Diversity office hosts cooking class centered around Jewish cuisine
When Aramark Executive Chef Rob Harper told students, “I like to make really big balls” he meant it.
A modest crowd, gathered at the SAC’s mezzanine, were delighted to watch, listen, learn, and taste after he prepared matzo ball soup and cheese blintzes.
The event, held by the Office of Diversity Initiatives, offered far more than a cooking class. Jewish culture, delicious traditional foods and games happened at dinner time, 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 28.
The room setup was intimate. Large round tables allowed proximity to the food prep area and space for dining and gaming, close to the projection screen for a Jewish trivia game between soup and dessert. Each table was adorned with gold, foil-wrapped chocolate coins, dreidels and Hanukkah dreidel game rules.
A favorite children’s holiday game, dreidel is played with four-sided wooden tops with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet on each side, indicating each player’s action after a spin. Coins continued to change hands throughout the evening while the tops spun, as participants perused descriptions, history and recipes for featured dishes.
Harper, who is not Jewish, described his work history as a private chef for Sydney Frank, a Jewish billionaire businessman who promoted Jägermeister and Grey Goose vodka. Apparently, Frank enjoyed Jewish cuisines, among others.
For logistical reasons, some ingredients arrived prepared. Harper revealed the secret ingredient for the best matzo balls: Manischewitz Matzo Ball Mix. Next, with soup simmering, he carefully formed big balls with purple-gloved hands, gently dropping each one into boiling soup.
Once all were bobbing up and fully cooked, each ball was dropped into a cup filled with chicken soup. Everyone lined up for a delight; more than one went back for more and leftovers went home with participants.
Ashelyn Wallace said, “Matzo ball soup makes me say ‘Mazel tov!'”
“I don’t think I’ve ever had a blintz before,” said Rebekah Jolie, eyeing large bowls of cheese mixture and batter, while other students slurped soup.
Harper discussed blintzes, both sweet and savory, which are “all filled, folded, fried in butter.” Bowls of strawberry, blueberry, and sour cream toppings were ready.
He deftly poured blintz batter into a small frying pan, spreading it evenly, making thin, crepe-like pancakes. He plated each, plopped on a sweet Ricotta cheese mixture and folded them over, presenting them to students to garnish and enjoy.
Tynetra McBride said, “It was amazing!”
“Chef Rob made them as good as Bubbi Brown,” said Hoss Brown, referencing his grandmother.
Brown, USC Aiken’s liaison to Jewish culture by way of his Jewish upbringing, is one of the coordinators for the Office of Diversity Initiatives, which sponsored the event.
Travis Hardee summed up the event when he said, “I enjoyed the food experience and the cultural experience.”
