Dare to Be Different

The Man

Elan Sanker, age 43

8 kids, k”h

Philadelphia, PA

Wealth Management Operation Team Manager at Bank of America

While I’m not a stranger to the kitchen, it’s definitely been a long time since I’ve cooked a meal, let alone cooked for Shabbat. My oldest daughter, an avid Mishpacha reader, has been telling me to sign up for this challenge for a while. I always thought it was a good idea but didn’t know when I would find the time. However, this summer I was fortunate enough to go on paternity leave, and I found myself with more than enough time to cook for Shabbat. (Although our baby isn’t that little, I decided to postpone my paternity leave to the Yamim Tovim season.)

I reached out to Mishpacha and received a few ground rules that were more than reasonable. Then I decided to add a few rules of my own, because I’m a pretty competitive person. The first was that my menu had to consist of fusion cuisine. I’m Indian, my wife is Ashkenazi, and I currently daven at a Moroccan shul. I wanted to create a Shabbat that drew on our shared minhagim. The second rule was that there had to be a nice amount of vegan food. One of my daughters is a strict vegan, so dishes like challah and dessert couldn’t have eggs.

Finally, everything had to be made from scratch, from the challah to the pie crust to the salads. It was going to be a challenge, but I was ready.