ChallahFest NYC Brings Bakery Tours, Baking Showdowns and Shabbat Dinners Across New York

The braided Shabbat bread is going on tour. The inaugural Global ChallahFest runs November 6 to 29 across seven cities: Washington D.C., Chicago, New York, Boston, Atlanta, London and Tel Aviv. New York's stretch falls on November 12 to 15, with events spread over several locations in the city.

The organizer is FOODISH, a cultural platform that grew out of ANU, the Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv. It aims to strengthen Jewish identity and belonging through food. According to the festival site, ChallahFest treats challah as living history and explores it through photography, design, live music, migration stories and rooftop gatherings at bakeries, museums and campuses.

The New York program covers bakery tours, student baking showdowns, VIP brunches and shared Shabbat dinners. Time Out and EDM.com both report that New York Times bestselling author Jake Cohen opens the New York leg at William Greenberg Desserts, where a ChallahFest DIY Kit supports hands-on activities. Cookbook author Joan Nathan joins for open Q&A sessions. Chef Einat Admony and DJ Falmer team up with OneTable for a beat-heavy Kabbalat Shabbat, the service and gathering that welcomes the Sabbath.

An exhibition runs alongside the events. "HaMotzi" is a photography show by Sivan Roshianu and chef-artist Alexander "Zoonder" Lachnish, curated with FOODISH CEO Merav Oren. It puts macro shots of crumb, crust and braid front and center, printed large and hung at bakeries, museums and campuses in all seven cities. Time Out mentions playful works such as Challah Tetris and A Shabbat Emergency Kit.

"A challah can become a conversation, a work of art or a rave," Oren said, according to EDM.com. The full New York lineup and venues are on the FOODISH website.

(Details are drawn from points that agree across reports by Time Out, EDM.com.)