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Nov. 3, 2006
Mama serves up old favorites
Mendelson brings her culinary flare to JCC book festival.
KELLEY KORBIN
In the great recipe debate – to share or not to share –
veteran chef Susan Mendelson definitely comes down on the side of
sharing. Her latest cookbook, Mama Now Cooks Like This!,
is full of recipes that have made her catering company, the Lazy
Gourmet, a fixture on the Vancouver food scene for nearly 30 years.
Coveted treasures such as Grandma Faye's Cheese Blintz Logs are
offered, along with a host of new recipes and old favorites from
Mendelson's previous 10 books, including many of the most popular
from the now out-of-print Mama Never Cooked Like This.
What could possibly lure Mendelson to out her recipes?
"It's my 28th season and I think that it's never hurt my business
to give away recipes," she said in an interview with the Independent.
"I love that feeling when people walk up to me and they say,
'Every Rosh Hashanah for the last 15 years I've been making your
apple pecan kugel and it's our family tradition.' I'm telling you,
it just gives me such a warm, fuzzy feeling to think that I'm in
so many people's lives."
Mendelson's prowess in the kitchen comes from her Grandma Faye,
who, she said, "taught me a lot about cooking and love of cooking
and making food with love. She taught me that it just tastes better
when it's made with love." This is in stark contrast to her
mother, who, Mendelson jokingly observed, "made a mean can
of corn niblets."
The title of the book refers to the fact that Mendelson is now the
mama – with a teenage daughter and a stepson and daughter-in-law
to cook for – and it also reflects the way our eating habits
have changed over the past three decades. Mendelson advocates sensible,
balanced eating and said the biggest change she has noticed since
the '80s is that her clients are "consciously cutting back
on fat, adding fibre to everything, eating fresh food ... using
the best of what's available in British Columbia, coupled with the
wonderful flavors and condiments that are available through all
the Asian influence we have in our foods."
As an active member of the local Jewish community, as well as one
of its leading caterers, Mendelson is in what some would call a
rather precarious situation. When asked how she balances the two,
she diplomatically responded, "I would say it's a challenge."
And then she quickly got back to the topic of food. "My goal
when I started doing kosher food," she said, "was to show
people that kosher food could be as delicious, as varied, as exciting
as any buffet or any sit-down dinner anywhere. And it's been an
incredible challenge."
Mendelson related an expedition to track down good kosher reggiano
and brie cheeses that ultimately led to her having to pay 245 per
cent duty – for a total of $1,225 – to bring the cheese
across the border, a cost she couldn't pass on to her customer.
In addition to promoting her new book, Mendelson is also busy rebranding
her company. How does she accomplish so much while she is caring
for her aging father-in-law and raising a teenage daughter? Mendelson
said she is "a pretty high energy person." But she said
the real reason for her success is, "that I hire people who
are smarter than me and people who are better than me at every aspect
of my business. I have better bakers, better cooks and better design
people.... I hire people who can teach me and I think that's the
key to being able to be balanced."
Mendelson is extremely proud of her new book and said she believes
"people will find at least 100 recipes that [they] will use
on a regular basis in this book - both for everyday and for entertaining."
There is truly something for every palate: from a plethora of interesting
appetizers to a chapter of family tradition recipes and a baking
section that will have you looking for excuses to make cookies.
Mendelson will host a cooking demonstration and lunch at noon on
Wednesday, Nov. 22, as part of the Cherie Smith JCC Jewish Book
Festival. The event takes place in the Wosk Auditorium of the Jewish
Community Centre of Greater Vancouver. Tickets are $12. To register,
call 604-257-5111.
Mama Now Cooks Like This! is available in bookstores, but
Mendelson urged community members to buy it from Jewish Family Service
Agency, who will not only receive 10 per cent of the royalties (she
is donating 10 per cent of all her royalties to JFSA and 10 per
cent to Big Sisters of B.C.), but will also receive the 50 per cent
retail mark-up on the book. She is hoping that JFSA will raise $10,000
for its food voucher program through her book sales. JFSA can be
reached at 604-257-5151.
Kelley Korbin is a freelance writer living in West Vancouver.
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