Cook­ing for a Cause: Feed­ing Israel with Love is not just a cook­book; it’s a tes­ta­ment to the pow­er of com­mu­ni­ty, com­pas­sion, and resilience. Craft­ed with love and ded­i­ca­tion by June Hersh and a team of pas­sion­ate col­lab­o­ra­tors, this cook­book main­tains a spir­it of sol­i­dar­i­ty in chal­leng­ing times. Read­ers embark on a culi­nary jour­ney that cel­e­brates Jew­ish recipes, cook­ing tech­niques, and per­spec­tives in all their diver­si­ty and complexity.

What sets Cook­ing for a Cause apart is its delib­er­ate depar­ture from the con­ven­tion­al cook­book form. It’s com­posed of a col­lec­tion of unique voic­es who come togeth­er to sup­port Leket Israel and the peo­ple of Israel. From cooks and chefs to food writ­ers and restau­ra­teurs, every­one involved stands unit­ed in their com­mit­ment to nour­ish both body and soul. As read­ers leaf through the recipes, they not only dis­cov­er deli­cious dish­es, but they also con­tribute to a greater cause: sup­port­ing strug­gling Israeli farm­ers, feed­ing dis­placed fam­i­lies, and spread­ing hope in times of adversity.

The con­trib­u­tors make up a dis­tin­guished who’s who of culi­nary tal­ent, each gen­er­ous­ly shar­ing their time and trea­sured recipes for a noble cause. Acclaimed chefs and food writ­ers like Joan Nathan, Adeena Suss­man, Leah Koenig, Chanie Apfel­baum, Michael Solomonov, and Jake Cohen all bring their exper­tise to the (lit­er­al) table, explor­ing every­thing from kosher clas­sics to con­tem­po­rary inter­pre­ta­tions of tra­di­tion­al dish­es. The recipes in this col­lec­tion, arranged alpha­bet­i­cal­ly by con­trib­u­tor, invite read­ers to embark on a fla­vor-filled jour­ney, dis­cov­er new favorites, and cel­e­brate the rich tapes­try of Jew­ish cuisine. 

The vari­ety of recipes show­cased in the cook­book is tru­ly impres­sive, reflect­ing the diver­si­ty of Jew­ish cui­sine and the con­trib­u­tors’ own culi­nary influ­ences. Tra­di­tion­al favorites like pota­to latkes and Jew­ish brisket appear along­side inven­tive twists such as coconut cream mal­abi and cau­li­flower rice tab­bouleh. Whether it’s the com­fort­ing fla­vors of Russ­ian cab­bage soup or the vibrant fresh­ness of pump­kin chal­lah rolls, there’s some­thing here to tan­ta­lize every palate. The cook­book also incor­po­rates inter­na­tion­al dish­es like fes­sen­jan, a Per­sian wal­nut-and-pome­gran­ate chick­en stew, and falafel-stuffed egg­plant. With desserts like Israeli-style cheese­cake and cit­rus olive oil cake round­ing out the col­lec­tion, Cook­ing for a Cause cel­e­brates the beau­ty of Jew­ish food while simul­ta­ne­ous­ly sup­port­ing a noble cause.