Memories of a Good Meal-Finding Resilience Through Food

What does the memory of a family meal mean to you? For survivors of World War II and the Holocaust, food memories provided an important emotional connection to families lost and traditions preserved.

Award winning Chef and Restaurateur Alon Shaya and Culinary Historian and Author June Hersh have co-authored a stunning book entitled Memories of a Good Meal: Recipes of Resilience Inspired by Stories of World War II Survival. This book features ten diverse, moving accounts of Holocaust survivors and WWII heroes and cherished recipes.

“Memories of a Good Meal” shares intimate stories of survivors and war heroes interwoven with recipes. Examples: twin Jewish girls hidden by a Christian family foraging for blueberries and mushrooms food in the forest, a Navajo Code Talker who carries a sachet of corn pollen as a talisman into battle, a housekeeper who rescues a family’s recipe book after they have been deported to Auschwitz and returns it to the survivors who were released and a homosexual man forced into relationships with the kapos in his concentration to survive execution. At a convent where the prisoners were assigned hard labor, the sympathetic nuns prepare them a special holiday meal, a gesture of respect and dignity.

Memories of a Good Meal grew from Alon Shaya’s work with the Rescued Recipes initiative with the United States Holocaust Museum and his deep friendship with Holocaust survivor, Steven Fenves. To date, Rescued Recipes has raised over one million dollars. This is a book to sit and savor over a cup of tea or coffee. Each story makes you reflect on how one’s life can change during war, conflict and persecution. You understand the importance of food as a bond that nourishes both the body and the soul even in the most difficult circumstances.

This book has incredible stories that will touch your heart and recipes that will feed your soul. Recipes by Alon Shaya. The gorgeous photos are by Denny Culbert. Every story and recipe reminds you never to take freedom or access to nourishing food for granted.

We sat down for a conversation with Alon Shaya and June Hersh prior to this book’s October 6 publication. Here is a link to watch this episode on The Connected Table Live.