TORONTO — Mazon Canada raised close to $100,000 at its annual benefit event, held this year at Beth Emeth Bais Yehuda Synagogue on Feb. 18.

Norene Gilletz prepares to add salt to her mock chopped liver. [Frances Kraft photo]

The money is allocated to the organization’s general funds for front-line hunger relief organizations, Shira Lester-Cohen, Mazon’s executive director, told The CJN.

The event featured a cooking demonstration with cookbook author and CJN contributor Norene Gilletz speaking on Food Memories:Then and Now.

As well, some 300 attendees sampled the offerings of Toronto-area kosher caterers and wine merchants.

The crowd sipped wine, or cocktails such as Cosmopolitans and Purple Hazes, and chose from a range of dishes, from truffled beef carpaccio and deep-fried gefilte fish with horseradish aioli to sushi and pareve Indian-style “butter paneer” (with tofu replacing the traditional cheese).

Less adventurous types could try gluten-free hot dogs, fresh fruit smoothies or all-natural salads, among other selections.

“People today are not cooking the way they used to,” Gilletz said in her presentation.

She demonstrated how to make mock chopped liver, grilled chicken and potato-onion knishes from scratch.

 The mock liver was based on mushrooms, a cholesterol-free substitute for the original meat, with onions that were “sautéed until they’re brown and very well caramelized.” It also included hard-boiled eggs, almonds and a touch of salt.

“You have to taste the food, of course,” Gilletz said.

To serve it, she used an ice-cream scoop, and placed a thin wedge of pumpernickel on the serving.

“It makes it fancy,” she explained.

“Another nice presentation would be to take this mixture and put it into a mould,” she added, recalling Herman Wouk’s 1955 novel Marjorie Morningstar.

“You can line a bowl with plastic, and then unmould it,” she said.

“If you’re a bubbie or a zaide, you should be cooking with your children and your grandchildren,” Gilletz added. “Pass those traditions on.”