The Feast of Kosher Curiosities

An extraordinary event of kosher exotica

Last week, at the Biblical Museum of Natural History, we hosted our most incredible exotic kosher feast yet! 130 people joined in the extraordinary Feast of Kosher Curiosities, which was sold out with a long waiting list. Participants enjoyed delicious, exotic kosher food, accompanied by fascinating halachic presentations, with new and old friends enjoying the evening together in the unique setting of the museum.

The menu included dove, quail, guineafowl, muscovy duck, pheasant under glass, goat, and Asian water buffalo. (Note: All species served are non-endangered, captive-bred, and lived much, much better lives than factory-farmed chickens.)

It also featured something very special that has not been eaten by any Jews other than Persians in at least a century - peacock! Watch the video of its grand entrance (make sure the volume is up):

The dessert was titled "Egyptian Extravaganza" and was on the theme of the plagues of Egypt along with the Pesach idea of “eating” Egyptian gods. It featured locusts, chocolate frogs, and an extraordinary crocodile which was actually a cake!

It is very widely believed that peacocks are forbidden from consumption due to a lack of tradition. We have therefore decided to release a full, extensively-researched monograph which shows that there are no less than nine separate justifications for peacock being permissible for consumption - including that once you understand what mesorah really means, you see that, in the words of one halachic authority, “there’s no greater mesorah than what exists with peacock.” You can download the monograph for free via the museum store.

Many thanks to everyone who joined us and to the people who made it happen:

• From the museum: Administrative Director Maayan Steele, Head of Advancement Ellen Levi, and other staff;

• Chef Moshe Basson, Michal Samuels, and the rest of the team at Eucalyptus Restaurant;

• Shochet and Mashgiach Rabbi Yonatan Gabbai and his assistants;

• Photographers/Videographers Mordechai Gordon and Jonny Finkel;

• The Kosher Cakery, who created the most incredible cake ever!

Be sure to subscribe to the museum newsletter to find out when our next exotic kosher feasts in Israel and the US will take place! (There might be one in Florida in February, if there is sufficient interest.)