Justin, a new immigrant, taught until he decided to convert to the world of food with a rare product in Israeli cuisine: Meat Pie • And the result?
Heaven • Lifts for the self-employed
A pie that you really must not miss
Photo:
Yael Ilan
About a decade ago, Justin Winderbaum and his wife Sandra immigrated to Israel and settled in Raanana.
His acclimatization in the country began with an English instruction that helped support the family, and the routine of life was maintained until the Corona crisis.
The gathering at the houses flooded Winderbaum's longing for childhood tastes in Australia, and last year he bravely made the long-awaited conversion to the restaurant business - and set up a delightful business making pies, a traditional Australian dish, bearing his name - Justin's Pies.
"I was born into a Jewish-religious family in South Africa, and due to the difficulty of living a Jewish life, we moved to Australia when I was six," Windbaum recalls.
"I came to Israel at the age of 20 to study in a yeshiva, and here I met my wife, Sandra - originally from Canada. We flew to get married in Canada after graduation and since then we have lived alternately in Australia and Canada, and three children were born there. Parents of five. "
"When it was important for me to start working and make a living, and while I was dealing with food abroad, it was very difficult, so I went for what I do best in relation to Israelis - English.
I studied teaching and started teaching English and sports in schools.
But deep down, I missed the world of food, especially as the son of a father who ran a catering business all his life. "
"In the last year, following the Corona crisis, I realized that you never know what will happen in life and you must not waste time and postpone dreams, so I decided to go back to my roots and start a food business. Out of longing for childhood, I went for my favorite food and started the new business."
The selection of fillings in the pie is really huge, relatively of course, and you can order them in a personal or family size when all you have left for the hungry diners to do is preheat the oven and put the pie in for only half an hour. Among the fillings are minced meat, steak in sauce, turkey with ground curry, chicken and mushrooms, pepper steak, chicken curry, asado and vegetarian pie from vegetables.
According to Winderbaum, choosing pie and returning to the home menu is "a way to bridge the distance from family and home here in Israel, and also to continue my father's path. In general, in the spirit of Jewish life (traditional-religious family), food is a lot of joy, holidays, Shabbat atmosphere "Family, and making people happy is a mitzvah in general - and it's something I do through food. Specifically, pie is something I have not yet tasted in a very successful version in the country, and it also requires tinkering so many people avoid making at home - so I realized it's a good niche to enter.
Viderbaum discovers that the most coveted dish in the business is "Steak Pie" ("It's a paradise for meat lovers, and the seasoning is secret so don't ask what I put inside"), and shares the enthusiastic responses from customers in Israel.
"People just go crazy, especially Australians who say it brings them back to childhood taste. A vegetarian Australian who has not eaten meat for 15 years called and said that after inviting her family she did not resist the temptation and went back to eating meat."
"Furthermore, our customers feel we give personal attention. They say it feels like someone cooked it for them, taste homemade and there is no more reason to cook meat at home. Some host and invite us - and not even tell it was a store-bought.
Everyday of Oindrbaom, also During the corona, it seems quite routine ("going to the synagogue in the morning for morning prayer, continuing to take the children to the frames, and then freeing up to receive the invitations"), alongside the difficulties of running the business in a tough and uncertain period like this.
"There are also opportunities," he says.
"Our business is built on deliveries, so it is just right for the current period. In addition, people are more at home, and there is not always time to cook when working at home with the kids. Our pie comes frozen and after heating feels like baked right now. To warm up as soon as necessary, on the day you get stuck, when you just feel like indulging and not standing in the kitchen, or when friends of the children come for lunch. "
Meanwhile, Winderbaum continues with the daily routine that keeps the business afloat: "Every day I go to the cooking kitchen to keep track of what's going on. By noon I'm in the kitchen, checking every pie and pie before going on errands and in the afternoon taking care of all business logistics: invoices, orders, marketing and more. ".
He also has good faith in business continuity: "Thank God we are happy with what we have, and understand that financial success will be gradual", but with success come more dreams: "We start from the pie but believe that thanks to the positive responses we will expand to more catering services" .
For us, with such a delicious pie, we would love to eat anything that came out of those hands.
Justin's Pies
For reservations - 052-4119176
https://www.facebook.com/justinskosherpies
(Kosher - under the supervision of Rabbi Mahfud)