On October 8, the day after the Iron Sword War broke out, I was supposed to open an advanced patisserie course at the "Cooking" culinary school in Tel Aviv. Sadly, the day before, I was struck by the horror of the events of Saturday, October 7. As such, I plunged into long hours of grief and pain, and school matters were erased from my consciousness as if they had never existed.
This is how the school joined // Photo: Maya Drin
But then, I received a message from Ofer Levy, the owner and CEO of Cooking. "Maya, open the school and do whatever you see fit," he wrote. Following the announcement, I immediately contacted my dear friend, the owner of the "Brothers" restaurant - Chef Assaf Doctor, and received information from him about the activity system he established together with his brother Yotam – from where they managed to produce tens of thousands of dishes every day for soldiers, wounded and civilians evacuated from their homes.
Maya Darin, Photo: Marin Cohen
"We'll cook and bake from what's in the pantry and then we'll see," I invited the chefs at the school to get organized, and already on Monday morning, October 9, some of them showed up with their young children and with an understanding of what was going on out there. We brought out flours, grains, vegetables, cans and managed to produce a small but decent amount of food dishes, buffalo cakes and cookies. We transported the boxes to the "Brothers" restaurant, which then became our mother room.
At the end of the day, I looked at the empty pantry. I realized I had to see if the school vendors would agree to donate merchandise so we could go on a little longer. Everyone, without exception, answered in the affirmative, and that afternoon boxes of raw materials and packaging accessories poured into the school. We can go on, I breathed a sigh of relief.
Staff and students cooked, photo: Marin Cohen
The next day, students, alumni and friends, who saw documentation of what was happening on social media, asked to join, and on the fourth day of the war, on October 10, the school corridors were filled with volunteers who were divided between the various channels of activity – baking and cooking. A packing and transportation system had not yet existed, so we were still a small kitchen, another partner of the "Brothers" restaurant.
Slowly, Omer Gershon, a producer and creative director in the lifestyle field, who became our fundraising manager, joined the lineup, and Ayelet Gorman, who deals with international business development for companies from Israel and around the world, who made sure to expand the fundraising and build an international infrastructure – one that will allow donors from abroad to take part and allow us to continue operating.
We started packing everything that came out of our hands with a sticker with a message from us: "Be strong, together we will win. A cooking family embraces you, take care of yourself." Two hours later, pictures of soldiers we know poured in, recognizing the logo through these stickers. Schoolchildren who were called up to the reserves, graduates who received Order 8, friends who went out to liberate kibbutzim on that cursed Shabbat. Then, for the first time, I received a message on WhatsApp: "My name is Yoni, I am a sergeant major in a reserve company that ended operations in the Gaza envelope today, I heard that you cook for the soldiers...", that's how we became a war room.
Seasoning,
Requests began to pour in. Along with them, donations continued to come in every day. A huge amount of raw materials continued to arrive through large brands such as: Gad Dairies, Sugat, Pasta Rico, Lesser, Ristretto, Argal, the Big Mills, Israel Mills, Roll Market, and much more - restaurants and cafes also donated us leftover goods.
For two weeks now, the "Cooking" school room has been producing hundreds of products a day. We roast colorful vegetables, cut a fresh salad, cook juicy meatballs in tomato sauce, prepare rich legume dishes, bake fresh breads, indulgent cakes, addictive cookies and even challah on Thursdays before Shabbat. Over the past week, we have expanded our activities and directed resources to families evacuated from their homes in the Gaza envelope and in the north, Holocaust survivors who remain unanswered, Nuba survivors seeking rehabilitation, and security forces.
Cheese sticks,
Every morning I look at the corridors that have become a packaging factory at the school, which in normal times climbs the future generation of Israeli cuisine, I look at the classrooms that are now a logistics kitchen, at the whiteboard on which I write down allocations, contacts, transporters and landmarks – and tell myself that although the school is closed, it is open. We teach the staff, students, alumni and circles of friends who have become part of the "cooking" family – a significant lesson in the essence of life in the State of Israel. A lesson that has a purpose that lays solid foundations in an educational institution, ones that give value to its existence, certainly in times like these.
A balm for the heart and soul,
The activity at the school is a balm for the heart and soul of those involved in the craft, all of whom are fully voluntary and with good will and full of soul. It is also a great support for the combat network and the Israeli home front. We will continue to act as long as necessary and have the resources.
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