Thousands chow down on Jewish food favorites at Big Nosh festival

Meg Greathouse is a Presbyterian, but that didn’t stop the 30-year-old Cayce resident from chowing down on traditional Jewish foods at Sunday’s 7th annual Big Nosh.

“I read about it online, and once I read the descriptions of the food, we were definitely coming,” Greathouse said. “I am interested in cultures and interested in food, and this is a win-win.”

The Jewish food and culture festival draws about 2,000 people to the Tree of Life Congregation on Trenholm Road every year, according to Debbie Cohn, spokeswoman for the event.

Along with the popular latkes, made from fried potato pancakes and spices – some of which were blended with unusual ingredients such as pimento cheese – festival-goers enjoyed brisket, falafel and a variety of cakes and cookies.

For Columbia residents Russ Haber and his wife, Karen Cooper-Haber, the festival was a chance to stock up on food for the Jewish holiday Passover, which will start Friday night and end April 30.

“We’re going to get things to freeze for next week, because I’m not a big cook,” Cooper-Haber said with a laugh.

But food wasn’t the only thing on the menu at the Big Nosh. For many attendees, it’s an introduction to Jewish culture, Cohn said.

“We’ve got people coming into our sanctuary who may never have had a chance to be inside a temple,” Cohn said.

The festival also includedlive music, a tour of the sanctuary, and events modeling a Jewish wedding and the Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah coming of age ceremonies.

For Kathleen Jones, 57, of Irmo, the event was a success.

“I think this is good for people that do not know a whole lot about the Jewish customs, what they believe, the different types of foods, things you don’t know about,” Jones said.

Though she went to learn about culture, Jones didn’t ignore the food, packing a corned beef sandwich to take home.

This year also marked the first time the event was a “green nosh,” according to Cohn – meaning nothing from the festival will end up in a landfill.

This story was originally published April 17, 2016 at 5:12 PM with the headline "Thousands chow down on Jewish food favorites at Big Nosh festival."