The Man From Moosewood

Restaurateur and chef David Hirsch, of the famed Moosewood Cooperative Restaurant in Ithaca, N.Y., will visit West Ashley this Thursday, Nov. 13 where he will speak at the Charleston Jewish Community Center (JCC), starting at 7 p.m. Hirsch will be visiting as part of the 2014 JCC Jewish Bookfest. In his live cooking demonstrations Hirsch combines anecdotes about Moosewood Co-op with tips for cooking healthy, Kosher meals. He will teach attendees how to make his popular Autumn Salad Plate, featuring roasted squash and other yummy fall ingredients (and also let them try it). The program also includes a dessert reception and book signing.
Hirsch has been involved with the Moosewood since 1976 and is an avid gardener as well as a cook. He’s the author of the Moosewood Restaurant Kitchen Garden, which offers information and instruction on growing, harvesting, and cooking homegrown produce, as well as designing gardens. He’s also the co-author of 12 Moosewood Collective cookbooks. An informative and entertaining presenter, he has been invited to many cooking schools throughout the country and has appeared on local and national television.
Moosewood, Inc. is a collectively owned business with 19 members who share responsibilities and participate in the various jobs necessary to run what has grown from a very small natural foods restaurant to become a larger and more diversified company. Most members of the Collective have worked together for at least 20 years, and some since the restaurant’s inception in 1973.
With an emphasis on healthful natural foods cuisine, Moosewood Restaurant has operated successfully for more than 40 years and has been acclaimed as a driving force in the world of creative vegetarian cooking. Moosewood was named one of the “thirteen most influential restaurants of the 20th Century” by Bon Appétìt magazine and five of their cookbooks have been nominated for James Beard Awards.
David Hirsch will hold a cooking demonstration on Thursday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center, located at 1645 Raoul Wallenberg Blvd. Cost is $10 for JCC members, $14 for non-members. For more information, call 571-6565 or email Sandra Brett at sandrab@charlestonjcc.org.