Keeping Kosher: The Evolution and Preservation of Jewish Food Customs in Vancouver
by Juliana Sahni
During the interwar period, the Jewish populations of the lower mainland British Columbia tripled due to an influx of Eastern European Jewish migration. Many Jews arriving in Vancouver settled in the East End, establishing neighborhoods in Strathcona. By the 1930s, Jewish migrant groups had expanded Southwards and settled around Oak Street, which continues to be a hub for Jewish activity today. As Jewish business owners entered Vancouver’s restaurant scene throughout the 1930s and 40s, keeping kosher became less of a priority. Today, there is often the general understanding that kosher certification does not determine the “Jewishness” of food, but at the time this demonstrated a significant departure from the traditional Jewish food customs observed over the last few centuries.
The fluctuating prevalence of kosher food options throughout the emergence of Jewish-owned restaurants and food retailers in Vancouver reflected the variance in food practices as a result of constant migration. Kosher foods stayed present within pockets of the Jewish communities over time, but the rise of kosher food markets in Vancouver was not simultaneous with the rise of markets for Jewish cuisine. In her dissertation entitled “Insiders and Outsiders : Two Waves of Jewish Settlement in British Columbia, 1858-1914”, Christine Boas Wisenthal mentions that by 1914, the East End was populated with a small number of kosher businesses, which served the needs of the Jewish community in the area. When Simon Kahlon, owner of Sabra Kosher Bakery & Restaurant, described his perception of the Jewish food landscape after his arrival to Vancouver in 1991, he mentioned that:
“nothing kosher was available in Vancouver in this time…” (The Journal of the Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia, 2018, p. 130).
As many Jews in Vancouver entered the restaurant business in the mid-twentieth century, their food services departed from certain Jewish cuisines and customs to appeal to broader Canadian audiences. On the other hand, the few distinctly kosher institutions appeared to remain situated solely as a service for Vancouver Jews until the 1990s, when kosher businesses began to surface in ways that reached beyond intra-community exchange into greater Vancouver marketplaces.
Isaac Lipovsky, a Jewish immigrant who came to Vancouver in 1910, helped establish The Electra Grill in 1932. Though the food was not Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine, Lipovsky worked hard to acknowledge a number of kosher dietary regulations. Originally, Lipovksy did not want to serve any pork products, but eventually began to serve them due to demand for ham sandwiches, explaining that:
“…there was a demand for ham sandwiches, so ultimately we served ham sandwiches, for those who wanted them…. One shouldn’t impose one’s confirmed ideas on other individuals of a general public nature” (Isaac Lipovsky, interview by Sally Tobe and Irene Dodek, 1974).
However, he staunchly refused to allow the restaurant to prepare food with lard, instead using chicken or vegetable fats. This is one example of “kosherness” becoming more flexible both outside the home and the homeland. Because Lipovsky knew he had still a sizable Jewish clientele, he made sure any use of pork products was indicated on the menu–echoing sentiments of kosher laws. This occurrence itself contradicts traditional definitions of kosher as the foods were prepared in the same kitchen, but it shows how Jewish restaurant owners worked to balance marketing to Jewish and non-Jewish communities in Vancouver. While The Electra Grill did not keep kosher in the traditional sense, Lipovsky still made space for his Jewish consumers and adhered to many sanitary regulations related to kosher law.
As Vancouver Jews further integrated into Canadian society, families opened restaurants sharing Ashkenazi Jewish cuisine. During the 1940s, Max Prosterman opened Vancouver’s first Jewish deli on Oak and 16th street. The deli sold food such as corned beef and homemade dill pickles. While many of these recipes may be kosher since they descend from generations of Jewish tradition, the selling point for Prosterman’s deli was the familiarity of the cuisine itself rather than its mode of preparation. Ida Kaplan, who opened Kaplan’s Delicatessen in 1967, similarly did not keep the restaurant kosher but
“but [she] sold all kosher corn beef and salami” (Ida Kaplan, interview by Irene Dodek, 2018).
