Israeli consulate in NY celebrates Int'l Women's Day

Consulate organizes breakfast for women leaders at Israeli chef Einat Admony's critically-acclaimed "Balaboosta" restaurant in NYC.

By JORDANA HORN
new york skyline (photo credit: Gary Hershorn / Reuters)
new york skyline
(photo credit: Gary Hershorn / Reuters)
NEW YORK - In a room full of estrogen and hummus, thirty women -- journalists and layperson foodies alike -- gathered Tuesday to celebrate the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day with an Israeli breakfast hosted by prominent Israeli chef Einat Admony at her critically-acclaimed downtown restaurant, Balaboosta.
The breakfast, organized by the Consulate General of Israel in New York, was a veritable feast of pomegranate mimosas, hummus, bourekas and shakshuka, accompanied by the music of clarinetist Anat Cohen. The restaurant is known for its Mediterranean-based cuisine with strong Israeli influence, inflected with touches of Iraqi, Yemenite and Iranian cuisine.
Those in attendance appreciated the inherent irony of celebrating women and a prominent female chef at Admony s restaurant, named "Balaboosta" in a wink and nudge at the conventional idea of "just a housewife." Rather than just playing a supporting and supportive role in the life of the world, organizers said, women are now running the show.
Admony, in a casual tableside interview with Saveur Magazine senior editor Gabriella Gershenson, talked about her struggles to reconcile being a high-power chef with being a parent, and the various challenges being a woman poses in her career.
The idea of naming her restaurant Balaboosta, Admony said, was intended to celebrate the idea of being "a strong, tough Jewish woman." And, as everyone sipped their mimosas and partook of their Israeli salads and baklava, it seemed like there was nothing else the attendees would rather be.
"The Consulate General of Israel in New York is happy that we had the opportunity to honor these great women by organizing a women s breakfast which celebrated their contributions. This year s breakfast celebrated women s contributions in the field of culinary cuisine. We hope to make this an annual event," said Consul General Ido Aharoni.