Keeping a kosher kitchen can be labor-intensive, but two area venues have made it part of their business to cater to the area’s Jewish population.
One is the Hilton Garden Inn Park Place, located at 11600 W. Park Pl., Milwaukee. Executive Chef James Nowak said he has been accommodating kosher lifestyles for a little over a year.
“We work really closely with the bride and groom [and] we do tastings,” Nowak said. “We work really closely with the wedding coordinator. We go through everything with the menu. We try to make it a special day for them because that’s what it is. It’s their special moment in life and we want to make it memorable.”
Nowak said the kitchen at the hotel is certified by area rabbis that are brought in by the guests of honor. Foods are separated according to Jewish law and there are separate cooking areas and serve-ware. He said the facility will rent ovens for events that require kosher foods.
Because many foods are not eaten if someone keeps kosher, Nowak said his menu focuses on chicken dishes.
These include “kosher chicken breasts with roasted pepper and basil sauce with a little fried basil on top,” he said. “We’ll use couscous for a starch, or potatoes. We develop menus based on what people are looking for. We try to stay away from flour and use corn starch instead. We bring the freshest product available when creating a menu.”
Five to six days prior to an event, Nowak will communicate with vendors to bring in specific foods. Two days prior to an event, the Hilton’s kitchen is deep cleaned. Nowak said it’s not much different than other events the facility holds.
“The kosher wedding concept is technically the same as any other wedding,” Nowak said.
In the last year, the Hilton has accommodated four Jewish weddings that requested kosher food and will host a Jewish fundraiser in January. The facility can hold up to 330 people and the event room can be divided by a drapery when men and women need to be separated.
Nowak has over 20 years of experience working with kosher families from Wisconsin and Illinois for Passovers, weddings and fundraisers.
Executive Chef Brian Frakes knows what goes into keeping a kosher kitchen at the Pfister Hotel, located at 424 E. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee.
Frakes said the facility puts a lot of work into the events and has been doing them for at least eight years. The hotel doesn’t have a full kosher kitchen, but will accommodate as needed.
“It’s pretty extensive,” he said, “We work closely with rabbis and always welcome kosher events. I think we’ve gotten pretty darned good at it.”
In the Pfister’s main kitchen, there are a few new ovens that were purchased specifically for kosher cooking. Frakes said the hotel is equipped with full sets of glassware and stemware, silverware and plates dedicated only to kosher foods.
“We do anywhere from galas to bar mitzvahs, bat mitzvahs, weddings,” Frakes said. “We do anything anybody would want.”
The Pfister’s kitchen staff works closely with area rabbis and can accommodate large groups. Frakes said one of the largest he served was close to 600 people.
“We have yet to turn anything away that was too big,” he said.
The River Club of Mequon is also able to offer kosher food, kosher catering and use of a kosher kitchen on a situational basis, according to John Haines, director of communications and marketing.
He also said that “late Sundays or mid-day Mondays, especially in winter, are the best times to request such services.
The club is located at 12400 N. Ville du Parc Dr. in Mequon.
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