Subscribe to Print Edition | Sat., June 07, 2008 Sivan 4, 5768 | | Israel Time: 07:47 (EST+7) web haaretz.com   Back to Homepage Rosner's Domain Diplomacy Defense Jewish World Opinion National Print Edition Advertising Books Peres Conference Business Real Estate Easy Start Travel Week's End Anglo File

Rabbi Shimon Freundlich, the religious leader of Beijing's Jewish community, checks a fish with chef Xiao Wei in the kitchen at Dini's Kosher Restaurant (AP) Last update - 16:54 31/01/2008 Beijing's only Kosher restaurant mulls second branch ahead of Olympics By The Associated Press Tags: kosher, Olympic Games, China  Beijing and the Olympics are going Kosher. The capital's only Kosher restaurant opened 10 months ago, drawing the small Jewish expatriate community, tourists, curious Chinese and even a few Muslims. Business has been so good at Dini's Kosher Restaurant, that part-owner Lewis Sperber is talking about setting up a second branch closer to the Olympic venues in northern Beijing. Like many restaurateurs and bar owners, Sperber is hoping to benefit with as many as 550,000 foreigners expected to descend on Beijing for the August 8-24 Games. Advertisement "What we've thought about is preparing sandwiches and other items at a venue closer than we are now to the Olympic sites," Sperber said. "If people leave the Olympics and want a Kosher meal, we could have a place for them." However, there is a real boom in the number of Chinese factories being certified to export Kosher products. This is driven partially by recent food safety scares in China involving contaminated seafood, pet food and toothpaste. Kosher certifications in China conducted by the Orthodox Union - the best-known certification body - have doubled to 307 in the last two years. The total number of Kosher certifications is about 2,000, exporters working to reach the world Kosher market. "I think business will be very overwhelming during the Olympics," said Minette Ramia, who manages Dini's, a modern, pastel-colored eatery located on Super Bar Street, an aptly named alleyway lined with restaurants and bars just down the street from the Israeli embassy. "From the hygiene side, whether someone is Kosher or not, Jewish or not, people will want food from here because it is considered cleaner and more hygienic being that we're in China," Ramia said. "A Muslim woman came in recently because she can't eat meat anywhere else." The staff and cooks at Dini's are nearly all Chinese. Waiters bring new Chinese customers a handout to explain Kosher, which is called Jie Shi in Chinese - clean food. When Chinese come, I don't think they know what to order, said Zhao Haixia, the assistant manager. Normally they just rely on us to tell them what's good. The menu features both Ashkenazi and Sephardic food traditions. Mainstays like matzo ball soup, chopped liver and Gelifte fish are seldom chosen by Chinese, who more often go for Kosher beef dumplings (Jiaozi) or sizzling beef - Kosher style. "Gelifte fish is a hard sell. In China eating cold fish doesn't sound so good," Zhao said. Like Beijing's noxious air, China's food safety is one of the most sensitive issues surrounding the Olympics, carrying the potential to ruin China's $40 billion preparations to use the Games to show off a modern nation removed from its agrarian roots. One food poisoning case, like one positive doping test - particularly by a Chinese athlete - could grab headlines for weeks and ruin the public relations effort by the communist government. Following a string of food scandals last year, Beijing organizers launched an aggressive campaign to showcase a new way of monitoring aimed at tracing products from the field to the table. The government also unveiled the Olympic Food Safety Command Center to deal with food emergencies. "Precautions must be taken to avert any trace of a terrorist attack on our food supply chain," said Zhang Zhikuan, head of the Beijing Industry and Commerce Bureau. Concern centers on the safety standards of meat, and stimulants used to boost yields. Some fear drugs used in animal feed could trigger positive doping test among athletes. At least one of the new monitoring systems - coding on packaging to trace the source of production - has long been required for Kosher certification. "The fact that there is another set of eyes coming through the plants on a regular basis - such as the Kosher auditing or Kosher supervisors - means that the companies, the factories are more careful about hygiene and sanitation," said Rabbi Mordechai Grunberg, who examines Chinese factories for the Orthodox Union. China's Kosher exports are composed almost exclusively of food additives, spices, vegetables and candies. "It's like any other product coming out of China," Rabbi Grunberg said. "Outsourcing has gotten easier, quality has gotten higher and the price is cheaper." Rabbi Shimon Freundlich, who also inspects for the Orthodox Union and owns a part interest in Dini's, said American-based food companies are asking him to