Norene Gilletz first recipient of Gil Marks memorial award

Norene Gilletz
Norene Gilletz

A lot people retire when they turn 65. Many others slacken the pace of their lives when they’re in their 70s. But at age 75, Norene Gilletz shows no signs of slowing down.

Indeed, Gilletz, a CJN food columnist, a food consultant and author of 11 kosher cookbooks, has had quite a busy year.

She edited three new cookbooks, she launched many new products for her line of kosher food, and last week she became the first recipient of the Gil Marks Memorial Award. She was honoured at KosherFeast, a pre-event for KosherFest 2015, which took place in Secaucus, N.J.

“I was shocked when they announced my name,” Gilletz recounted. “I was speechless. What an honour.

“The best part is being a Canadian and being recognized by the international culinary community.”

Gil Marks – he died of cancer last year – was a very special person and a “dear friend,” she said. “He was an amazing human being. He was a rabbi, a scholar, and an award-winning kosher food author.”

Gilletz said that for the award, leaders in the kosher cooking world were asked to nominate a respected culinary professional who is a mentor and a support for others in the field.

Her role as a mentor was very apparent when she edited The Silver Platter, Wholesome, Family-Friendly Recipes from the Kitchen of Daniella Silver, an international bestseller published in May.

Gilletz coached Silver for months. “I taught her the art of writing a recipe so other people could follow.”

Gilletz also edited A Ta’am to Remember: Recipes and Recollections from the Terraces of Baycrest, a community cookbook to be released this month.

Elaine Kaplan, the project manager, said that without Gilletz’s leadership there would not have been a cookbook.

As well, Gilletz edited Vegan-Up, an international cookbook that will be also be released later this year.

Norene Gilletz Kitchen, her kosher food line, expanded the number of products considerably this year. Her soups, meatballs, tapenades, salads and Koogletz can now be found in the kosher section of Sobey’s at Clark and Hilda avenues,  and selected kosher stores. “I tell people, if you want to cook, buy my cookbooks. If don’t want to cook you can just buy my products,” she said with a laugh.

She, Yehuda Goldberg and Mona Pasternak, her partners in the food-line venture, were recently featured on Food Factory Canada, a television show on Food Network Canada. “It was huge fun,” said Gilletz. “It was seven hours of shooting for six minutes of tape.”

She also has a large following on Facebook. “We have 5,000 friends on Norene’s Kitchen and counting. I always joke, ‘My kitchen is crowded, but there’s always room for more.’”

Her writing career began with Second Helpings Please! She was the editor of this best selling kosher cookbook, which was published in 1968 by B’nai Brith Women in Montreal. “It all started at a tea membership,” she recalled. “Our baking was so delicious someone suggested we write a cookbook.”

Eleven cookbooks, hundreds of food columns and countless food demonstrations later, Gilletz is still very much on the go.

In fact, this interview was conducted, while she was en route to Ottawa for the Heath and Wellness Conference sponsored by the Jewish Youth Library. She was the keynote speaker.

Last month, she led an interactive challah bake with 400 people in Winnipeg and then two weeks later she and Silver were part of the authors corner at KosherFest.

“It’s a crazy pace,” Gilletz admitted. “I decompress on Shabbas at shul.”

She has already embarked on two new culinary projects. She is editing recipes for The Silver Platter 2 and she’s working with Dr. Edward Wein, a biochemist, on recipes to help reduce the risk of dementia.

“I love what I do, there’s always something new on the horizon,” she mused. “Why should I slow down when I’m having so much fun?