A celebration of Jewish food and culture is taking place today in Ottawa at the Kosher BBQ Cook-Off and Festival. The annual event has been running since 2019 and is Canada’s only kosher barbecue competition, according to Rabbi Menachem Blum, of the Ottawa Torah Centre. “It’s a great opportunity for the community to come together around food and music and fun for the whole family,” he told CTV Your Morning Ottawa on Wednesday. The event takes place at 111 Lamplighters Dr. from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Blum says the event will feature live music and a kids’ zone, in addition to the food. “We have a full kids’ zone with inflatables and rock climbing, face painting and balloons, and a petting zoo. We are bringing down a country rock Jewish singer (Tali Yess) from the States who’s going to be performing over the lunch hour,” he said. “The competition is obviously the centrepiece but it’s a complete festival where people are welcome to come and enjoy Jewish culture, Jewish food, as we end the summer before it gets too cold.” The event features a kosher food court, with food from chef Ari Raskin of the Supper Club Montreal. Canadian chef and TV personality Ted Reader will host the judging. Blum says the centrepiece of the heart will be the brisket that competitors will be cooking. “The brisket is a centrepiece of the competition. Teams are going to be smoking their brisket through the night, it’s low and slow,” he said. “The beauty of this competition is everybody gets the same piece of meat and the same piece of equipment, but it’s everybody’s secret ingredient that will make it special, and then we have people tasting it and voting and a panel of judges that are judging it, so it turns into a really nice community event.” General admission is free. Tickets will be sold at the festival for food and activities. The event will be held rain or shine.
