Berlin Attracts 2,500 to ‘Koscher-Fest’ and ‘Mega Challah Bake’

The InterContinental Berlin featured almost as many different food items on Sunday as it did people—an estimated 2,500 in all—as part of a major exhibition of kosher food called “Koscher-Fest.”

Before the start of the enormous food event, hundreds of women and girls gathered for a “Mega Challah Bake,” the first time such an event has been held in Berlin.

Aprons, recipe brochures, bowls, flour, sugar, eggs, oil, sesame seeds and everything else needed for the finished product were set out to conduct one of three major commandments directed towards Jewish women—“to separate and consecrate a small portion of the dough to be burnt.”

“Come on, ladies: The dough is like life, show it some power!” prompted moderator Sheina Tiechtel, principal of the Bais Rivkah School in the Crown heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, N.Y., who traveled to Germany specifically for the event.

As soon as the challahs were sent off to get baked, Koscher-Fest was officially underway.

Rabbi Yehuda Teichtal, rabbi of the Jewish community of Berlin and chairman of Chabad Jewish Educational Center Berlin, greeted the crowd: “Especially now, when some Jewish people in Germany have concerns about staying Jewish openly, it is extremely important that we are here today. It shows that we are here, we are proud, and that we want to share our culture and traditions,” he said.

Koscher-Fest encompassed a fair offering producers and sellers of kosher products and services, and an opportunity for attendees to learn at workshops and seminars. The chef at InterConti Berlin also prepared a sampling of fine kosher fare as part of a live-cooking show.

Among others, the event was visited by vice president of the German Bundestag Petra Pau; various members of the parliament, including Klaus-Dieter Gröhler; State Secretary of the Berlin Senate Sabine Toepfer-Kataw; and numerous guests from abroad.

The event came at a sensitive time in Western Europe, as Jews have become the target of extreme violence, most recently in France and Denmark.

“I am very happy and proud to be here today,” said Pau. “This event shows that Jewish people are an integral part of the German society. It is a sign of tolerance and respectful co-existence of various cultures.”

Eying the fresh fare, as chefs cook up all kinds of specialties.

Women sit in front of stations with the items necessary to make challah at the first event of its kind in German's capital city, which served as a precursor to the food festival.