Jerusalem between 2014-2015 not only reaffirmed, but expanded my love and understanding of the incredible diversity of authentic Jewish cuisine.

Jerusalem excepted, moving from post-to-post as a military spouse I became frustrated with the mediocre-to-poor selection of decent bagel establishments. Finally, I decided to solve my bagel crisis once and for all; researching, practicing, and refining recipes and processes until I perfected the art of making a great NY-style bagel at home.

I’ve keep my process a secret, until now…

After years of tormenting foodies across social media with tantalizing pictures of my latest bagel bakes, I’ve decided to teach my process for making authentic NY-style bagels to fellow bagelists, breadists, and foodies. Finally, those who long for a hot, fresh NY bagel will have an opportunity to learn how to re-create this experience in their own kitchens.