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Bagels, it turns out, are very much a bread thread that pulls through hard times, dreams, visions, organizational development, good luck, and good food. - Ari Weinzweig

Across North America, the beloved bagel is a representation of Jewish culture and a reminder of how migrations are not just the movements of people, but also their foodways. Down The Bagel Hole — a collaboration between MOFAD, The Neighborhood: An Urban Center for Jewish Life, and the Museum of Jewish Montreal — is a chance to celebrate the iconic bagel and explore its many manifestations. With prominent bagel makers and food historians from both New York City and Montreal, this event will focus on the role of the bagel in Jewish culture, and the deep historical and social histories that have led to its prominence on the food scene internationally.

Join us at Gertie in Williamsburg for a festive evening of food history, noshing, and schmoozing hosted by Liz Alpern of The Gefilteria.

We’ll taste different types of bagels from some of our favorite places such as Black Seed , Ess-a-Bagel, Edith’s, Gertie, and Shelsky’s. There will be plenty of shmears, a little something sweet, and Gertie’s house-made cel-ray soda cocktails to wash it all down.

LIZ ALPERN

Liz Alpern is co-author of The Gefilte Manifesto: New Recipes for Old World Jewish Foods (Flatiron Books, 2016) and co-owner of The Gefilteria, a food venture that’s been reimagining Old World Jewish Foods since 2012. She is also the creator of Queer Soup Night, a global event series highlighting the talent of queer chefs and raising funds for locally-based social justice organizations. Liz received her MBA from Baruch College’s Zicklin School. Her passion for food extends to the world of food systems, and she serves a consultant for national non-profit organization, Fair Food Network.

Photo by Daniel Krieger

NOAH BERNAMOFF

Noah Bernamoff has established a reputation for creating restaurants and hospitality concepts that purvey modern day foods while honoring Old World techniques. His dedication to quality - combined with gracious hospitality - has made him a well-liked and highly-regarded leader in the next generation of NYC restaurateurs.

In 2010, Noah co-founded Mile End Delicatessen in Brooklyn with his wife Rae, serving from-scratch, responsibly-sourced, versions of classic Jewish dishes, ushering in a modern era for deli across the world. With Rae, he wrote and published The Mile End Cookbook in 2012.

Following Hurricane Sandy, he and business partner Matt Kliegman came up with the idea for their Montreal-in-New York bagel outlet Black Seed Bagels, now known as one of America’s most critically-acclaimed and emulated bagel shops. Black Seed will have 11 locations by the end of 2022.

While Bernamoff is no longer involved in Mile End, he continues to shape the city’s culinary landscape as a partner in other destinations including Rockefeller Center’s Pebble Bar, located in an historic townhouse. He is also an owner-operator of Grand Army Bar, a beloved neighborhood cocktail spot in Boerum Hill with a stellar raw bar program, and Celestine, a Mediterranean-inspired restaurant and event venue in DUMBO. Outside of NYC, Noah is a co-owner of Otto’s Market, a grocery store and community hub in Germantown, NY. In summer 2022, he and Matt will open Little Cat Lodge, a mountainside getaway and restaurant that they have renovated at the foot of Catamount Mountain Resort in Hillsdale, NY.

Tamara Beck/NY Post

MELANIE FROST

Melanie Frost is Chief Operating Officer of Ess-a-Bagel. Her family started the business in 1976 and Melanie officially took over as COO in 2013.

ELYSSA HELLER

Born and bred Chicagoan Elyssa Heller grew up on smoked chubbs and loved spending Sundays at the deli with family. After moving to New York 10+ years of working in strategy & supply chain operations for big brands like Momofuku Milk Bar and Dylan's Candy Bar, Elyssa started Edith’s as a pandemic pop-up over the spring of 2020- serving Edith's iconic twisted bagels at Paulie Gee’s Pizzeria in Greenpoint, NY. After a viral and successful start as a pop-up Edith's now has two permanent store fronts in Brooklyn - A scrappy little sandwich counter slinging updated versions of your bubby's classics alongside an award-winning grocery store & eatery. Edith's brings global Jewish flavors to the forefront of New York's culinary landscape.

KAT ROMANOW

Kat is a Jewish food historian, mother, and co-founder of The Wandering Chew. Her background includes an MA in Judaic studies and food studies, a position as the Director of Food programming at the Museum of Jewish Montreal, where she created the walking tour Beyond the Bagel, and ran a restaurant that served modern Jewish food. She is passionate about using food as a medium to teach people about Jewish culture and history, and hopes to create a more inclusive Jewish community through her work. Her favourite Jewish foods are Montreal bagels, salade cuite, and sabich.

PETER SHELSKY

Born and bred New Yorker Peter Shelsky grew up on Kossar’s bialys and Zabar’s hand-sliced Nova, eventually working in the kitchens of Eleven Madison Park, Café Sabarsky, and Wallse. Tuned into both professional chef culture and the flavors of his own Eastern European and Jewish roots, he and his partner Lewis Spada opened Shelsky’s of Brooklyn in 2011 and Shelsky’s Brooklyn Bagels in 2018.

THE NEIGHBORHOOD

The Neighborhood will be an inclusive and welcoming community hub with a physical Brooklyn location. We will be a gathering place for local Jewish groups and organizations that don't have their own space, for new programming, and for cross-community collaboration. We will produce programs to fill gaps, raise up underrepresented perspectives, and welcome the thousands of Brooklynites that have not yet found their Jewish home. We hope to create a welcoming space that reflects the spirit of Brooklyn -- future-thinking and deeply historical, iconoclastic, and sacred. And that serves an excellent cup of coffee.

THE MUSEUM OF JEWISH MONTREAL

Located in the historical heart of Jewish Montreal, the Plateau-Mont-Royal, the Museum of Jewish Montreal is a hub of experimental and landscape-changing programming. We create new Jewish arts and culture experiences through exhibitions, events, food, music, and tours. By using Montreal’s unique Jewish culture and heritage as a starting point, we offer a different way to connect to cultural life, history, and the arts.

GERTIE

Freshly baked bagels and pastries, riffs on NY deli sandwiches + sides, big salads, matzo ball soup and more Jew-ish diner inspired comfort food.