A Passionate Journey- An Interview with Sharon Lurie, The Kosher Butcher’s Wife
Written by Shoshana Isaacson
Sharon Lurie, otherwise known as The Kosher Butcher’s Wife, is to South African kosher cooking what Norene Gilletz was and continues to be for Canadian Kosher cooking. Sharon has authored a number of cookbooks that are sold throughout the world, as well as being a contributor to Kosher.com, Jamie Geller’s publication. She is also a spokesperson for Kenwood Mixers and does behind-the-scenes work for the South African grocery store chain Pick and Pay. Sharon also has her own line of salad dressings sold in South Africa, Bobba Shar’s. She is one busy lady!
Sharon was kind enough to give us an interview while on holiday with her family. After working out a few technical issues, time differences and such we had a very lovely conversation and she shared a bit about her journey to becoming known as The Kosher Butcher’s Wife.
UNORTHOBOXED: When did you start writing about food?
Sharon Lurie: I was trained in public relations and writing, in fact I come from a long line of writers. How I actually got into writing about food is a little bit of a story. I was raised in Durban and when I married my husband we moved to Johannesburg, SA where his family was from and his father owned a butchery shop. As his father was getting on he told my husband either you take over the shop or I am selling it. My Husband took over and shortly after that he said, “I need you to come on and help as well”. So I did and that is when I took notice that people were asking for the same three things over and over, Scotch Fillet (rib eye), chicken cut for schnitzel and lamb chops. This really bothered me as there are so many delicious forequarter cuts of meat that can be used in kosher cooking. I had to experiment with each and every cut. I was fortunate to have the best teacher, my father in law. He would tell me which cut needed low, slow cooking and which cuts were better for faster cooking. As I experimented with the different cuts of meat and creating different recipes I was writing them down and sharing them with customers. One day someone said to me, “You have so many recipes, and you have taught so many people about the different cuts of meat you should write a book.” My first response was to kind of brush it off.
UNORTHOBOXED: So, you must have had a change of heart since you have written a number of cookbooks.
Sharon Lurie: Well my sister in law came to visit and she said, “I am heading to Cape Town, come with me.” I said sure but I am not going for nothing.
I proceeded to gather up my files and decided I would go see publishers while we were there. I decided to go to see someone from Random House/Penguin publishing. So I called their offices up and tried to pitch my idea for a book about recipes using only the forequarter of the cow. Understand now that the Jewish population in SA is only about 1% of the whole so this was really a push. Once in Cape Town I went to see the woman I spoke with on the phone and she curtly said, “Ok, I will give you ten minutes from my lunch hour”. After 30 minutes she was saying “Ok, tell me more, tell me more”. So I went and pitched my idea telling her the book is going to be called Cooking with The Kosher Butcher’s Wife and how it could be marketed to everyone because using the forequarter was more economical. In the end she told me that she would pitch the idea to the rest of the board and get back to me in a month to six weeks. Two weeks later she called me and said “Start writing!”
UNORTHOBOXED: Oh wow, that took chutzpa. So what happened next?
Sharon Lurie: The first book was a bestseller and it took off in the international markets as well. That was when a butchery in London, England approached me and wanted to buy the rights to sell the book in their markets. This led to me doing demos in London and then in America.
UNORTHOBOXED: So things really started to fall together for you.
Sharon Lurie: Well I took my background in PR and my writing skills and used those to make this work, it became clear to me that this was what I was meant to be doing.
UNORTHOBOXED: Your passion for cooking and writing is very evident, where does this come from?
Sharon Lurie: Well actually my mother was trained as a Cordon Bleu Chef, and for me the most memorable special times I had with my mum were when we would be cooking in the kitchen together. I have always loved to cook, for me it is my time out, being in the kitchen is my comfort time.
UNORTHOBOXED: So where do you see yourself in the next, five, ten, even fifteen years?
Sharon Lurie: I am enjoying where my life and work is right now, I have some time to spend with grandchildren and I have my demos. I do have something in the works but it is too soon to talk about it.
UNORTHOBOXED: To sum things up, how would you describe your career?
Sharon Lurie: I don’t need to think about that at all. My career has been my life’s passion. Using all of the things I am truly avid about – writing, cooking and family. It has truly been a passionate journey.
UNORTHOBOXED: It has been a pleasure chatting with you and we are so grateful for you finding time in your busy schedule. We also would like to thank you for graciously sharing a recipe with our readers. We look forward to hearing more amazing things coming from The Kosher Butcher’s Wife!
Here is a saucy recipe that Sharon was kind enough to share with us. It was originally published in her first cookbook Cooking with The Kosher Butcher’s Wife.
Monkey Gland Sauce
makes 6 to 8 cups
By Sharon Lurie
Ingredients
1 heaped cup chopped onion
Oil for frying
1 heaped teaspoon fresh chopped garlic
1 cup chopped tomatoes or 1 drained 15 oz can chopped tomatoes
1 cup grated green apple
1 cup tomato sauce
1 cup prepared chutney
½ cup Worcestershire sauce
½ cup red wine
1 cup loosely packed soft brown sugar
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1
Fry the onions in the oil until they are just golden brown.
Step 2
Add the garlic, tomatoes and grated apple.
Step 3
Fry until soft.
Step 4
Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for about 30 minutes.
Step 5
Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Step 6
Once cool, blend in either a food processor or with an immersion blender.
Step 7
This will last about a month in a covered container in the refrigerator.
Related Articles
Related
I am UNORTHOBOXED: Sharon Gabin Lichtman
“Nobody puts Baby in a corner,” and neither will I, Sharon Gabin Lichtman, be boxed in. Throughout my 40 years as an Orthodox woman, I have rarely stayed within my prescribed space. A huge accomplishment given that I was schooled in the Bais Yaakov system. After...