During my annual girls trip in NYC this weekend, I had the most inspirational lunch at #MyMostFavoriteFood where Doris Schechter shares her family’s amazing journey that spans four generations, three countries, and countless shared meal recipes!
This kosher restaurant, in the upper west side of the city, is a warm account of one family’s journey to America and how food kept them close long after their arrival. I have the pleasure of knowing the family personally. One of my best friends from the University of Miami, and my little sister in my sorority, is Doris’ granddaughter, and I couldn’t be more grateful to be able to share and experience time with this inspiring family. Plus- I got to meet Doris’ biggest role model and friend, Ruth Gruber.
Gruber’s life-defining moment came in 1944, when she was asked to take on another special mission: secretly escorting a group of 1,000 Jewish refugees from Italy to America. One of those Jewish refugees was Doris Schechter. After fleeing Vienna for a small town in Italy during the height of WWII, Doris lived in hiding with an Italian family for about two years before Ruth Gruber came to her rescue.
From left to right: Doris Schechter, Mayra Varona (my grandmother), Mayra Fernandez (my mom), Rebecca Fernandez, and Ruth Gruber (104 years old!)Each stop in her family’s pilgrimage influences the dishes Doris offers in her restaurant and her book, Oma’s Table.Unlike many in her generation, Doris Schechter was lucky enough to grow up knowing one of her grandparents. Polish by birth, Leah Goldstein-or Oma, as Doris called her-was a capable, nononsense woman and an amazing cook. Through times of great upheaval, fleeing Vienna for Italy, before eventually coming to America, Oma’s table was always plentiful, with delicious home-cooked meals that brought together Viennese, Italian, and American flavors. Now a successful restaurateur, Doris Schechter pays homage to her brave grandmother and the food traditions she fostered with this moving and appealing collection of recipes and remembrances.