conduct non-Kosher inspections of their operations in China. He called them 100 percent related to recent food scandals in China. "They don't necessarily want it for Kosher purposes," he said. "They just want to make sure they can guarantee that the standard promised by the company is what's being produced." The Jewish population in mainland China is only a few thousand and exclusively expatriates - 1,500 in Beijing, 1,000 in Shanghai and 500 in Guangzhou. Several thousand more are scattered in small cities with 4,000 in Hong Kong. Historians suggest a small Chinese Jewish community existed centuries ago in the central city of Kaifeng. Grunberg is optimistic a domestic Kosher market will develop in China, fueled partly by hygiene issues. "I think there will be a big market here, and a big market could mean just a fraction of a percent of 1.3 billion. With only that you'll have a bigger market than we have for Kosher in the United States." Both Kosher and Halal - food prepared following Islamic religious rules - will be available at the Olympic Athletes Village, a requirement of the International Olympic Committee. The Philadelphia-based company Aramark is running the catering operation and will serve 17,000 athletes and officials at dining rooms capable of feeding 6,000 at once on a 24-hour schedule. The Olympic Kosher kitchen is being lined up by Rabbi Freundlich, the rabbi of Beijing's Jewish community. "I would be the overall supervisor of the kitchen and have a number of colleagues helping me maintain the Kosher standard throughout the Olympics," he said. "We'd expect to serve 300-400 meals a day, more than twice what I'm told was served in Athens." Sourcing of most Halal and Kosher products in China is easy - except for meat. No factory has been certified to export Kosher meats from China. Many factories are certified to produce Halal, though exporting Halal meat from China is difficult with some Islamic countries suspicious of Chinese certification. China is estimated to have a Muslim population of 1-2 percent of its 1.3 billion people, most living in the west of China. "Normally it's easy to export Halal non-meat products from China, but meat products certified in China are more difficult," said Ray Chueng, a Shanghai businessman who helps factories get Halal or Kosher certification. "I think even Chinese Muslims are not so careful with Halal things," Chueng added. "They know what you can eat and can't eat, but they are not very careful if things are labeled Halal." Penny Xiang, deputy director of the Game Services Department for the Olympics, said 36 food suppliers have been picked for the Games, all under very close supervision. She declined to offer extra details. In general, Beijing organizers are careful talking about food suppliers, citing security reasons. "I think the government's food security committee has formulated a special standard for the Olympic Games compared with national standard and World Health Organization standard," she said. Asked how the new standard compared, she replied: "It's probably higher." She said daily food consumption at the Athletes Village would reach 100,000 kilograms with daily rubbish weighing 50,000 kilograms. "Sometimes it's the easiest and simplest things that makes the most complex job," Xiang said. "People think preparing food is so natural, so easy. It comes to you every day and you are so used to it, so you don't think there is any complexity behind it. Xiang said many of China's most influential politicians going right to the top, wanted the Olympics to showcase only Chinese cuisine in the Athletes Village. Several proposed preparing 2,000 Peking roast ducks - the capital's specialty - for athletes before the Aug. 8 opening ceremony. Presumably some would have been Kosher ducks. "It was ruled out," Xiang said. "We'd need to serve all of this just before the biggest moment for commotion and confusion. Just imagine how that would have been." Related articles: Jerusalem & Babylon / Using the Olympic Games as leverage Harbin's Jews: Isle of calm for embattled nation HEADLINE HEADLINE More Jewish World news and features Bookmark to del.icio.us   Terrorist donuts U.S. Arabs irate over criticism of celebrity cook's kaffiyeh. All the way to hell Rosner's blog: It's Obama's good intentions that pro-Israel activists fear.   1.   Jews of Kaifeng 11:14  |  Michael 31/01/08   2.   There is a long history of warm relations between Chinese & Jews 12:52  |  PETER SM 31/01/08   3.   response to Michael 16:34  |  Mark B. 31/01/08   4.   Mark B 17:48  |  leon 31/01/08   5.   Do You Think They do a Good Takeout Business on Sunday? 18:18  |  MIKE 31/01/08   6.   Reply to Mark B. (#3) 19:31  |  Michael 31/01/08   7.   Gefilte Fish with fried rice. 19:36  |  Stephen. 31/01/08   8.   chabad beijing 12:38  |  Haim Cohen 24/02/08   9.   Dini`s kosher restaurant 12:40  |  moshe Weiss 24/02/08   10.   Judaism and China 18:22  |  Tiberiu Weisz 20/04/08   11.   China`s Kaifeng Jews 06:51  |  Sanford Blackman 07/06/08

