Save the Jewish food

In a weekend of July 2010, I had the pleasure to guide through Bucharest and surroundings the Canadian journalist David Sax (author of Save the Deli, left) and the US photographer Landon Nordeman (right), who came to record Jewish Romania's gastronomic heritage.

Besides having visited Jewish sites in the Romanian capital, we went to restaurants and popular markets, seeking traditional culinary phenomena which gave birth to alimentary habits deeply rooted within Jewish emigrants communities in the Americas.

The main character of this gastronomic travel was the pastrami, a Romanian dish brought by Romanian Jews to the other shore of the Atlantic and transformed into a delicatessen that can be tasted in famous restaurants in New York.

The highest moment was the Romanian Jewish meal we have organized for our guests at Fernando's Hideaway in Fierbinti, 40km from Bucharest. Cooking was signed by Silvia Weiss, who offers catering services known as Silvita's Kitchen.

In the issue # 134 (December 2010) of the magazine Saveur it was published the article signed by David Sax, with photos by Landon Nordeman, under the title Roots of Deli - in which the author seeks in Budapest and Bucharest the authentic origins of today's Jewish food.

Serebrenic & Bitelman

At the end of May 2010, I guided the couple Tatiana and Jaime Serebrenic (São Paulo) in a journey to their Bessarabian roots. After visiting Bucharest and southern Bukovina, with its impressive monasteries - UNESCO World Heritage Sites - we crossed the Romanian border near Iasi towards Chisinau. 

In the capital of the Republic of Moldova, besides being able to visit with her husband a Chabad synagogue and old buildings belonging in the past to the large Jewish community, Tatiana could find, in the local Jewish cemetery, the graves of several relatives, especially the uncle of his father, Michel Bitelman (photo).

Then we drove to northern Bessarabia, visiting Orhei, Balti, Edinet and Briceni. Jaime's father left Edinet in 1930 towards Brazil; visiting the city of his origins was an old dream that, as the photo shows, has come true.

Jewish families in Arad and Hunedoara

Between 1-5 July 2009, I guided Veronica Singer (US) through Transylvania, the land of her grandparents, searching - and finding! - records and graves related to her familiy (Roth, Grün etc.) at the Jewish Community and at the local branches of the Romanian National Archives in the towns of Arad and Deva. Our journey also included a visit to the Hunyad Castle in the city of Hunedoara, the largest gothic construction of this type in Romania, and to the villages of Bârzava, Petris, Pui and Baru, where Veronica - in the photo, holding a chick at a family house in Pui - was warmly received by local people and was able to grasp the atmosphere in which her ancestrals once lived.

Lost shtetl in Bukovina

During the month of May 2009 I was twice in Cârlibaba in order to carry out a research about the families Jacob and Schapira. The small and picturesque town in today's Suceava county, also known as Kirlibaba under Austrian rule (1774-1918), when it stood at the border between Transylvania and Bukovina, was a prosperous shtetl thanks to its activities in the field of manganese and wood extraction. After the end of WWII, most of the surviving Jews emigrated. Not a single Jew lives today in Cârlibaba. The synagogue was demolished, the ritual butchery is in ruins and the old cemetery (picture) can be hardly kept by a Christian neighbor who takes care of it out of pity.

Frankel

On 01 Nov 2008 I guided the couple Gerardo Frankel and Margarida Reik de Frankel (Uruguay), who came from Montevideo to Bucharest in order to take a ship cruise through the Danube, starting on November 2nd at the Romanian harbor of Oltenita and crossing the Bulgarian, Serbian, Hungarian, Austrian and German borders till Nürnberg. They visited Bucharest's old town, the Jewish neighborhood and the royal palace of Mogosoaia (in the picture) besides some shopping in the malls and antique shops of the city.

Hegwer

Between June 5th and June 12th 2008, Hal and Charlotte Hegwer (US) were guided by us from Timisoara to Bucharest, visiting also Craiova. In Craiova they met the head of the local Jewish community and carefully visited the synagogue and cemetery, looking for records of their ancestors. In Bucharest, besides a traditional sightseeing with the main attractions, the Hegwers visited the Jewish museum and had dinner with all of us at the Caru' cu Bere beerhouse (in the picture, from the left to the right: our guide/driver Marinel Sburlea, Mr & Mrs Hegwer, Fernando & Elena Klabin).

Schonfeld

Between 27 and 29 June 2008 we guided Louis Schonfeld (US) to Iasi and Northern Moldavia. He was able to visit old inns on the way and to research the Iasi Jewish cemetery, besides discovering Moldavian hospitality and gastronomy. Although his family roots come mainly from Salaj (Transylvania) and Zakarpattia (Ukraine), he is interested in any link to the Schonfeld family name. In the picture, a tombstone of the I World War Romanian soldier Moise Scheinfeld at Iasi Jewish cemetery.

Wirtzbaum

In the period 6th-13th September 2001, we guided Albert Wirtzbaum (US) through several places in Romania, so that he could find information of his ancestrals, who used to live in different shtetls in the area of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire and were called Wirtzbaum, Solomon, Blau, Friedman and Fried. The main places of his trip were Bucharest, Sighisoara, Cluj-Napoca (synagogue on the picture) and Oradea. In Transylvania he visited the shtetls Borod, Cornicel, Solduba and Saldabagiu de Munte, and was received as well by the Jewish genealogy specialist Peter Winter. Because of the 9/11 events, he got stuck in Bucharest and we've assisted him in his prolongated stay.

