Israeli-American celebrity chef Alon Shaya will be a featured guest at Congregation Ner Tamid’s Nosh Shabbat on Friday, June 7, at 7:00 p.m.

         As part of CNT’s 50^th Anniversary year-long celebration, the two-time James Beard award-winning Chef Shaya will be invited to the largest Jewish Temple in Nevada to talk with Rabbi Sanford Akselrad and Cantor Jessica Hutchings about his culinary history, his cookbook, and his new chef residency at Wynn Las Vegas where his restaurant, Safta 1964, is serving his world-renowned hummus and Mediterranean-inspired cuisine.

         Chef Shaya will also talk about his “Rescued Recipes” initiative in partnership with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Chef Shaya has revived Jewish recipes that were scribbled on bits of paper, retrieved from Jewish ghettos and concentration camps during the Holocaust. See a CBS Sunday Morning News segment here.

         During Services, Rabbi, Cantor, and Chef Shaya will tape a live episode of Rabbi Akselrad’s award-winning “Compelling Conversations” online video show.

         After Services, at 8:15 p.m., all attendees will be treated to an exclusive oneg tasting where they will sample Chef Shaya’s Lutenitsa (Bulgarian pepper spread with tomato and eggplant), classic Tahini hummus, and freshly baked pita.

         Chef Shaya will also sign copies of his cookbook Shaya: An Odyssey of Food, My Journey Back to Israel.

         Signed books will only be available by pre-order when registering for the free event BELOW.

         Read all about it on the front page of the Las Vegas Israelite!

         Born in Israel, raised in Philadelphia, and a proud New Orleanian, Chef Shaya is a Chef-Partner of hospitality and restaurant consulting firm Pomegranate Hospitality, which includes Saba in New Orleans, Safta in Denver, and both Miss River and Chandelier Bar at the Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans.

         Chef Shaya is currently enjoying a limited-run celebrity-chef residency at Wynn Las Vegas. His restaurant, Safta 1964 by Chef Alon Shaya, from Pomegranate Hospitality, is led by Chef Shaya and his wife restaurateur Emily Shaya. Located within Jardin at Wynn Las Vegas, Safta 1964 features a new version of the duo’s acclaimed Michelin-recognized Denver restaurant, Safta.

         Chef Shaya has a deep love and appreciation for food and the singular way restaurants anchor their communities, and he credits his love of cooking to his beloved Bulgarian-Israeli grandmother, Matilda. Safta means “grandmother” in Hebrew.

         Menu items at Safta 1964 include Salatim Platters – a curated tasting of dips, spreads, and vegetables that include freshly milled wheat pita; six selections of Chef Shaya’s world-famous hummus; small plates including duck matzah ball soup and falafel; and, large plates including Dover sole schnitzel, harissa roasted chicken, pomegranate braised lamb shank, and red king crab tagine. Desserts include chocolate tahini pie, labneh donuts, and “Safta’s Delights,” complete with baklava, blueberry rugelach, chocolate chunk halva, lemon tart, and Turkish coffee truffle.

         Chef Shaya began his culinary career as an intern at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, he was a judge on the 15^th season of the Bravo TV show “Top Chef,” and in March 2018, he published his debut cookbook, Shaya: An Odyssey of Food, My Journey Back to Israel. It’s been described as part memoir and part cookbook where Chef Shaya shares his deeply personal journey of survival and discovery, exploring the evolution of a cuisine and the transformative power and magic of food and cooking.

         Chef Shaya was nominated for five James Beard Awards and won two (including Best Chef, South in 2015), and he was also listed as one of the “50 Most Influential Jews in America” by The Forward.