Jesse and David - Front page of Statesman.com

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The Austin American-Statesman is currently running a story about Ecstatic Cuisine Kosher. The story is on today’s Section B front page as well as featured on their homepage. Very exciting!

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In thriving kosher food industry, Ecstatic Cuisine finds a niche

Austin’s sole kosher catering company also earns new ethical seal.

By Joshunda Sanders and AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

The kosher food industry brought in $12.5 billion in 2008, a 64 percent increase since 2003, research firm Mintel reported in 2009.

For Austin chefs Jesse Bloom and David Kogan, that figure is not surprising. They operate Ecstatic Cuisine, a cafe at the Texas Region XIII Education Service Center in Northeast Austin. Two years ago, they launched Ecstatic Cuisine Kosher, which is Austin’s only certified kosher catering business.

“With the growth of the Jewish community in Austin, the need for kosher food has grown as well,” Kogan said.

An estimated 12,000 Jews live in Austin, and though it’s unknown how many of them follow kosher dietary laws — which can include limits on the way animals are slaughtered and on the mixing of meat and dairy — 90 percent of the chefs’ business comes from the Dell Jewish Community Center and the Texas Hillel, an organization for Jewish students at the University of Texas.

But the Jewish population accounts for only part of kosher food’s popularity — those who keep kosher for religious reasons account for about 14 percent of the market, according to Mintel. The number of business clients requesting kosher food also has grown, Kogan said. Austin-area hotels such as the Hilton, the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center, and the Barton Creek Resort & Spa have ordered kosher meals for their guests.

“The increase has come from people hosting out-of-town guests who may keep kosher, so everyone ends up eating kosher,” Kogan said.

Bloom started Ecstatic Cuisine in February 2009 as a cafe and catering company with a focus on local and organic food. The cafe serves thousands of teachers who come to the building for testing annually, but it is not kosher.

Kogan and Bloom met when Kogan was in charge of a kosher cafe and catering at Texas Hillel. Kogan became a consultant for Bloom, and when the Texas Hillel built a kosher kitchen, the chefs began cooking together.

“Kosher in the global sense has a reputation for being bad food because it’s usually prepared off-site,” like a frozen airline meal, Kogan said. By offering his clients kosher barbecue, for example — smoked brisket and beef sausage with coleslaw — as well as traditional holiday foods such as potato pancakes and challah bread, he and Bloom aim to “show that kosher food can be just as gourmet as anyone else’s food.”

Ecstatic Cuisine Kosher is overseen, or supervised, by Dallas Kosher, a certification agency. Certification agencies provide kosher companies with extensive reviews of food formulas, equipment and raw ingredients to ensure that they meet kosher standards. Kogan and Bloom get most of their food locally, but the kosher meat is shipped from vendors in New York.

The source of kosher meat has become a hot topic after Iowa-based Agriprocessors, the largest kosher meat packing facility in the United States, was raided by federal authorities and closed in 2008 after harsh treatment of animals and workers became well-known.

That led University of Texas alumnus Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz and hundreds of other Jewish leaders to boycott the business as part of Yanklowitz’s New York-based Orthodox social justice organization, Uri L’Tzedek. In 2009, he created Tav HaYosher, a seal indicating that a kosher business operates ethically by paying their workers a fair wage, Yanklowitz said.

“Jews who aren’t normally interested in keeping kosher are becoming more interested because it speaks more to their values, and ethical transparency is becoming easier for them because they don’t have to find out if someone is certified or not,” Yanklowitz said.

In October, Ecstatic Cuisine Kosher became the first business in Texas to earn that seal, Yanklowitz said.

The seal “gives us another way to showcase that we run a business of high standards for food and labor and decision-making,” Bloom said.

The business is “not worth doing unless it’s creating some kind of social good,” he added. “To me, that’s a pretty Jewish idea.”

jsanders@statesman.com; 445-3630

]]> http://www.ecstaticcuisine.com/2010/12/ecstatic-cuisine-kosher-in-the-statesman/feed/ 0 http://www.ecstaticcuisine.com/2010/03/event-photos-from-the-israel-block-party/ http://www.ecstaticcuisine.com/2010/03/event-photos-from-the-israel-block-party/#comments Sat, 06 Mar 2010 17:42:41 +0000 Kassie http://www.ecstaticcuisine.com/?p=1182 Ecstatic Cuisine provided food for Texas Hillel’s 12th Annual Israel Block Party at UT’s South Mall on March 3, 2010. For more photos, check out the Ecstatic Cuisine Flickr.

Young Adult Division of the Jewish Community Association of Austin Gala Dinner

Is there a singular memorable moment of your experience with Ecstatic Cuisine?

Honestly, the most memorable part of my personal experience was cutting the cake with David (Catering Chef).  This was not something that he was required to do yet he helped me to meet the demands of the guests.  I felt this went above and beyond what was expected of him and showed a great deal of professionalism and integrity.

What was the best part of your experience with Ecstatic Cuisine?

The best part was the help with Kosher menu and its various requirements.  When everyone else was speaking Hebrew to a Southern Baptist girl, David took the time to explain everything to me.

What could have been improved?

After giving this question a considerable amount of thought, I cannot think of anything that could have been improved.

How were your expectations met?

Absolutely!  David and his team went far beyond what was expected of them.  They helped with tasks that weren’t “their job,” created delicious and beautiful food, set the tone for friendly camaraderie among the vendors, and did all of this without interfering in the event.

Do you have any comments about:

-The food?

The food was amazing.  The menu was exactly what I wanted at a price that fit our budget.  The salmon was exquisite and the guests said it was the best they had ever had.

-The service?

The service is second only to the food.  They were attentive, professional, and nothing short of a pleasure to work with.

-The overall event experience?

I doubt I could have been any happier with my experience with Ecstatic Cuisine catering.  They are at the top of my preferred vendor list!

-Working with Ecstatic Cuisine in planning?

This was my very first experience with any sort of Kosher event and David was not only knowledgeable, but very patient and understanding with my learning curve.  I feel that David and his knowledge was essential to the success of the event.