Cornblum & Alter

In the period October 3-8, 2004, we guided Martin and Rebecca Rosenblum (US), father and daughter, through Bucharest, Focsani, Iasi and Podu Iloaiei, back to their Moldavian roots. They were able to meet with the Jewish Community and visit all Jewish sites in Iasi and Focsani, as well as the Jewish cemetery in Podu Iloaiei. They were also allowed to research at the National Archives in Iasi about their relative families Cornblum and Alter (photo). In Focsani they located a family house and even talked to old neighbors who had known their relatives.

Jill Kasen

On September 29th and October 6th 2007, I guided Jill Kasen (US) and her trip colleague Arleen Glikbarg (US) through the remains of Jewish Bucharest. In the picture, they are in the courtyard of the Jewish Community seat, a wing of the Coral Synagogue can be seen. They also had the occasion to visit the main touristic attractions of the Romanian capital.

Shell

Elliot and Ellen Shell (US) - below, in front of Bucharest main railway station - spent the weekend of 9-10 June 2007 in Bucharest, the city where his family lived in the 20's, after emigrating from Ukraine and before leaving by train to Constantinople towards a new life. After a dense and touching visit including Jewish sites and chosen attractions under the guidance of Elena Klabin, family Shell left the Romanian capital to Istanbul by train as well, in order to reproduce the voyage made by his ancestrals 80 years ago.

Schein

Patrick Schein (France) has come several times to Romania. His family was originally from Râmnicu Sarat, the same town where the world-famous Saul Steinberg was born. Since his first contact in 2004, we helped Patrick to find a way to save the Jewish heritage in the town. Unfortunately, with no results. The synagogue (photo) and the two cemeteries are in ruins.

Lunsk

In July-August 2006, the globetrotters Larry Lunsk and Debbi Kless (US) spent more than 20 days in Romania. We organized their trip from Oradea through Transylvania down till Bucharest and then up to Bucovina, in Northern Moldavia, visiting Cluj-Napoca, Sighisoara, Sibiu, Brasov and Suceava. In their first trip to Romania, they were able to learn a lot about its history, culture and Jewish heritage. Besides, Larry had the honour to celebrate his birthday dining out with Count Dracula. In the photo, they are visiting a traditional farm 30 miles from Bucharest.

JewishGen - King/Fletcher

In September 2000, Susan King and Joanna Fletcher (JewishGen - US) came to visit Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca and Iasi, the most representative towns in Wallachia, Transylvania and Moldova, respectively. They had talks with the heads of the local Jewish communities and visited the main Jewish sites and tourist attractions, in order to be able to counsel correctly people that call their Houston office looking for genealogical travels within the JewishGen's programme ShtetlSchleppers. In the picture, they pose in front of the InterContinental Bucharest together with their guide Marinel Sburlea.

Schwartz

In May-June 2000, Fred and Esther Schwartz (US) came to Romania looking for his roots in Moldavia. We tailored them a trip including, besides Bucharest, the cities of Galatz, Tecuci, Nicoresti (his father's birthplace), Bacau and Buhusi, where they visited the local Jewish communities, synagogues, cemeteries and archives. In their journey through the past, they met people who told fascinating stories about his own family and about the history of the Jews in this part of the world.

Berman

In April 2004, Les Berman (US) and his daughter came to visit their ancestrals' town Ramnicu Sarat, where it was possible to see the ruined synagogue and the 2 cemeteries. Les Berman was also kindly allowed to research at the National Archives in Buzau (photo), had talks with the local head of the Jewish community in Focsani and with the mayor of Ramnicu Sarat. Besides, before leaving Romania, they still paid a visit to Dracula's castle in the beautiful Prahova valley through the Carpathian mountains.

Margosches

Elizabeth Margosches (US) was in Romania in July 2001. Her Romanian roots made her come from the East Coast in order to visit Bucharest and Iasi. In both cities she visited the main Jewish sites and the National Archives for personal genealogical research. She is in the picture with her guide Elena Klabin at Strada Alba, Iasi.

Gandelman

 

Attorney Henrique Gandelman (Rio de Janeiro), father of saxophonist Leo Gandelman, came to Romania in 1998, from where I guided him to the Republic of Moldova. His parents came from a small village called Trinka, northern Bessarabia, having emigrated to Brazil before World War II. I drove him through Chisinau, Edinet, Briceni and Secureni (Ukraine), searching for traces of his family. During the trip, he (in the picture, second from left to right, in Briceni) got acquainted with new friends and heard heartbreaking stories about his own family and the fate of the Bessarabian Jews.

Kaz

In November 2004, I guided Roberto and Leonel Kaz (Rio de Janeiro) through deep Romania, searching for its flavors, its history and culture. Father and son, with Moldavian Jewish origins, were able to understand better, after crossing Transylvania and experiencing family hospitality in Bukovina, the specific habits and idiosyncrasies of their own family. In the photo, Leonel poses happily in front of his ancestors' snow landscape in Suceava.

Batusanski

In April 2002, I drove Silvio Batusanschi (São Paulo), along with his French cousins David and Serge Batusanski, to the land of their ancestors: Bessarabia. Chisinau (in the picture, Serge on the other side of the monument to the Holocaust, in the downtown) and Briceni were the main places, where they visited the local Jewish community and the cemeteries. In Briceni they found a distant cousin, whose existence was previously unknown. On the way back to Romania, we crossed the town of Botosani, toponym which probably lies at the origin of their surname.