Food is one of the best ways to both connect with culture and memory. Certain meals become ingrained in your soul, the smells taking you back to time long ago, the flavors inviting you in. Holiday food especially holds such a meaningful place in our minds. We had four local chefs recreate a holiday meal that was personally meaningful to them, and share stories about family get-togethers, fond memories, and cultural traditions as they shared the table with our writers.

Chef Nelly Genisson: Gluten Free French Buche de Noel | Yule Log

BY: Deborah Cameron

Chef Nelly Genisson relocated to Boulder from Fontainebleau, France in 2020, settling into the area with her husband in the middle of the Covid pandemic. It was a chaotic time, but once she settled, she was more than eager to share her culinary expertise, creating French cooking that is keto-friendly, diabetic friendly, and even can be low carb, low sugar, and gluten free.

This past September, she opened a cooking school, Bonjour Keto, where her extravagant, consciously made food is available to the area’s health-conscious residents. She appreciates how choices in ingredients and food preparation can be part of a lifestyle and can help people lose weight, enhance athletic training, help manage diabetes, or prevent cancer. She believes it’s possible to indulge and enjoy life while making positive choices.

Overly heavy cooking doesn’t have a place at Bonjour Keto. Instead, Genisson has shown that French food can be both indulgent and, when simply prepared, in sync with dietary restrictions and inspire a love for France and French cooking. “Our cooking classes are unique and immersive. They go beyond just learning to cook and talk about French history and gastronomy while offering an immersive, sensory experience.”

Genisson said that one of her favorite items to make during the holidays is inspired by an old French tradition, the Yule Log Cake, or Bûche de Noël. It originated in France during the mid-19th century and is traditionally a jelly roll-style cake decorated to look like the yule logs that have been part of European Christmas celebrations for centuries.

“French people are picky about their pastries, but everyone is always surprised that something so decadent is sugar free. It’s one of my favorite compliments.”

“One of the Christmas traditions for dessert at Christmas is a Yule Log cake,” she said. “It’s something everyone has as the centerpiece of their holiday meal. The one that I make includes different tricks to make it gluten free, healthier.”

Genisson makes her rolled sponge cake, fills it with buttercream, then ices and decorates it to mimic the bark of the Yule log. It’s a chef’s challenge to work towards making the cake look as realistic as possible. She accepts the challenge gladly and healthily, using a fork to create the bark lines on the outside of the roll and adds a final touch — mini homemade dark chocolate bars and chopped toasted hazelnuts.

She said that while the sponge and buttercream can use a variety of flavors, one of the most popular is chocolate cake and a mocha frosting combination. She keeps her version gluten free by using hazelnut flour for the sponge cake and creates the homemade almond-hazelnut praliné buttercream that is sugar-free.

No surprise, Genisson is picky about how her cake looks. “First impression is so important. When you see something, you’re either going to want to eat it or not,” she said, adding that although it looks hard to make, the cake doesn’t have to add stress to the holiday. “If you want to prepare it ahead of time, prevent stress in the kitchen, it’s perfect. Just make it in advance, it will keep. It’s so simple to do but will add to the beauty of your holidays.”

And each holiday, Genisson’s family appreciates her work to make the cake.

Chef John Bauer honors Jewish Cuisine and the connection it serves

BY: Chris Curtis

Traditions. During the holiday season, traditions surge to the forefront of everyone’s mind. Families gather, bonds are strengthened, and food always lies at the heart of these gatherings. With a singular ability to transcend time and place, I offer that every person can name at least one dish that brings back memories of a loved one, a special time, and feelings of nostalgia.

I’m fortunate because my best friend from elementary school invites me to Jewish holidays with his family. I’ve enjoyed dishes associated with Passover, Yom Kippur, and Hanukkah. They’ve managed to work their way into my heart and soul and while I’ll never be able to fully understand the depth these dishes hold, I feel blessed to at least get a glimpse of the significance.

Chef John Bauer of Kenny Lou’s Deli in Lafayette displays his love for ethnic food and traditions with his menu. A Catholic chef who married into a Jewish family, he aims to keep traditions alive all year round. He laments that the traditional deli itself seems to be a dying breed, with many only being found in big cities, but even those are disappearing at an alarming rate.

Nevertheless, Chef John persists. As he takes me on a tour of the back of the house, everything he shows me is made on site. I’m enthralled by the buckets of soup, sausage that’s ground in house, and brisket that sits in a brine for fourteen days.

