In the Kitchen Without Politics

By COLlive reporter

Shifra Klein, 28, has never worked in the media and publishing business. And if we are already on disclosures, she is not a professional chef or involved in a restaurant.

So then why is she publishing a new glossy cooking magazine in English called Bitayavon (Hebrew for bon appetit)?

Well, she told COLlive.com, readers of other weekly magazines have told her how they first flip to the recipe section hidden in the back pages of whichever magazines they read.

“Every cook can attest to the exciting feeling of opening up the crisp new pages of a brand new cookbook. All the new recipe ideas and wonderful pictures are entertaining to read, great to look at and exciting to try.

“We want readers to feel as if they are receiving a cookbook with articles every time they purchase the magazine,” said Klein, a Crown Heights resident who has previously worked in the field of general and special education with her husband Shloimy Klein.

“The goal of Bitayavon is to publish a cooking magazine geared for the kosher cook that is on par with other non-kosher cooking magazines,” she says.

“It’s all about celebrating kosher in an original, exciting way and will speak to people of every religious background – from ultra-orthodox to non-orthodox. It’s geared to everyone who has an interest in cooking kosher.”

Klein’s enthusiastic approach is bringing to the pages of her new venture a passion that is not often seen these days in the shaky economy and the burden on small businesses.

And she has great ideas too.

“There will be original recipes, ingredients, cooking and baking tips and articles regarding the kosher lifestyle. Every issue will include conversations with people on the street, kitchen disasters, ask the rabbi, restaurant recipes, healthy eating and food related stories.”

We’re told the magazine will be published every 2 months and is being sold at an introductory rate of $3. Subscriptions are available for an $18 fee for the year.

So if you don’t like your recipes coming with a dose of world events and politics, Bitayavon’s 40 page winter issue might be your answer.

“The spring issue will be double the size,” Klein promises.

For more info, visit Bitayavon.com