How Zaidy’s Deli Is Redefining Jewish Food in Australia

I always had a passion and nostalgia for Jewish food, and that, combined with my love for American barbecue and smoking meats, led me to trying out making pastrami, which is quite a lengthy process. It turned out to be amazing, and I started building a brand around food that makes you feel like you’re getting a hug from your Zaide, because that’s how my Zaide made me feel with food.

Szafran as a baby with his beloved Zaide (Image: supplied).

The brand came after the product. I wanted to teach others about and share the warmth that Judaism instills through food. I came up with the product, being pastrami, and then based the brand on my values and the history of the product, where it comes from.

Both of my grandmothers have passed on now, but one was Polish and one was German, so I always got a good spread of Jewish food.

On my Ashkenazi Polish side, it was kreplach, chicken soup, villager food that made the most of scraps and non-prime cuts of meat. My German grandmother’s side was a bit more refined, but still with a lot of Jewish influence, such as nice roast chicken, slow-cooked veal, and vegetables like carrots and beans and beetroot that were really celebrated.

It’s important to me to express being Jewish through food and to show that to the world with a lot of honour.

My passion for brisket and pastrami came from a trip to New York years ago, where I had it for the first time and thought it was so unbelievable. The concept of taking a meat that is otherwise tough and unusable, and turning it into something that’s luxurious and artisanal, appealed to me. That idea of creating something out of nothing.

The history of pastrami stems back to the Western Huns (Central Asian Turks), with the creation of Pastirma – salted cuts of beef, left to air-dry – otherwise known as dry cure. The invention of pastrami as we know it today came out of necessity. Back in 19th century Romania, during winter, when there were no refrigerators, people would wet brine the meat and then smoke it.

This process was often done with goose meat, but when Jewish people first went to America, and specifically to New York, there was not a plethora of goose meat. Instead, beef briskets became the source of protein for pastrami – it was also affordable as it was not considered a prime cut, like an eye fillet of sirloin. Nowadays, briskets are quite a popular cut, so it’s not as cheap as it once was, but people who understand what it is are still willing to pay for it.

Zaidy’s adopts that same process of wet brining, followed by a seasoning and a long smoke.

A big part of my mission statement is to try and make Jewish food modern and relatable and cool. I am very inspired by New York deli traditions and Jewish food culture in the past, and I am trying to bring it into the modern day to keep it relevant.

Zaidy’s meat is wet brined, seasoned and long smoked (Image: supplied).

I clearly state on my packaging that the word Zaide comes from Yiddish, a historical Jewish language. I’m very, very proud to be Jewish. I have Holocaust survivor late grandparents, and my whole family’s life has been heavily influenced by our Jewish identity.

It’s important to me to express being Jewish through food and to show that to the world with a lot of honour. Food is an amazing way to bridge cultures, and to realise how many commonalities we share with different communities. Imagine if a Muslim and a Jew could sit down over a plate of pastrami!

The first thing is choosing the right brisket. There are so many variables – the type and age of the cattle, where they come from, what they’re fed – that play a part in the flavour and texture of the beef. I had to do a lot of research, and I continue to look at the beef market. I buy 1,000 kilos of beef every two weeks, so I’ve got to get it right.

I think the social impact I have is about goodwill and the result of running a Jewish brand that’s anchored in Jewish tradition.

I generally use something that’s grass-fed, grain finished and comes from older cattle. The key thing is the marble scoring. The marble score is a measure of how much fat is interspersed through the meat (intra-muscular fat), rather than just fat on the top or on the bottom (inter-muscular fat). Good marbling throughout means each bite will have that buttery mouthfeel, preventing dryness, which is particularly important given my pastrami is cooled once cooked and then reheated.

Then you start making pastrami. You take a brisket, and you wet brine it, which is essentially pickling it, using salts and spices and water at a very specific ratio. You then let it sit in a holding tank for about two weeks. After that, the meat gets heavily rubbed with the Zaidy’s signature spice blend, and then it gets put in an industrial smoker for 24 hours. We smoke it until it’s completely tender.

Szafran: “I wanted to teach others about and share the warmth that Judaism instills through food” (Image: supplied).

It’s very different to other pastramis that you typically see, which are more of a cold cut. Ours is designed to be heated and sliced thick, and it’s got the pull apart, melt in your mouth texture when you eat it. We distribute it for wholesale orders for cafes, grocers, delis, restaurants, wine bars, and so on, and we also have retail packs that you can take home and heat up. We are even stocked interstate which is pretty cool.

I did the Melbourne Jewish Food Festival, which was fantastic, and I supply some Jewish businesses.

I’d like to be more involved, but my business is only one and a half years old, so I’m not biting off more than I can chew right now. I think being more involved in the community is something that will come a little bit further down the line once I’m more established.

You can determine social impact in several ways, giving time, giving charity, doing something that’s having positive outcomes. I think the social impact I have is about goodwill and the result of running a Jewish brand that’s anchored in Jewish tradition.

I’d like to see more products come out. I’d also like to be a household staple that people have in their homes. Ideally, we will become the number one premium pastrami name in Australia and the brand that people immediately think of as a quality, reliable product.