The inspiration for this soup lies with Eva Szepezi, who learned to cook from her mother-in-law because her parents were not around to teach her after the shoah.

After this overview of the behind the scenes operations, I settle in to taste some traditional Jewish dishes. When I ask Chef John for his stories behind the dishes, he presents me with a cookbook entitled Honey, Cake & Latkes: Recipes from the Old World by the Auschwitz-Birkenau Survivors. “These are where the stories are,” he tells me with a smile.

The cookbook serves as Chef John’s inspiration. He doesn’t use the recipes as written, but I get the sense that the book, coupled with his experiences with his wife and her Jewish family, serves as his muse. A side dish called kasha varnishkes arrives. It’s a pasta dish with kasha-buckwheat groats and mushrooms. The book recipe comes from Tova Friedman, survivor, and it was her late husband’s favorite food.

Next comes the potato latkes. I’m definitely familiar with these and find them to be just as I expected. The unexpected comes in the form of an apple chutney which definitely takes them to the next level for me. Kenny Lou’s makes up to 130 of these at a time and I can conclude they must go fast. The inspiration for these come from a recipe submitted in memory of Elie Wiesel.

I offer up a silent cheer when my favorite dish arrives. Dubbed as a soul-warming, matzo ball soup exists as something that I can never get enough of at my friend’s Passover gatherings. Chef John makes his own schmaltz and prefers “floaters, not sinkers” when it comes to the matzo balls. Each one is hand made from scratch and you can taste the love and care that goes into this traditional soup. The inspiration for this soup lies with Eva Szepezi, survivor, who learned to cook from her mother-in-law because her parents were not around to teach her after the shoah. I smile at a note labeled as “important” in the recipe: no onion, no garlic.

Steeped in tradition, Kenny Lou’s Chef John cooks in a way that doesn’t cut corners and offers no quarter to what might be considered an easier route. You can taste it in his dishes that honor and celebrate traditional Jewish holiday cuisine and I’m honored I got the chance to try a new dish and revisit some old favorites.

Chef Manal Farrar shares her passion and culture through handcrafted Mediterranean food

BY: Tony Firestine

When stepping into Manal Jarrar’s Arabesque in Boulder, you immediately feel the warmth and generosity wash over you. I just so happened to visit the day after the first snow of the season, kicking the slush off my shoes on the mat outside the door on the way in. We had scheduled an appointment to meet at 3 p.m., Arabesque’s closing time. Right away, I understand that it’s truly a one-woman show. Manal does both the cooking and the serving in the small but cozy space. She chooses to serve only lunch and breakfast and close the doors on Sundays (with the occasional private party at the dinner hour) in order to spend quality time for herself and with her family.

There are still lingering Monday lunch diners at a couple of the seven indoor tables that Manal continues to attend to — a table for two at the end of a business lunch, a solo diner gets her baklava to go. The photographer, Kenneth, and I start setting up to ask some questions and catch some images. Manal moves with an elegant swiftness, circling the tables while bringing checks and boxing up food. Her background as a ballet dancer and teacher is evident in the grace and quickness she displays on the dining room floor — hence the name Arabesque.

She takes the time to ask if we want something to drink, and I opt for a chai due to the frigid weather and not being bundled up properly. The warming chai — rich, frothy, and speckled with spices — immediately takes the chill off. Fall is just opening up to the beginning of winter, and leaves still adorn the trees caked in wet snow along Walnut Street, where Arabesque has served up Middle Eastern fare for the past 15 years. While Manal is preparing her holiday dish for us, I ask her about her long tenure and success as a restaurateur and chef at Arabesque. She compares it to being an athlete. “Running a restaurant is like a marathon. It’s not easy,” she says. “I want to have my own rhythm. Run slowly, without stopping. Just keep running and keep moving for a long distance — and 15 years has proved that.” She measures her success by making others happy. “My success is when I am in the basement downstairs, by myself, all alone, cooking for you and preparing. I want to make sure it’s correct,” she says. “And when you eat it and enjoy it, it’s rewarding. That’s it.”

“I love okra. I know it’s not so popular, but I love it. I put a lot of garlic and a little tomato sauce. Very simple.”

She prides herself on a cozy atmosphere; it truly feels like you are stepping into someone’s living space, with an open-air kitchen exuding exotic aromas, where everything is made from scratch. This isn’t fast food by any means. She underlines that fact and talks about how she occasionally must explain that to a guest seeking instant gratification. The genuine hospitality is underlined by the fact that Manal is definitely a hugger. She gives warm embraces to regular and first-time guests alike.

