Misha Aster, son to my dear Canadian friend Jeannette (Zaza for intimi) of > 40 years and her husband Howard, met his future wife Kinneret Sieradzki, a lovely Israeli violonist, in Berlin, some 4 years ago. Marjon and I witnessed the very beginning of their relationship during a brief visit to Berlin. Cute and a bit giggly they were together, but also serious, caring, loving and committed.
Their relationship grew, withstood a brief separation when Misha had to move to Frankfurt when his new job required that of him, but sooner rather than later he changed jobs again and was back in Berlin, where their bond grew closer and stronger with time.
And so they decided to tie the knot, and step under the chuppah (canopy, in Judaism symbol of the home that a new couple will build together).
The location for the wedding was, according to Misha and Kinneret, a no-brainer: they wanted to get married and have their Jewish wedding in the very heart of Burgundy , where Zaza & Howard have been running the Centre International de Rencontres Culturels La Roche d’Hys for over 12 years now.
And so the organization got underway, and not the smallest it turned out to be: the festivities were to last 5 days, starting on Tuesday, June 3, with goodbyes to be said Sunday June 10. Daunting, to say the least: appr. 80 people from all over the world were invited (and most of them actually came!), accomodations were found within a few kilometers from La Roche d'Hys, breakfasts, lunches and dinners prepared and cooked, excursions and entertainment planned for the foreign guests.
Marjon and I were not only invited for the full wedding event, but also were asked if we could and would cook a typical Dutch meal for the occasion. For close to 80 people, please… The reason for this, at first glance rather unusual request is the strong ties the Aster family has had with Holland for many years. Zaza and I met in Amsterdam in the early 70s, when we were both involved with the Dutch Opera Company, she as a budding director, I as a wardrobe assistant. We’ve been friends ever since and shared the big and small happenings in our lives and those of our spouses and children, both at close range and from afar. Countless times the Asters came to visit, individually, or in couples, and so their bond with Amsterdam got stronger and stronger. It was Misha’s idea to honour this connection with a Dutch meal for his family and friends.
After much deliberation, we decided on bitterballen (round croquettes filled with a savoury ragout), a Dutch Jewish herring salad, hachée, which is a Dutch traditional winter dish of beef, stewed with onions, vinegar, bay leaf and cloves, to be served with boiled potatoes and green veggies, to keep the meal a tinge French, as wel, we would present a choice of Dutch cheeses, and for dessert we chose poffertjes (small yeast batter pancakes) with butter and icing sugar.
The Dutch dinner proved a huge success, and many requests came for the recipes of our dishes. With this blog I not only fondly reminisce the wonderful celebrations we were a part of, but also fulfill my promise to post the recipes online.
Enjoy, and please don’t hesitate to mail me if you have any questions at all!
Raya