761: Beejhy Barhany Cooked for Everyone. Not Everyone Let Her.

About this episode

Chef Beejhy Barhany shares her journey from Ethiopia to opening Tsion Cafe in Harlem and discusses her new cookbook, Gursha.

Chef Beejhy Barhany has a remarkable story to tell. Born in Ethiopia's Tigray region, she fled with her family at age four, crossing Sudan on foot and eventually landing in Israel, then in Harlem, where she opened Tsion Cafe in the former home of Jimmy’s Chicken Shack. Now she’s written Gursha, the first Ethiopian Jewish cookbook from a major American publisher. We talk about Beta Israel cuisine, the unfortunate closing and hopeful reimagining of Tsion Cafe, and building a community through food while fighting to stop anti-Semitism. And it’s the return of Three Things. Aliza and Matt discuss what’s interesting in the food world, including Grape Juice by Eliza Dumais, fun visits to Lafayette Tavern and Dinamo in Richmond, Virginia. Also: A new weekend staple is Sal & Cookie’s Ultra Fine Diner in Brooklyn, a favorite Caesar dressing, and we love avocados and Primavera Avocados will send you the best ones we’ve ever tasted. Subscribe to This Is TASTE: ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Hosts: Aliza, Matt

Guest: Beejhy Barhany

Topics covered

• Ethiopian cuisine
• Beta Israel cuisine
• community building
• anti-Semitism
• cookbooks

Keywords

• Grape Juice
• Eliza Dumais
• Lafayette Tavern
• Dinamo
• Sal & Cookie’s Ultra Fine Diner
• Caesar dressing
• Primavera Avocados

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Grape Juice, Primavera Avocados, Gursha, Caesar dressing

Books & works: Gursha, This Is TASTE

Places: Ethiopia, Tigray, Sudan, Israel, Harlem, Richmond, Virginia, Brooklyn

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