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In the Kitchen | Food News DRINK

Rabbi Barry Dolinger puts matzahs in the oven

Matzah on a Mission

Local nonprofit returns the unleavened flatbread to its roots while supporting the fight against human tra cking

Even if you’re not Jewish, you might know that matzah (or matzo) is a big flat cracker, usually square, that comes in a box. Not true, according to Barry Dolinger, co-founder with his wife Naomi Baine of Mitzvah Matzos, a Providence-area organization that both bakes a unique unleavened bread, and uses the profits to fight against modern-day slavery and human trafficking.

“It used to be that every town and perhaps every family would bake matzah for themselves,” Dolinger explains. That changed in the 1880s when two companies, Horowitz Margareten and Manischewitz, turned this ritual and local creation into something manufactured and distributed nationally.

“Originally, matzah used to be handmade and softer,” says Dolinger, who is a rabbi. “It was a bread. Unleavened bread. Matzah became a cracker to become shelf stable and not go moldy.”

In pre-COVID times, Mitzvah Matzos organized huge community bakings, teaching dozens of volunteers of all ages and backgrounds – under careful supervision – how to bake organic shmurah matzah (made from wheat guarded against leavening even before it’s harvested) that is soft and round, thick and chewy.

“This is the bread of slaves. It fills you up,” Dolinger says. Around the world, there are more than 30 million people who are victims of human trafficking. From slaves harvesting shrimp in Thailand to the round-ups of Uighurs in China to domestic or sex workers here in New England, the problem can’t be addressed easily.

The mission of Mitzvah Matzos to reclaim the intentionality of creating sacred bread for the Passover Seder – the ritual meal that marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday – raises awareness, and makes a real di erence. “Mitzvah” is the Hebrew word for good deed.

“Everyone who knows about Passover should know what slavery looks like today, not just then,” said Dolinger.

Mitzvah Matzos donates a portion of its funds to the STAR program at St. Mary’s Church in North Providence, which works to release and empower people (often women). Learn more at MitzvahMatzos.org | By Izzy Abrahmson

Yay Pascal!

A restaurant known for its Wurst becomes one of RI’s best example of post-COVID dining

House-made wurst platter with cauliflower When Kristin and Matthew Gennuso met working at a popular Boston restaurant, they might have optimistically surmised the biggest hurdle they’d face would be someday opening their own restaurant together – but in 2003, those plans went o without a hitch. Their farm-to-table restaurant Chez Pascal was an instant success, as was their Wurst Kitchen food truck and walk-up window.

Cut to early March 2020, when fear was in the air during a RI Hospitality Association conference call. Not one person knew what a restaurant should do during a pandemic. Governor Raimondo decided for everyone that restaurants should close. For the Gennusos, the first reaction was relief that it was done: “We wouldn’t have to make that decision on our own. That feeling of relief lasted for probably five minutes.”

The following Monday they were closed, but after a quick wallow they decided closed didn’t have to mean dead. By Tuesday they had repurposed Matthew’s e-commerce site, trading pictures of their apron merchandise for images of popular menu items. Voila – they were running a pick-up restaurant. “It wasn’t about business,” Kristin is quick to say, “it was about people. Helping each other and connecting us through food – it comforts us and fills our souls with joy even when joy seems hard to find.”

As of this printing, Chez Pascal hasn’t allowed inside seating and the Gennusos have no regrets. With a refined order-inadvance model, they’ve eliminated wasted produce. They know exactly how much they’ll need to fulfill orders for the two versions of each dish they o er: “Ready to Eat” or “Reheat at Home”. This not only gives customers the utmost flexibility, but also keeps great relationships with purveyors and ensures there’s enough food to share with other establishments.

The Gennusos do o er a sit-down experience on their outdoor Après Ski Patio. Eight Adirondack chairs, painted