Read & React U.S.: We will address Iran nuclear threat diplomatically Responses: 254 Olmert: Broad Gaza military operation closer than ever Responses: 153 Bradley Burston: Leave it to Fox News to elect Obama Responses: 164 Obama's pro-Israel speech before AIPAC riles Arab press Responses: 67 Rosner's Domain Obama and Jerusalem: did you really believe him? Guest: Marrying within the faith isn't racism - it's self preservation Should you mess with the Zohan? (WTR) Poll: Philip Roth, Victor Frankl or Leon Uris? What did Obama say to Joe Lieberman? (WTR) More Headlines 01:04 U.S.: We will address Iran nuke threat via diplomacy 01:27 Rice looks to press Israel, PA toward peace during visit next week 23:56 Negev pounded with Qassams, mortar shells fired from Gaza 01:54 Arab states leery of Israel's entry into Mediterranean Union 01:04 Author Thomas L. Friedman: Military leverage on Iran only short-term option 04:50 Jewish group demands recall of Venezuelan envoy after anti-Jewish rant 18:16 New database gathers tales of Shanghai's Holocaust refugees 01:11 Democratic rep blasts Clinton for exploiting Black-Jewish tensions 00:03 Thousands attend 10th annual Gay Pride parade in Tel Aviv 18:12 Obama's pro-Israel speech before AIPAC riles Arab press 03:43 PM to Bush, Abbas: I'll weather legal storm, stay in office 01:36 Olmert hints major Gaza operation is imminent 03:07 Olmert aides: Progress made with U.S. on forging common view on Iran Previous Editions Select Day 06 jun 05 jun 04 jun 03 jun 02 jun 01 jun 30 may 29 may 28 may 27 may 26 may 25 may

Special Offers Advertisement Dead Sea Products Buy Dead Sea mineral skin care and beauty products. Coupon code Haaretz for 10% off. Jerusalem of Gold Luxury apartments in Jerusalem's finest location Your vacation starts here Israel Travel Center Guaranteed Lowest Rates Istudy Learn Hebrew in 3 months The Terraces Your Ultimate Coastal Address On Nitza Boulevard, North Netanya Together Celebrating Israel's 60th The Jewish Agency and You - together making history Pardes Institute Summer Sessions http://www.pardes.org.il/ Free the Palestinians from: Corrupt Kleptocracy, Tyrannical Theocracy, Abysmal Anarchy Fattal Hotel Chain Perfectly located hotels on best resorts of Israel. ISRAEL BONDS Build Israel Israel bonds - a multi-purpose way to celebrate Israel's 60th Eldan Rent a Car Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on all online reservations Junkyard Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt

Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Underground | Site rules |

Real Estate in Israel | Travel to Israel with Haaretz | Hotels Israel | Restaurants Israel | Tourist attractions Israel | Shops Israel

birthright Israel

Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.

© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved