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Introduction
ZygmuntStępiński
Director,POLINMuseumoftheHistoryofPolishJews
Jewishcuisineiscloselylinkedtothenotionofkashrut,
oneofthebasicconceptsinJudaismwhichdefinesJewish
dietaryrules.Culinaryculture—foodconsumptionand
methodsoffoodpreparation—hasgrowntobeavitalele-
mentofJewishidentity:itenhancesthesenseofbelonging
toacommunityand,atthesametime,testifiestothe
uniquenessofJews.Asidefromthissharedfoundation,
Jewishcuisine—developedoverthecourseofthousandsof
yearsinvariouscornersoftheglobe—remainsverydiverse.
TalkingaboutJewishfoodisakintospinningataleon
Jewishreligion,cultureandhistory.
POLINMuseumrealisedthepotentialofthisparticular
subjectmatterseveralyearsagoalreadywhenitlaunched
aseriesofcultural-educationaleventsdevotedtoJewish
foodandtoculinaryculture.In2016,atGrzybowskiSquare,
thehistoriccentreofpre-warJewishWarsaw,theMuseum
openeditsbranchwhere,amongothers,culinarywork-
shopsandmeetingsdedicatedtoJewishcuisinewereheld.
Itsoontranspiredthatourprogramsdevotedtoculinary
themesattractedalotofinterestandanincreasinglylarge
audience.Foodhasalwaysbeenanelementofliveculture
asithasauniversalaspecttoit.Weoftenbeginourtravels
byexploringlocalfood—anextremelypleasantwayto
acquaintoneselfwithanewplaceandculture.Thatis
preciselywhyweorganizedthefirsteditionofTISHJewish
FoodFestivalin2018—theonlyfestivaldedicatedsolely
toJewishfood,itspastandpresent.“Tish”means“table”
inYiddish,butintheJewishtraditionitalsostandsfor
ajoyoustimespentaroundthetablewhileeating,drinking,
singingandtalking.OurTISHFestivaltakesplaceannually
intheautumn,aroundthetimeoftheJewishholidayof
Sukkot.Overthecourseoffivedays,weinviteourgueststo
workshops,toursandnumerousculinarymeetingsfocused
onJewishfood.
What’sCooking?JewishCulinaryCultureexhibitionand
theaccompanyingvolumeyouarecurrentlyholdingin
yourhandsareyetanotherstepinthisjourneyofours.
WedecidedtoretellthestoryofJewsinacomprehensive
andsystematicwaybypresentingtheircuisine.Wedo
hopethatyouwillfindthisstoryfascinating,asitappeals
tobothintellectandthesenses.
