Where to Eat Publisher Jill Epstein

Helps Promote Sunday’s Annual Gourmet Kosher Dinner

By Susie Davidson

Advocate Correspondent

BOSTON - Gourmet and Kosher may seem somewhat oxymoronic in juxtaposition, but chefs at the Four Seasons this Sunday evening aim to prove otherwise. At the 3rd Annual Gourmet Kosher Dinner, some of Boston’s finest culinary artists will pool their talents to benefit the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel.

Chefs Ana Sortun of Oleana, Felino Samson of Bomboa, Mark Allen of Le Soir, Ursula Argyropoulos of Art of the Cake, and Executive Chef Ed Gannon of Aujourd'hui and the Four Seasons Hotel will be preparing the fare, along with special guest chef Asaf Bachrach, who will be coming from France. All will share the city's only Glatt hotel kitchen, a tiny facility at the Four Seasons. Coordinated by Four Seasons Hotel Executive Chef Ed Gannon, the prep will be supervised by a Rabbi from the Vaad HaRabbinim to insure compliance with Jewish dietary laws. 200 diners will attend the event.

Another guarantor of success is the event’s public relations adviser Jill Epstein, whose Where to Eat Guide to Boston area restaurants has just come out with its 8^th edition.

“The magazine has given me the opportunity to become involved with many charities,” Epstein said. “These have included the Spinazzola Foundation, Make A Wish Foundation, Dana Farber and Share Our Strength. I’m thrilled to now be able to help out Ben-Gurion.”

Epstein, a Worcester native, attended Beth Israel synagogue, where she was bat mitzvahed in 1985. Raised in a Kosher home, she attended Camp Pembroke for six years. Following a BFA from BU in Graphic Design and Photography and travel in Europe, she spent a year working as a sales consultant at Louis Boston, Cafe Louis with Michael Schlow, and Pignoli with Lydia Shire. She began Where to Eat while later working at a graphic design firm in Boston.

“I literally pounded the pavement,” she recalled, “meeting and talking with restaurateurs, distributors and essentially anyone who would listen to me.” A semi-annual publication, the first issue launched in May of 1999. “We have a very strong readership,” she said, “which ranges from foodies to chefs to industry people.”

W2E began with approximately 70 restaurants; it now lists nearly 200, has expanded to include towns up to an hour from Boston, and plans to include the Cape and the Islands in the May 2003 edition. The magazine has added caterers, and continually adapts its categories and references, such as tasting menus, chefs’ tables, etc., to changing trends.

She noted that her upbringing, which revolved around food and holiday gatherings, was a natural preamble to her career. “Being involved with, loving food and the company of dining with people dear to me began early in life,” she said.

W2E is available at all Bread & Circus locations, Border's Books, Barnes & Noble, major grocery stores, amazon.com and on wheretoeatboston.com. The books are also sold in bulk to corporations with customized covers for client gifts.

The night’s recipient organization, Ben-Gurion, was created to further the mission of developing the Negev. With an international reputation in science, technology and other fields of research, it is regarded as a center for Israel’s future.

Tickets for the evening will start at $250, with cocktails beginning at 5 p.m., and dinner at 6:15 p.m. Though the final menu is unconfirmed, entrees may include skillet roasted Cod with miso and cranberries, Duck Rilletes Terrine with Fall Fruit Chutney, or Rack of Lamb with Gratin of Celery Root with Maple Spiced Squash. A silent auction will transpire during the cocktail hour, and during the dinner, a live auction to raise funds for the University’s scholarship programs will be ongoing.

For tickets or more information, please call 617-232-2300. For information on Ben-Gurion University, please visit http://www.bgu.ac.il.