Opening a business – with spirit – during the coronavirus pandemic

Rouach Gross says the last twist came with the coronavirus, which sent her, along with so many other Israelis, to halat (forced vacation).

By PEGGY CIDOR
Zahava Rouach Gross (photo credit: Courtesy)
Zahava Rouach Gross
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Zahava Rouach Gross was born in Eilat, and at age 16 decided to move to Paris, where she attended a prestigious high school. After another 16 years of life in France she came back to Israel, established herself in Jerusalem, got married and had two children.
Since then, she has worked as an office manager in several firms. Yet throughout all these years she has always made time for what she liked most: Cooking for family and friends in her kitchen.
“About six or seven years ago I began to think about my cooking as something that could become my major occupation, something that could become a source of income but also a source of joy,” she recalls. “Obviously, I enjoyed spending time in my kitchen more than in an office.”
However, for various reasons, cooking always remained a sideline.
“I cooked for people here and there, but until now, I never dared to turn it into a primary occupation. I guess I still wasn’t ready for that.”
Rouach Gross says the last twist came with the coronavirus, which sent her, along with so many other Israelis, to halat (forced vacation). She points to this as her sign that the time had come to move on from office work.
She made the change slowly by first working in a catering business owned by a relative, something she still continues to do. But a few weeks ago, she published a first flyer for her own business: Salatim im Ruach, “Salads with Spirit.”
“I thought it would be nice to play with the words, since my last name means spirit, or wind, in Hebrew. So I make homemade salads with a glimpse of spirit, of my soul into it.”
Asked how she can embark on a new venture when so many long-established businesses are shutting down and others are hardly making it, Rouach Gross says that was why she decided, for the moment, to keep working in her relative’s catering business.
“But life continues, people still eat, still celebrate, albeit in different conditions. People still celebrate bar mitzvahs, weddings. They still want to have good cuisine to enjoy. If it’s not possible anymore in a synagogue, then at home, but good food is still a must, perhaps even more now than ever.”
Rouach says she attended a coaching course about a year ago. It was unrelated to cooking, but focused on finding strength and courage in oneself.
“It was from there that I began to move in that direction, daring to do what I love and what I am good at.”
Salatim im Ruach has the Tzohar kashrut certificate. Her food is all vegetarian, and most of the salads are inspired by Algerian cuisine, in line with her family origins.
“I keep the traditional cuisine of the Jewish community of Algeria where my parents were born, and I give it a large place in my menus, so I juxtapose old and new together.”


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