Ep. 103: Jake Cohen

Talking Beats with Daniel Lelchuk

"The definition of Jewish food is so much broader than what we learned in Hebrew School. It's something so powerful, so beautiful."

Star of the food world Jake Cohen is here, armed with his new cookbook. “Jew-Ish: Reinvented Recipes from a Modern Jewish Mensch” aims to bring Jewish food into the 21st century and ask some of the critical questions about the place of Jewish food on the modern dining table. What is "Jewish food” after all besides matzo balls, bagels and lox, and brisket? How do great culinary traditions and huge diversity emerge out of oppression and the Diaspora? The conversation gets spirited as Jake passionately defends his Jewish identity in the wake of a huge increase of anti-Semitic attacks. Plus, the episode finishes with a great recipe that we will all want to make!

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Jake Cohen is a bright new star in the food world, a former food staffer at Saveur, then food editor of Tasting Table and Time Out New York, and most recently the editorial and test kitchen director of social media juggernaut the Feedfeed. When he isn't writing about food for publications including Food52, Food & Wine, and Real Simple, he's posting challah braiding videos and recipes on his Instagram and TikTok (@jakecohen). He lives in New York City with his husband, Alex.