Chef Jeremy Umansky Is Modernizing the Jewish Deli | Eater

"I view Larder Delicatessen in Cleveland as my attempt to steward Jewish food culture in North America. As chef and co-owner Jeremy Umansky, I've made a name for myself as an expert on culinary preservation — I'm particularly known for dusting koji-infused rice flour on everything from pork chops to venison and leaving them to ferment, creating wild new flavors and textures. We approach charcuterie with a global mindset, turning almost any animal into cured meat and adapting techniques from many traditions. At the delicatessen we build pastrami with a spice set that includes coriander and black pepper plus wild mushroom powder, dark cocoa, and coffee to reinforce earthiness and smoke; for bologna-style meats we use pastured two-week-aged turkey instead of low-quality industrial beef; and our gefilte fish is made by griddling the raw mix in a cast-iron skillet like a burger patty — people tell us it's definitely not their grandma's and they'd eat it all the time. I try to balance tradition with modern sensibilities, using contemporary equipment and methods so these foods remain delicious and appealing today." - Claudia Geib