Back – Bigger and Better– Kosherpalooza 2024

Jun 14, 2024 by Chef David

By Chef David

Kosherpalooza Back for Seconds, the kosher foodfest returned to the Meadowlands Expo Center on May 30th just weeks before Shavuoth. This event was inspired and organized by Fleshing Magazine’s dynamic duo, Shlomo and Shifra Klein to connect people with great products, some of which have been featured in their publication Fleshigs magazine. What better way to spend a day than nibbling samples, trying new products, learning from kosher industry experts, and getting inspiration from legendary chefs?

Kosherpalooza is a kosher epicurean’s dream come true.

Who’s Who

Kosherpalooza 2024 exceeded expectations with 4000+ people in attendance prepared to meet and eat from the 150 vendors exhibiting at the show. Among the vendors were some of our personal favorites, brands we have featured including Eden Foods, Milk & Honey, 7th Heaven chocolate, and D’Vash dates. While we enjoyed reconnecting with these brands, we were pleased to discover new-to-us products and get a taste from outstanding restaurants, personal chefs, and bakeries. We were glad that the venue was so large, it gave us a chance to walk, and more importantly, the vendors had room to properly showcase their wares.

Kosherpalooza was a chance to rub elbows with the best, and the brightest kosher insiders.  Some familiar names included Miriam Pascal Cohen, Melinda Strauss, Isaac Bernstein, the singer Gad Elbaz, Ahuva Gottdiener, Chanie Apfelbaum, Elan Kornblum, and Gabriel Geller.

You Can Taste It All

Kosherpalooza was not designed for dieters. It proudly offers an abundance of sweets and snacks. We want to commend the clever layout. The event hall was divided by a middle aisle with a sign indicating which side contained Dairy and Meat offerings.  This was a simple way to avoid confusion. Undoubtedly, the crowds paid careful attention, heading initially to the Dairy side, before flocking, en masse, to Meat.

Note to self – next year, begin with the meat to beat the crowds, then take a long power walk or enjoy the panels/shows.

A sampling of the brands displayed include –

• Beverages from Royal Wine, Impex Beverages, Bimble, Misceo, Recanati
• Dairy from Matans Creamery, Abes Ice Cream, Yummy, Tnuvia, Bethel Creamery
• Desserts from Kleins Ice Cream, Halva Kingdom, Dvash Organics, Kravy Foods, 7th Heaven chocolate, Reisman’s
• Specialty Foods from Eden Foods, Galil, The Nuttery
• Meats from Joburg Meats, Bens Best Charcuterie, Aufschnitt, Rubaskin, Pelleh,
• Chefs, Caterers, and Shops – Latte Royale, Crave Sourdough, The Pizza Guy, MealMart, Sol Dining, Dolcetto, Haus of Babka, Brooklyn Bagel

Kosherpalooza 2024 was a treasure trove of finds as vendors urged visitors to ‘take’ handing generous portions and samples to go. This was a refreshing change from traditional tradeshows. We were excited to be encouraged to bring home treats as a reminder of the day that extended beyond memories.

Best Sour Dough Demo and More

In addition to food and drink the show included appliances from AJ Madison one of the sponsors for the event and the cooking exhibitions. Kosherpalooza was a packed afternoon. We competed in the blind taste test (not many people guessed that the first drink was pomegranate juice) and completed the hot sauce challenge.

We watched “The Queen of Sourdough” Chaya Suri Leitner show how simple making stylized bread designs can be, with the right tools, Leitner makes scoring with a bread lame into an art form.  For beginners, try this link for making Leitner’s sourdough from Kosher.com.

We could have used a map to more effectively navigate and locate the presenters, which included cooking demonstrations from Micah Siva of her famous pulled mushroom brisket, Miriam Pascal Cohen’s inspired salads, Gad Elbaz’s Moroccan fish, Bernstein’s sous vibe sabich a hard-boiled egg and eggplant sandwich, Susie Fishbein’s perfect chicken dish – just to name a few. These sessions were intertwined with panels and a chopped competition with a twist.

We are looking forward to Kosherpalooza 2025! As they raise the bar again, for an exciting kosher food-filled experience.

About Fleishigs Magazine

Fleshigs Magazine hosted Kosherpalooza. They are an authority on kosher cooking providing eleven annual issues containing triple-tested recipes, entertaining tips, food trends, Shabbat and holiday entertaining guides, in-depth chef spotlights, travel features, restaurants, and more.

Fleishigs takes kosher cuisine to unexpected heights, reaching and inspiring the budding gourmand in us all.