Things are not always what they appear to be.
Like a motorcycle riding, leather jacket wearing, young man with a ponytail.
The wild young man on the flame-and-chili pepper-decorated Harley is Evan Rotman. He is an observant Jew, a mashgiach (qualified to oversee the preparation of kosher foods) and a 1997 graduate of the prestigious Culinary Academy in San Francisco.
He could be working at any of the Bay Area’s top restaurants.
But he’s not.
He’s the head chef at Oakland’s Home for Jewish Parents.
And it’s a perfect match. Rotman, 29, has Jewish cooking in his blood and background and, according to social worker Anne Rosenthal, it was time for the Home to upgrade its food service in anticipation of the move to its new, state-of-the-art facility in Danville in March of 1999.
“It’s a realization that the quality of the food service is critical to the standard of care that we want to offer,” said Rosenthal.
Rotman, who started last December, has already renovated the diet by using a lot more fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs. He also prepares many of his own family’s recipes.
“In 23 years I have never smelled such wonderful foods wafting from the kitchen,” said Rosenthal. “For Jewish people, food is love.”
And, according to Rotman, those at the Home are an extremely tough crowd to please.
“The last thing they have to clutch onto is food,” said Rotman. “I get lots of feedback, most of it good. I know [the food] has improved tenfold.”
Raised in Southern California, Rotman learned about kashrut from his mother, who kept a strictly kosher home. She also introduced him to baking. When his mother died, Rotman and his three brothers moved in with their father and stepmother. There he gathered recipes from his father — like liver and onions and stuffed cabbage.
Then there was Aunt Marsha.
“She could cook an eight-course Passover dinner for 20 people and not break a sweat,” said Rotman, remembering how the food was beautifully garnished and presented. “Sometimes I cooked with her.”
Rotman helped put himself through college by, you guessed it, working at restaurants.
At the Home, Rotman draws on all his experience — professional, personal, religious and practical — to plan menus that please the residents, satisfy dietary requirements and reflect his own culinary philosophy.
“Keep it fresh. Keep it seasonal. Keep it simple and integrate it with the traditional foods this population is used to having,” Rotman said. But sometimes it doesn’t work that way. “We still have residents who prefer canned peaches [over fresh]. Go figure.”
But when it comes to the traditional foods, Rotman and the residents are in accord.
“Those are the things I grew up with,” said Rotman of the stuffed cabbage, baked apples, tongue, kasha varnishkas, brisket and other dishes that are the most popular. “I just called my aunt [Marsha] and asked for all the old recipes. `Send Bubbe’s recipes.’ Bubbe’s sweet noodle kugel — that went over like wildfire.”
He even gets recipes from the residents.
“There’s an amazing wealth of knowledge in this building that no one has tapped into.”
Rotman is always quick to give credit to others, whether it’s a note on everyone’s tray thanking someone for a recipe, or a word of thanks for those who work behind the scenes.
“A good kitchen is only as good as the staff,” said Rotman. He praises Marianne Ehrenfeld and Hillary Hart, his morning and afternoon sous-chefs; Laurel Dauwer, the registered dietitian who helps with the clinical aspects of the meals; and Gerry Kennedy, the senior diet aide who has worked at the home for 29 years. “I have a great staff.”
Rosenthal describes Rotman as having a maturity beyond his years. He mingles with the residents and is responsive to their requests and needs. Not surprisingly, he has become the sweetheart of the Home.
“My mother died when I was 8, so I feel like I have 40 Jewish mothers,” said Rotman. His “little Jewish mothers,” he says, worry about his motorcycle riding and nag him about cutting off his ponytail.
Although most of Rotman’s fellow Culinary Academy graduates opted for positions in tony restaurants, he faces challenges they can’t even imagine. Like managing a kitchen staff of 17 and producing more than 10,000 meals a month. That includes three meals a day for the 100 residents of the Home, 20 Meals on Wheels five days a week for home-bound seniors and 50 lunches each, twice a week, for senior programs at both the Berkeley Richmond and Contra Costa Jewish Community Centers. All the meals are kosher and tailored for a myriad of special diets and tastes.
“It’s challenging and very rewarding,” said Rotman, acknowledging that some of his classmates turn their noses up at his career choice. “I just wish I could afford to go to more of those $100 [a meal] restaurants.”
Rotman plans to see the Home for Jewish Parents through its move to Danville. Along with the move will come a change in dining from tray to menu service. That will mean more choices, more planning and more food preparation.
“I want to get the kitchen up to a certain level of dining,” said Rotman. “When I do that, I feel that my work here will be done.”
And then Rotman can get back on his motorcycle and ride off into the sunset.