In addition to prepping and serving her normal menu for the day, Manal has put together something special for us: inspired by the holiday season, her own take on Bamia, a Middle Eastern tomato-based okra and beef stew served over rice. She covers the base of a 2-foot-long serving dish with a mix of rice and vermicelli and ladles the steaming medley of vegetables and braised beef over the top, a side of luscious hummus on the side. I mention that I’m only familiar with okra in Southern American fare, but she talks about how she grew up eating the vegetable in Palestine. “I think about one thing that I have an idea about and I build the whole thing around it,” she says. “I love okra. I know it’s not so popular, but I love it. I put a lot of garlic and a little tomato sauce. Very simple.” She garnishes the dish with pomegranate seeds and almonds. The pomegranate lends a delicate pop of bright acidity to an otherwise hearty and robust amalgam of flavors, and the almonds, of course, lend texture and crunch. “Almond, in my culture, is very luxurious,” she explains. “Here, it’s not. Everybody has it in their pocket for trail mix. To bring luxury to the platter, I added to it, to make it a holiday dish.”

Manal insists that we sit and enjoy and imbibe in some wine with her creation. What starts as a brief interview and photoshoot turns into an hour of the three of us getting to know each other over an early dinner made with love, discussing our families, our careers, the state of the world. Manal also explains how she didn’t shut down one day during the pandemic due to the help and generosity of her immediate community. I leave with a hug, full and happy, understanding Arabesque’s longevity and her neighbors’ need for reciprocation of the genuine goodness I experienced on just my first visit.

Chef Yuki Chen: Chinese New Year Celebration Meals

BY: Deborah Cameron

Chef Yuki Chen, owner of Colorado Wok, moved to the U.S. in 2004 from South Canton, China. She remembers the first moment she first departed the plane in Colorado. “In China, they always showed that everywhere in America was a big city. Busy. Then when I came here and saw the area by the airport, I thought it was like a farm. Grass and stuff. I was surprised that it was so open.”

She moved here because she was looking to elevate and improve her life and find more opportunity than she saw in the rural area she came from. She has since found it as both a chef and an entrepreneur, owning Lafayette’s Colorado Wok, successfully shepherding the business even through the stresses of the Covid-19 pandemic, and coming out successfully on the other side.

Even with all that she’s been able to accomplish in America, she still relishes connections to her Chinese heritage. Many of these happen during the holidays, which for her, culturally, doesn’t necessarily mean Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa. It means Chinese New Year, the next one beginning February 10, 2024.

“We never had Thanksgiving or Christmas in China. We always celebrated the Lunar New Year. We don’t follow everything. Everyone is different there. Some people follow Buddha, but our family doesn’t tie itself to anything. At the New Year, just like Christmas, all the family gets together.” Chen talks about the traditions she cherishes most about the holiday. These include gifts of lucky money in red envelopes to the younger and older members of the community, as well as honoring the importance of the color red and the number eight.

“It takes an hour or two,” she said. “We talk. We eat. We drink. We don’t hurry. We enjoy the food. Enjoy each other.”

Chen talked about giving money to her parents, and she talked about fireworks as part of the celebration.

Now that Chen is in the U.S., she recreates the holiday dinner as best as she can. Sometimes Chen said she just makes dinner at home and that Chinese New Year itself can often be like a normal working day for her family because the holiday isn’t as widely celebrated in America.

However, when she can, she’ll create a large dinner at the restaurant, inviting friends, family, and colleagues who would appreciate the celebration. When she’s cooking for the event, she said there was one element of the dinner that was non-negotiable for her and her family when she was in China. “You must have chicken,” she said. “Put a whole one in a pot to steam it, and when it comes out, then you cut it into pieces.”

Chen also mentioned another beloved part of the meal: the pork belly her father used to make in China. “It’s a very traditional part of the meal, but it was so much work. It’s not something we’d have on a normal day. It’s too much work for every day.”

Chen also makes stir-fried vegetables along with seafood like whole fish or squid. She’ll often use tilapia because it’s easy to find in America. Also, feasts can feature crab. Because her hometown is not close to the ocean, she said it is too expensive to get where she’s from in China. “We have a lot more things in America — it’s easier to source,” she explained.

Once the food is prepared and everyone sits down, she said the meal isn’t something that’s over quickly. Guests take their time and enjoy the experience, talking to each other and savoring every dish. As she describes the event, it sounds quite a bit like any of the holiday meals I’ve ever celebrated: messy kitchen, lots of talk, and reconnections.