“I’m really stoked to do this savory kugel,” said Chef Brooke Stockwell of K’Syrah Catering in Solvang, referring to an upcoming culinary celebration of Hanukkah that she is working on with Chef Drew Terp of Pico in Los Alamos. “And I’m always proud to share my family latke recipe with the world.”
The series, called 8 Days: An Edible Hanukkah Collaboration, runs through the eight days of the Jewish holiday, December 12-19. The first six days will be celebrated solely at Pico, where each day will feature a new dish in addition to the previous days’ offerings, much like how a new candle of the menorah is lighted each day to join the light of the others. Then on the seventh night, there will be a $25 event at K’Syrah Catering, with a cash bar for cocktails featuring Jewish ingredients, such as apple and pomegranate. And for the finale on night number eight, also at K’Syrah, there’s a $125 ($85 without wine), eight-course dinner for 75 people, paired with the wines of Jewish winemakers Mike Roth of Lo-Fi and Sandra Newman of Cebada Canyon, with more possibly to be added.
The idea was hatched initially by public relations consultant Anna Ferguson-Sparks, whose Stiletto Marketing represents both Pico and K’Syrah. Her mother is Jewish, and though Ferguson-Sparks isn’t religious, she always liked what Eric Greenspan did at The Foundry in Los Angeles during Hanukkah, creating special latkes and doughnuts for each of the eight nights. “I have been wanting to do something like this event for a few years now, as it seems that the Jewish holidays are under-celebrated in these parts,” said Ferguson-Sparks. “I know there’s an audience. There’s obviously not just three of us Jews out there!”