Rachel Loew Lipman and Elana Karp’s Holocaust family histories are defined by tragedy, perseverance, and hope. On November 11th at Savant on Second in St. Petersburg (634 2nd Ave S, St. Petersburg, FL 33701), those stories will come to life around the dinner table. Starting at 7:00 PM, The Florida Holocaust Museum’s inaugural “Rescuing Recipes Project: Bringing Holocaust Family Recipes and Memories to The Table” dinner is a unique, fine-dining experience celebrating food, wine, family, and memory.
Elana, an award-winning chef, entrepreneur, cookbook author, and founder of Plated is the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors. Her grandmother lived in Poland, but fled East as the Holocaust began. She and other refugees settled in the fertile farmland of Uzbekistan, where they lived for the rest of WWII before immigrating to the United States. Her grandfather was a farmer in the same Polish region, escaped from a ghetto, hid in the forest, and fought with the Polish Resistance before ultimately immigrating to America.
Rachel is the youngest winemaker in Maryland. Her family have been vintners and mead makers since the mid-1800s when they lived in the same region as Elana’s family. During the Holocaust, the Nazis murdered her entire family except for Rachel’s grandfather, Wolfgang Löw, who survived two concentration camps before immigrating to America. There he started a new life and in 1982 established Loew Vineyards in Frederick County, Maryland. Rachel carries on her family’s legacy as Head Winemaker and General Manager of Loew Vineyards.
Though they took very different roads to reach their respective destinations, both women found they could explore their families’ harrowing journeys through food and drink. In a pre-meal discussion moderated by FHM Chair (and fellow grandchild of Survivors) Mike Igel, Elana, and Rachel will discuss that process, along with why carrying family recipes forward is so meaningful.
Event attendees will not only hear but taste history. Curated exclusively for this event by Elana using her family’s recipes, the multi-course menu will reach back through the decades, with each dish paired with Loew Vineyards wine or mead. The dessert will also feature baked goods prepared from the recipes of FHM founder and Holocaust Survivor Walter Loebenberg, who was an apprentice baker prior to the Holocaust.
Please join us in exploring the intersection of heritage and gastronomy at this exclusive event.
Organized by Florida Holocaust Museum
