Whole Foods “Passover Menu” NOT KOSHER FOR PASSOVER
You may have recently seen a Passover Menu (PDF) from Whole Foods Market in the mail, online, or as an insert in the Jewish Advocate. As a public service, the Kosher Blog would like to stress that the items marked as “kosher” (by Kosher Technical Konsultants) in the menu are not kosher for Passover! The menu indicates that they aren’t K-for-P, that they’re only “Passover style,” but the text is small and someone could easily be deceived when reading a “Passover” menu with “kosher” items.
The only Kosher for Passover item on the menu is the Payard Flourless Cake, certified by Rabbi Michel Gugenheim.
The upside of all this is that the Whole Foods in Brighton will once again be having an “Ask the Rabbi” session from 11AM-3PM this Sunday (April 10) with Rabbi Posner of the Kenmore Chabad. Samples of English cholov yisroel cheeses (suitable for Passover) will be available.
And the $20 for the Payard cake (4 inch diameter, 1 inch high) is ridiculous. I saw a pile of them at my local Wholefoods the other day, I can’t really see anyone buying them. Maybe after Pesach they’ll cut the price.
Joshua– I agree. I first saw these cakes up close at KosherFest and was very surprised to learn how small they were. Payard suggests one cake will feed eight people. Perhaps it’s really that rich. Last year, my homemade flourless chocolate torte got rave reviews at our seders — at a fraction of the cost.
now why would whole foods try to mislead Jews into buying food that wasn’t really kosher for pesach, it doesn’t seem like their style.
Chai18– I don’t think their intention is to mislead. I’m certain they get a lot of business from “cultural” Jews, who care little of kashrut or halacha, but are looking for “Passover style” food. Maybe you caught Barefoot Contessa on Food Network last week — in recognition of Passover she made coconut macaroons. Of course, her recipe calls for condensed milk, which I’ve never seen in pesadik form, and the rest of the meal was the height of treyfus. Simplistic gestures towards tradition is the practical reality of “modern” Judaism.
I have eaten the payard cake and it is delicious as well as rich. It is imported from France and made by a famous chef. His regular cakes are pricey too.