Susan Barocas is a writer, cook, speaker and teacher of cooking to all ages. She proudly introduced several Sephardic dishes when serving as guest chef for three Seders at the Obama White House. She served as founding director of the Jewish Food Experience and co-chaired the 2018 Hazon Food Conference. Susan is at work on her first cookbook. Explore some of her recipes here.

Susan also leads Savor, a multi-sensory food and music experience with Ladino singer Sarah Aroeste.

In this extraordinary cookbook, chef and scholar Hélène Jawhara Piñer combines rich culinary history and Jewish heritage to serve up over fifty culturally significant recipes.

Steeped in the history of the Sephardic Jews (Jews of Spain) and their diaspora, these recipes are expertly collected from such diverse sources as medieval cookbooks, Inquisition trials, medical treatises, poems, and literature. Original sources ranging from the thirteenth century onwards and written in Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, Occitan, Italian, and Hebrew, are here presented in English translation, bearing witness to the culinary diversity of the Sephardim, who brought their cuisine with them and kept it alive wherever they went. Jawhara-Piñer provides enlightening commentary for each recipe, revealing underlying societal issues from anti-Semitism to social order. In addition, the author provides several of her own recipes inspired by her research and academic studies. Learn more here.

Matzah and Flour: Recipes from the History of the Sephardic Jews offers a tantalizing exploration of the central role of matzah and flour in Sephardic cuisine. Journey through centuries of tradition as flour, from various grains like chickpea, corn, and barley, intertwines with cultural narratives and religious observance. Delve into the symbolism of matzah, from its origins in the Exodus story to its embodiment of resilience and identity. Each of this cookbook’s thoughtfully prepared recipes is a testament to the transformative power of flour in Sephardic culinary heritage. From savory delicacies to sweet delights, these timeless flavors have sustained Sephardic families through history. Matzah and Flour is a celebration of tradition, history, and the enduring legacy of Sephardic Jewish cuisine. Learn more here.

2023 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards Best Jewish Food Culture Book; 2022 National Jewish Book Award Finalist

In the absence of any Jewish cookbook from the pre-1492 era, it requires arduous research and a creative but disciplined imagination to reconstruct Sephardic tastes from the past and their survival and transmission in communities around the Mediterranean in the early modern period, followed by the even more extensive diaspora in the New World. In this intricate and absorbing study, Hélène Jawhara Piñer presents readers with the dishes, ingredients, techniques, and aesthetic principles that make up a sophisticated and attractive cuisine, one that has had a mostly unremarked influence on modern Spanish and Portuguese recipes. Learn more here.

The Jews of Edirne have a long history and presence in that city. The Municipality of Edirne has published 3 versions of the same book in 3 different languages to reach a wider audience. Many wonderful traditional Jewish recipes take place in this great book. The book is full of mouth-watering recipes prepared and tried out by the meticulous Aydemir Ay and Dr. Yılmaz Seçim.

Purchase from the Sephardic Center of Istanbul.

Visit the Resources page of the American Ladino League for a comprehensive list of Ladino learning resources from communities across the world: classes, dictionaries, books, audiovisual resources, and more!