Food For Thought

No matter whether you spent the holidays devouring lots of latkes, half a Christmas ham, or Sandra Lee’s infamous Kwanzaa cake, chances are you’re re-examining your relationship with food in the new year. Were you just happily celebrating the season with family or secretly drowning your sorrows in a lake of gravy and mashed potatoes? Is there an empty spot in your soul that no number of grandma’s dough balls can fill?
After you’ve resolved to diet (and maybe also to see a therapist) in 2014, take the first step to seeing food differently: not as a mere distraction from your raging seasonal depression, but as a vital part of human culture. The Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU’s “Growers, Grocers & Gefilte Fish: A Gastronomic Look at Florida Jews & Food” presents more than 200 years of Jewish history in the Sunshine State, particularly that of the people who have created the ingredients, brands, and recipes that have become emblematic of the region. From the owners of some of Florida’s largest citrus groves to current food trendsetters such as Michelle Bernstein and Lee Schrager, Jews have been running this town’s culinary scene for centuries.
The exhibit has been on view since this past October, but there’s no time like the new year to change your perspective on feeding yourself. Just try to ignore the section about Burger King founder Ben Stein. Your Whopper days are behind you now, remember?

Nov. 3-Oct. 5, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., 2013