How is life in Israel, a woman butcher

Svetlana Haninaeva Photo: Facebook

Svetlana Haninaeva is a linguist and translator by education, but she is keen on cooking. She took part in the Russian TV show Master Chef and became a cook in one of the prestigious restaurants in Moscow. Then Svetlana moved to Israel, where she also works as a cook, but has mastered another profession - the butcher.

In an interview with the publication "Here and there magazine about a new life", Svetlana told how is her fate in Israel.

First steps in the Holy Land

2 has passed since the move, and my husband and I like it here. In fact, we once flew to Israel, saw the country, we liked it. Some time after returning to Russia, they got together, boarded a plane and flew to Israel for good. They did everything themselves. We have distant relatives here, but we thought it wrong to ask for help or live with them. We are independent people, we can do everything ourselves. All planned, prepared and moved.

The plan was this: to move not spontaneously, but so as not to lose in the quality of life, so that it would be only better. At the new place we got a job in the same profession as in Moscow, and did not lose at all in the standard of living, even acquired.

Profession: linguist, but sometimes a butcher

I am a linguist and translator by education, graduated from the Moscow Aviation Institute (MAI). At some point in my life, I liked to cook food - so much so that this hobby turned into work. I realized that it’s time to make a profession out of a favorite thing, especially since it is much better suited to move than a linguistic path. In particular, I will not be tied to the language and country in which I work. With linguistic skills in Israel it would be hard, and in any other country too. It is good to work as a translator in a state in whose language you speak.

I decided to change the profession. I took part in the TV show “Master Chef” in Russia, after that I went to work at a very good, well-known restaurant, reached Seshef, worked for 2 of the year, and after that we moved.

In Israel, I also went to work in a restaurant, one of the best in Israel. She won the first place at the cook's competition, and so met her current employer: he was one of the jury members. His business is divided into 2 parts: a butcher shop and a famous restaurant specializing in meat dishes. It was interesting to me, especially since I won the contest with the meat dish. I recognized the boss's phone number, called and offered my services. So I found the current job, which I have been doing for a year and a half.

Geographically, we are in Tel Aviv, in the famous Carmel market. The butcher shop is called Meat Market - perhaps the best in Tel Aviv, and certainly one of the best in the country. The restaurant bears the name "M25" - because it is located in 25 meters from the shop. We fry only what is produced in Meat Market: cut in the morning, cook in the evening.

At first I was grilling, because it was very important for me to learn this part of the profession, and then I actually moved to the butcher shop to learn how to chop. If I work with meat, it is important for me to know where it comes from.

How does it feel to carve meat?

As in any job, the most important thing is the desire to learn. The butcher is not an easy profession, there are always not enough specialists, just like cooks, because work is hard and physical, and you can do it only if you really like it. But if there is a desire, it will not be difficult to learn.

A motivated person in any profession is better than an unmotivated person who knows absolutely everything. Judge for yourself: what is the use of an employee who knows how to do something if he does not want to do this?

Butcher is your best friend

If you want to eat tasty meat, find a good butcher and make friends with him, then all the meat secrets will be revealed to you. The butcher always knows what is good today, what is worth taking, what is not, will tell you about something interesting in the shop window. It is easy to go and buy the most expensive steak, but where it is more interesting, for example, to learn that you can cut a piece of beef shoulder that will be at the level of minced meat or the cheapest cut, but will be tasty and tender, like the best fillet.

In my telegram channel "Song of Smoke and Ketchup", which I lead for 1500 subscribers, I often share similar tips and interesting recipes.

Butcher-woman - a rarity

As far as I know, I am the only female butcher in the market, and it is the largest in Tel Aviv and one of the most famous in the country. There is another woman in our profession - she is from Sudan, big, black. Very cool! Her name is Suzy, she has 8 children and she owns a butcher shop. But Susie and I are still exceptions. In Israel reigns "white male supremacy”(“ The superiority of the white man ”): if you are a man, then you live a little easier than a woman. It is no secret that this principle is secretly valid in almost all countries, including Russia. In Israel, families are usually large, and a woman has to devote some or all of the time to hearth: if you have three children, you need to find time and be with them, and the tradition of grandparents in the country does not exist. As a result, female cooks do not work as cooks or butchers, but, say, in the confectionery industry, they are physically simpler there.

Photo: Facebook Svetlana Haninaeva

Culinary traditions: kosher and kashrut

Our shop meets the requirements of kashrut partially, and this is a big plus for me: thanks to this, we can sell non-kosher parts of the animal. Kashrut, if simply explained, is a code of laws about what is possible and what is not. They are described in various sources, the reasons and the meaning of the requirements are not disclosed, and it is believed that you should not even try to find them, you just need to trust what is written in the Torah. Concerning meat, there are two key points that must be observed. The first is that the animal must be kosher, that is, an artiodactyl and chew the cud - no pigs, clams, or anything else. Fish, for example, should be with scales and fins, birds should also meet a number of requirements - the whole story. Secondly, the slaughter should cause minimal suffering to animals. The knife must be sharp like a razor, a miner (he is “shokhet” or “cutter”) - very religious and God-fearing, strictly abide by all the laws of faith, otherwise you will not be able to rely on it.

The slaughtering method adopted in Israel is quite humane, and it can be seen from the quality of meat. When an animal dies under stress, the quality of meat decreases dramatically. Our cows, in my opinion and taste, lived very well. As the owner of our butcher shop says, "These cows had only one bad day in their life: the one when they were slaughtered." One way or another, slaughtering is not my concern. I cannot be a shohet at all, because I am a woman. We bring ready-made meat inks. In the Carmel market, there is only one completely kosher butcher shop, the others, like us, adhere to the idea of ​​partial compliance.

