“Kim absolutely loved alfajores cookies, and she would bake them all the time. She even created her own unique recipe, and her friends began baking her cookies, too.
“It was really important for me that this recipe bring joy to lots of other people as well, and so obviously I was super excited when it was uploaded on the Taste of Memories website,” says Miri, mother of Kim Dockerker, 22, a platoon commander in the patrol unit of Israel’s Central Border Police Force. Kim was killed at the Supernova music festival on October 7. “I wanted a sweet memory of Kim to help others through these difficult times.”
Days after Operation Swords of Iron began, families started reaching out to Taste of Memories (matkonzikaron.co.il). “We quickly realized that despite the fact that the horrors and wounds are still so fresh, families were clamoring to share their loved ones’ favorite recipes with us,” says Eden Ben Oz Kohali, 32, founder of Taste of Memories. “We’ve received more than 30 recipes from families of individuals who were killed at the Supernova music festival in Re’im or in their homes in the Gaza border communities, as well as IDF soldiers who fell in the ensuing fighting.
“After completing my IDF military service, which included serving during Operation Protective Edge, I began working in 2015 as a Jewish Agency emissary in Minnesota as a way to help the local Jews experience a more profound connection to the State of Israel on Remembrance Day. Food helps people connect with each other, so I began organizing cooking sessions in honor of fallen IDF soldiers. When I returned to Israel, I expanded our activities with an amazing team of volunteers,” she explains.
“There’s something very moving about sharing recipes in order to memorialize our loved ones. Some families stop preparing the specific dishes their loved ones loved, since it’s just too painful for them,” observes Ben Oz Kohali, herself a mother living in Herzliya.
“Taste of Memories includes not just recipes but also stories about the people behind them. When someone looks at our website, clicks on the picture of someone who gave their life protecting our country, reads their story, and then prepares that person’s favorite food, it’s as if these loved ones are still here with us, having an impact on other people’s lives.”
The Taste of Memories website has been updated to include recipes uploaded by families of Israelis who were murdered during the Hamas massacre or in the aftermath.
THE FAMILY of IDF staff sgt. Raz Peretz, 24, Golani Platoon 51, who was killed battling terrorists on October 7 near Kibbutz Kisufim, posted Raz’s favorite spaghetti recipe.
“When Raz would come home every other weekend, I would prepare him schnitzel, but I would only gather the ingredients for the pasta, since he loved to cook it himself,” says Nava, Raz’s mother. “Raz was the only one who was really good at preparing this pasta dish,” recalls his father, Roni.
“Families find great solace in sharing memories of their loved ones,” notes Ben Oz Kohali. “People have strong memories of sharing certain foods with their family members, and they feel tremendous strength when they can share these recipes with others. This way, people can feel connected with their loved ones every time they prepare and eat a certain dish. Unsurprisingly, there are many recipes for cakes on the website, especially chocolate cake.”
According to Ben Oz Kohali, Taste of Memories collaborates with Jewish schools and youth groups all over the world, as well as with food bloggers and well-known chefs. “We strive to publicize our endeavor on every platform possible, and as a result, many families reach out to us and begin the process of joining the Taste of Memories family. We work with them to memorialize their loved one’s life in words.
“We have a long list of kindergarten and school teachers who’ve formulated programs for their students based on our initiative. I’ve been in contact with some of these teachers who have been evacuated with their communities from the North and the South, and they’ve expressed to me how they can’t wait until they get settled so that they can get started on memorializing members of their communities who have recently lost their lives.
“Many of these teachers have shared with me that this is such a helpful tool they use for engaging with young kids about the atrocities we have all recently undergone,” she says.
The initiative involves meeting with the families they work with. “I love connecting with them and getting to know their loved one through the stories they tell,” relates Ben Oz Kohali. “Recently, I was walking through Re’im and among the posters of those who died there on October 7, I saw a few familiar faces... I’ve already spoken with their parents about participating in our initiative. Each one of their stories moves me deeply.
“On our Facebook and Instagram pages,” she continues, “there’s a place where people can upload pictures of them preparing recipes that appear on our site. I know a few people who want to bring a cake with them to work on their birthday. Instead of just looking for a random recipe online, they’ll look on our site and bake a cake, following a recipe in memory of someone who died defending Israel.
“When they get to work, they get to share this experience with all their co-workers. Everyone comes out feeling strengthened. And when they then upload a picture of themselves sharing this cake at work, the family whose loved one lost his or her life feels surrounded by even more love and caring,” says Ben Oz Kohali.
“We don’t need to wait around for Remembrance Day – we are busy commemorating lives every day of the year.” ❖
Visit Taste of Memories: matkonzikaron.co.il
ALFAJORES
Recipe by Kim Dockerker, of blessed memory
Dough:
- 200 gr. butter, softened
- 100 gr. powdered sugar
- 4 large egg yolks
- 1 1/3 cup cornflour
- 1 1/3 cup white flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. lemon zest
Filling:
- 1 cup caramel spread
Topping:
- 1 cup ground coconut
To prepare the dough: Add the softened butter and powdered sugar to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a flat beater attachment. Mix until light and airy.
Add the egg yolks one at a time, and mix well.
Sift the rest of the ingredients into a separate bowl, and mix. Then add the dry mixture to the egg mixture, and mix only until smooth.
Form the dough into a ball. Place it in the fridge to cool for 1 or 2 hours so that it will be easier to work with.
Preheat oven to 160°.
Set the dough down on a sheet of baking paper, and roll it out until it’s ½ cm. thick. Cut out circles.
Place the circles on a baking sheet lined with baking paper and bake for 10 minutes or until the cookies begin to brown along the perimeter but are still light colored in the center. Let the cookies cool completely.
Spread a layer of caramel on half of the batch of cookies. Use the rest of the cookies to cover the caramel and form a sandwich. Press down gently so that the caramel reaches the edges of the cookies. If you adore caramel as much as Kim did, you can add a bit more caramel along the edges.
Roll the edges of the cookies in the ground coconut so that it sticks to the caramel.
SPAGHETTI
Recipe by Raz Peretz, of blessed memory
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 tsp. crushed garlic
- 1 package of pasta
- 6 Tbsp. tomato paste
- Boiling water
- 1 Tbsp. chicken soup powder
- 1 Tbsp. paprika
- Black pepper
Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package.
To prepare the sauce: Fry the onion and garlic, then add the tomato paste.
Add ½ cup of boiling water, the chicken soup powder, paprika, and a pinch of black pepper.
Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and stir.
Translated by Hannah Hochner.