We have thousands of recipes from published cookbooks, magazines, and celebrities, but here at Kosher.com one of our goals is to shine a light on the future rising stars of the kosher foodie world. So we’ve opened up our site to anyone who cooks – whether for a food blog, Instagram, or just for family and friends! We call them our community chefs.

Kosher.com community chefs are a key part of the Kosher.com experience, contributing to what makes our site the most diverse collection of all types of kosher recipes.

Our community chefs have their own page of recipes and or articles with links to their personal platforms; are featured in our email newsletters, Instagram feed, and stories; and their own special article introducing them to our audience.

 

Do you want to become a community chef? Learn more about the program and how to apply HERE!

Without further ado, meet one of our most prolific CCs, Erin Grunstein!

 

1. How did you get into cooking and baking?

My mother is a fabulous cook – she’s an artist, and her creativity comes out in her cooking too. So, growing up, I always ate top-notch, flavorful, and creative meals. However, I myself was never really interested in cooking. For holidays, my mother would be in charge of cooking and I would take care of all the baking. When I got married, I had no clue how to cook – it was a steep learning curve, but thankfully, over time and with constant calls to my mother, I learned what to do.

 

2. What is your favorite kitchen gadget?

It’s a toss-up between my garlic press, my citrus juicer, and my meat thermometer (but the meat thermometer is most important).

3. How do you find the time to work on your recipes?

I have to cook dinner anyways, so it’s just taking a bit of extra time to write out what I’m doing (Siri sometimes helps me with that) and then remaking that recipe until it’s just right.

4. How would you describe your cooking style?

Easy, healthy(ish), fresh, and creative. My recipes are perfect for busy families who still want to enjoy good food.

5. Where do you get inspiration for your recipes?

Inspiration comes from so many places – sometimes it’s realizing I have an ingredient to use up and seeing where that takes me, sometimes someone asks me for an idea and we brainstorm together, sometimes it’s seeing a great recipe that inspires me to mimic flavors or an ingredient combination). A number of us foodies have been in recipe ruts before, and at one point, we got together and started challenging each other with an ingredient that we needed to create a recipe for.

6. Do you have a signature dish?

In the world of social media, I get tagged quite often in Facebook cooking groups when someone is looking for a recipe using lotus cookie butter – two of my favorites are my lotus blondies and ooey gooey lotus smore cookies.

But in the real world, someone coming to my house for a Shabbat meal will often be served my pesto-stuffed mushrooms (unless they don’t eat mushrooms).

7. What are your favorite recipes on Kosher.com?

Impossible to choose!! They’re all fabulous and I’m so happy to be part of the Kosher.com family.

8. What are your favorite cooking videos to watch?

I like to watch videos that show something fun and interesting that I’ve never tried, but also that don’t take too long.

9. What is your favorite cookbook?

There are so many incredible and beautiful cookbooks in the Jewish world, and I am really wowed by all of them! I’ve learned a lot about cooking from Salt Fat Acid Heat and use a lot of what I’ve learned in my cooking.

10. Do you have a favorite ingredient to cook with?

Aside from the standards (oil and salt), I have a few (can’t pick just one… you may sense a theme in this interview, I can’t choose):

 

• Chestnuts and mushrooms together

• Fresh basil or mint

• Garlic confit

• Pesto

• And of course… lotus!

 

11. What advice can you offer first-time cooks?

 

• Always read the whole recipe before you start cooking!

• When roasting vegetables, wash and then dry very well.

• Don’t be afraid to use a large and sharp knife.

 

View all of Erin’s delicious recipes HERE!

 

You can find Erin on Instagram @erin.eats.mtl

 

Do you want to become a Kosher.com community chef? Apply by sending three original recipes and images to [email protected].

We can’t wait to meet you!