Event
ChallahFest NYC: Global Bread Festival Hits New York With Jake Cohen and a Challah Rave
The first Global ChallahFest, run by FOODISH and Tel Aviv's ANU Museum, spans seven cities from Nov. 6 to 29. New York's leg, Nov. 12–15, brings Jake Cohen, Joan Nathan, a Kabbalat Shabbat with Einat Admony and a DJ-led Challah Rave.
By NBT Editors · 2026-11-14
Challah, the braided bread of the Jewish Sabbath table, is going on tour. FOODISH, the culinary initiative born out of ANU – Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv, is staging the first Global ChallahFest from November 6 to 29 in seven cities: New York, Chicago, Washington, Boston, Atlanta, London and Tel Aviv. New York's portion runs November 12 to 15, across several locations listed on the festival's official program.
The New York lineup leans on well-known names. Cookbook author Jake Cohen opens the city's program at William Greenberg Desserts, with a ChallahFest DIY kit for hands-on baking. Joan Nathan, the veteran Jewish cookbook author, hosts open Q&A sessions. Chef Einat Admony teams up with chef and DJ Falmer and the organization OneTable for a beat-heavy Kabbalat Shabbat, the service and meal that welcomes the Sabbath.
Beyond the talks, the festival is built to be loud. A DJ-led Challah Rave, a late-night event with DJ Falmer, is on the New York schedule, and Seed + Mill is running a pop-up. Across the whole festival, organizers list bakery tours, student baking showdowns, VIP brunches and shared Friday-night dinners. Chicago's dinner serves challah on a stick.
There is also an art component. "HaMotzi" is a photography exhibition by Sivan Roshianu and chef-artist Alexander "Zoonder" Lachnish, curated with FOODISH CEO Merav Oren. It presents macro shots of crumb, crust and braid, printed large and hung at bakeries, museums and campuses in all seven cities.
Oren has said that a challah "can become a conversation, a work of art or a rave." Organizers point to the way recipes, shapes and methods vary between Jewish communities, and say they want younger audiences to reinterpret those traditions in their own way. Cohen describes the festival as an invitation to get your hands in the dough and make the tradition your own.
For Japanese readers, the ANU museum link is the notable detail: this is an Israeli museum's food program stepping outside Tel Aviv for the first time, with New York as the opening stop.
(Details are drawn from points that agree across reports by Time Out, EDM.com, Ynetnews.)
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