Sugar
From Marketing to Marzipan
Prize-winning Israeli pastry chef Yudith Zer-Aviv is winning awards for her original and delicious marzipan and sugar creations. By Harvey Stein (Israel MFA) When the global recession forced Yudith Zer-Aviv (www.yuditlee.com out of her job in marketing and advertising, she made a drastic career switch and took a pastry-making course. Finding that jobs were hard to come by for pastry chefs as well, she continued her studies in Germany and England. Back home in Israel she decided to try her luck in a marzipan contest, and to her surprise won first prize. Next, the team of Israeli chefs of which she was a member won a gold medal in Moscow. Zer-Aviv, who immigrated to Israel from Switzerland with her family as a child, now has her own business as a pastry and dessert chef and also offers classes in her home. Recently, along with eight European pastry chefs, Zer-Aviv was invited to Rimini, Italy to participate in the ‘Delicious and Famous Show,’ where she sculpted a Fendi-inspired hat, bracelet and handbag, using marzipan. Download links (copy/paste to browser): Streaming: www.megaupload.com Hi Res: www.megaupload.com
Yid.Dish: Sugar & Spice & All Things Nice, or Jemma
Ashkenazim might associate Pesach with brisket, kneidlach, or matzah brei. Thanks to the Ashkenazi side of my family (my father’s parents and my paternal grandfather) we did grow up eating matzah balls of two sorts: kneidlach, and matzah kleis made with chopped parsley. But by far the most special thing about Passover for me has always been a Sephardic family recipe we’ve inherited from our grandmother, Tess Blackburn, who was born in Lisbon.