Nonshearly - does not mean bad

Interestingly, not all parts of the carcass are considered kosher. For example, the back part does not comply with kashrut, because it contains the sciatic nerve, which is not allowed to be eaten according to kashrut requirements. This is a shame, because in the back there is all the best stuff: fillet, ramp steak, picanha and a host of other delicious cuts that are simply a shame to ignore. This approach disgusts me: I believe that if you have killed an animal, taken its life, then eat it whole. In our butcher shop we use absolutely everything. We use bones, from which we extract bone marrow for the restaurant (it is then spread on potatoes or steaks, it turns out very tasty). We heat the bones themselves in the smokehouse and give them to guests for their dogs - nothing goes into the trash or goes to waste. In my opinion, this is much more correct and humane.

Kosher eat not all

8 million people live in Israel. If you ask everyone what he is, there will be 8 of millions of opinions. There are Jews who eat strictly kosher, and they will not put meat on the plate, the certificate of kashrut which was issued by the wrong rabbinate. There are people - and most of them - who simply eat meat that has been killed kosher. There are those who don't care at all, and there are a lot of those too. This does not bother us at all, because, specifically in Tel Aviv, the possibility of selling for religious Jews is much less than for conditionally religious and non-religious ones. Everyone defines what is. As a rule, for most of our customers it’s enough to say that slaughter is kosher and that we do not sell pork.

Life in Israel: the state thinks about us

I like the attitude of Israel towards the citizens. This is one of the main reasons why I live here. In Russia, I lacked this concern for everyone. Here, if you come to the country, they will take care of you, they will not leave you. This does not mean that you will sit on the manual and rest. Work will have a lot. My husband and I are now both working, and very much - just like in Moscow. He has a demanded profession, in the field of IT - a person with such skills to find a place for himself in any country where he wishes.

Caring means that the state has already thought about many things. At the same time, it is worth making a reservation that Israel is a young country, it still has some childhood diseases of growth, and there are only millions of 8 people in 3 times less than the population of Moscow, this also imposes certain restrictions. For example, we have very expensive cars, high taxes - however, as in all immigrant countries: the situation is similar in Canada, Australia. Yes, we have a progressive tax, we have to give a lot of money, but we see what these funds are going for.

When you arrive in the country, you receive a benefit for half a year, and there is a special ministry that deals with issues and problems of new repatriates. If there are any questions, the ministry will help, will not give up, will allocate the curator. There are tax breaks for visitors for the first few years in the country when you need to get on your feet.

Terrorist catch up and shoot

I really like the Israelites. Yes, we are a very noisy nation, and in some places nasty. We are not loved, but if trouble really happens, then people will all gather together, and no one will ever leave anyone. For example, if an act of terrorism happens (God forbid), people do not scatter, and a mob immediately chases the terrorist. As a result, someone from this crowd will shoot him - as a rule, there is a man with a weapon: a security officer, a taxi driver or someone else. People are not hiding in the corners, but unite, I really like it. This is a big plus, despite all the disadvantages of our small country.

Favorite dish

If I say meat, it will not explain the situation. For this word lie thousands and thousands of dishes and options for their preparation. But I really love meat, and I really don't have a dish that I would love more than others. I can say that I like meat because it contains vitamins of group B, it is very useful for mental activity as well. Lack of vitamin B12 leads to dire consequences! But seriously, meat can be used to prepare a mass of dishes in thousands of different ways. It is a pity that you can not eat the same meat! Nevertheless, we have excellent vegetables in Israel, and meat is not cheap. It would be more logical to become a vegetarian, but this is certainly not about me.

Rest after the labors of the righteous

There are holidays in Israel, during which nobody works for a fortnight. Except us. People from the service sector always work, it is not a secret: both cooks, waiters, and butchers. There are some days when it is impossible to work, if you do not have a special license, and there is one day in the year, when no one can work at all and no one at all - this is Yom Kippur, the “day of atonement”. Accordingly, we have everyday life almost always.

I really like the local climate. Israel is a very small country, but it has many climatic zones. Here you can get to any end of the country in one day, and, as a rule, you can go to any point one day, maximum two days - which we usually do.

We live on the sea, and nearby there are a lot of interesting places. For example, there are wineries in the neighborhood, and if you drive off kilometers on 150, there are a great many of them there. A great leisure option is to come to the winery, try out and take home a full trunk of products. In Israel, very good grapes, and the culture of winemaking brought here Edmond de Rothschild in the early twentieth century. I really like the local wine, it is interesting and varied. I always bring Israeli wine and local olive oil as souvenirs to friends from all over the world.

In the north of the country is also interesting: there are picturesque mountains, and the temperature is much lower. If the usual summer weather is about + 30 degrees, then there is even snow in the north, and there is the only ski resort in the country where you can go skiing for two months a year.

Tips departing

When moving to any country, not only to Israel, it is important to think about what you will do in order not to be left with nothing. This is advice for all occasions: you must always think first and then do it. In addition, it is important not to be afraid, because it will certainly be different, not like in the country of origin.

Smaller listen old repatriates - people who arrived much earlier. We have a very popular video in Israel: old immigrants sit, spit on new ones, and twenty years later the picture changes, and those who were new are now old, although they also sit on the shore, spit on new ones and say that Israel is not a rubber . In a word, do not listen to old repatriates, because the story they had was completely different. They traveled differently, under different circumstances, to another country and from another country, so their experience is no longer relevant. The main thing is to use common sense and reason, then the end result will be much more positive!

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