Bungalow Cooking at Its Best

Illustration by Lea Kron

The Men

Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow and Raphael Katz

Cooking for 3 families

Monticello, NY

My brother-in-law Raphael Katz doesn’t live too far away from me, yet practically the only time we spend Shabbos together is during the summers at Pine Knoll in Monticello. Our wives decided that it would be a great idea if we collaborated on Man with a Pan. We both tentatively agreed but never really committed.

One day, my wife announced, “This Thursday I’m going into the city and you guys are making Shabbos!” So the challenge was on.

I inquired about the rules, and my daughters shared what they believed to be the most important one: “Thou shall not be a lame man with a pan.” My wife shared two more rules. One will be mentioned at the end of this article. The other was that I had to write an article detailing our experience.

That wasn’t a major issue, as I have published articles before. Raphael, however, who is more experienced in the kitchen, bemoaned that he was paired with me, “a man with a pen,” instead of someone with better culinary skills.