By providing certain kosher options, Jewish food retailers could provide for their community by acknowledging the cultural significance of kosher food while also appealing to the wider Vancouver market. Notably, as markets for Jewish food arose, kosher foods remained on the fringes: fueled through exchange and connections within Jewish circles rather than existing as a commodity in greater Vancouver markets. Susan Mendleson, for example, began a catering company and provided kosher for hot lunches at the Vancouver Talmud Torah School. Mendleson ensured that the school had a meat and dairy kitchen, engaging in the procedural elements of kosher food preparation that were often left behind as Jewish food retailers marketed to Canadian audiences.
By the 1980s, Jewish business owners had established themselves as vibrant members of Vancouver’s food community. There were some restaurants and grocers that had kosher options, but scarcely any kosher businesses with reach beyond those in Vancouver’s Jewish population who still kept kosher. In part, this was because migrant Jewish communities no longer held cohesive feelings about what it meant to keep kosher. For some, it meant simply avoiding pork or shellfish, while others stuck to kosher customs in their traditional form. Additionally, the Vancouver Jewish population was seen as much smaller and less unified relative to Jewish populations in Montreal, Toronto, or New York.
In 1982, Rabbi Avraham Feigelstock moved from New York to Vancouver. As an Orthodox Jew, Rabbi Feigelstock noticed that the kosher certifications in the lower mainland did not consistently align with international kosher standards. Feigelstock formed B.C. Kosher (also called Kosher Check) with the hopes of bringing kosher food in Vancouver up to standard and
expanding the availability of kosher options for Jews. In doing so, Rabbi Feigelstock helped institutionalize the standard for kosher foods in Vancouver. Moreover, his efforts to expand the availability of authentic kosher foods carved a path for kosher marketplaces. Feigelstock reached out to larger retailers like Safeway, eventually supplying over 100 products with them. Many members of Vancouver’s Muslim and Seventh Day Adventist communities inquired about the kosher-certified products at Safeway, and it became clear that there was a potential kosher market that branched beyond just Jews in Vancouver. From the 1990s to the early 2000s, many kosher groceries and restaurants emerged, including Kosher Food Warehouse, Omnitsky Kosher, and Sabra Kosher Bakery & Restaurant.
When asked about the changing food landscapes in Vancouver, Susy Siegel, owner of Nava Creative Kosher, answered:
“I think the community has changed a little bit in Vancouver. I think there are more people that keep kosher. I’ve been asked that question before because sometimes people think that kosher is healthier or better for the environment, but not necessarily. Kosher can be as good or as bad as you want it to be” (The Scribe, 2018).
The recent growth of kosher food markets in Vancouver may feel counterintuitive because the dietary laws are by no means new. While the establishment of B.C. Kosher reflected a response to the somewhat heterogeneous Jewish food markets in Vancouver, the verifiable authenticity of kosher products made them marketable to many demographics, regardless of religious identity. A return to kosher traditions not only strengthened cultural preservation within the Jewish population, but it also brought forth a contemporary marketplace for kosher foods that, for the first time, expanded beyond Jews and into the greater Vancouver community.
Bibliography
Ida Kaplan, interview by Irene Dodek, January 16, 2018, in Vancouver, B.C., transcript, JMABC Oral History Collection, Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia, B.C.
Isaac Lipovsky, interview by Sally Tobe and Irene Dodek, February 27, 1974, in Vancouver, B.C., transcript, JMABC Oral History Collection, Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia, B.C.
Rabbi Avraham Feigelstock, interview by Gary Averbach, June 1, 2018, in Vancouver, B.C, transcript, JMABC Oral History Collection, Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia, B.C.
Sharon Posner, interview by Debby Freiman, May 31, 2017, in Vancouver, B.C., digital audio, JMABC Oral History Collection, Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia, B.C.
Susan Mendleson, interview by Debby Freiman, May 31, 2017, in Vancouver, B.C., transcript, JMABC Oral History Collection, Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia, B.C.
The Jewish Historical Society of British Columbia, “Jewish Life in the Lower Mainland”, The Scribe, Vol. 16.1 (1996).
The Journal of the Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia, “The Food Issue”, The Scribe, Vol.37 (2018).
Wisenthal, Christine Boas. 1987. “Insiders and Outsiders : Two Waves of Jewish Settlement in British Columbia, 1858-1914.” Retrospective Theses and Dissertations, 1919-2007. T, University of British Columbia.