Food & Foodies Open the 21st Annual Mandell JCC Jewish Book Festival; Thursday, November 7, 2013

Three
food fanatics open the 21st Annual Mandell JCC Jewish Book Festival
with “Food & Foodies” on Thursday, November 7, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. in
the Herbert Gilman Theater at the Mandell JCC, Zachs Campus, 335 Bloomfield
Avenue, West Hartford, CT 06117. This event will be moderated by local professionally-trained
chef, businesswoman and foodie blogger, Martha Kalen.

Mark
Russ Federman is the author of Russ & Daughters, Reflections and Recipes from the House That Herring Built, which
tells the story of the beloved store on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. He has appeared
individually and on panels at the Smithsonian Institution, the Museum of the
City of New York, the New York Public Library, and the conference of the
Association of Food Journalists. Federman and his family’s store, Russ &
Daughters, were most recently featured
on the PBS documentary The Jews of New York; on Lidia Bastianich’s PBS
series Lidia Celebrates America; and on Anthony Bourdain’s No
Reservations.

Allen
Salkin is the author of From Scratch: Inside The Food Network introduces
readers to the big personalities and high drama—the extraordinary
behind-the-scenes story of the Food Network, the business, media and cultural
juggernaut that changed the way America thinks about food. He has been a
journalist for several publications, including New York magazine, The
Village Voice, and Details. He has also produced video interviews
with celebrity chefs and appeared on E! True Hollywood Story: Chris
Farley.

Louisa
Shafia’s latest cookbook, The New Persian Kitchen brings a healthy
perspective to classic Persian recipes while weaving in facts and stories about
Persia’s culture and history. Shafia is a restaurant consultant, food writer,
and recipe developer, who has cooked at restaurants in San Francisco and New
York, and more recently has helped restaurants develop healthy menus, taught cooking classes at venues around the country, and
created original recipes for magazines including Martha Stewart’s Whole
Living, Food Network Magazine, Prevention, Every Day with
Rachael Ray, and Better Homes and Gardens.

The
year-long festival includes three more signature author events, children’s
events, book club programs, and Jewish Book Week. Tickets to Jewish Book
Festival Signature Series events are $20 per person. Tickets are on sale via
mail, in person, fax, or online at the Mandell JCC Box Office, 860-231-6316,
860-233-0802 (fax), tickets@mandelljcc.org and at www.mandelljcc.org. Patron and
sponsorship opportunities available.