Rita (Ruthm) Yusufov
Please tell us about your family.
My family belongs to the Kavkazi Jewish community [aka Mountain Jews or Caucasus Jews]. My grandparents on my father’s side have a unique story. They lived in the Azerbaijani village of Kuba, where Kavkazi Jews historically settled. At that time, the Lezgins staged a terrible pogrom, in which Jews were brutally killed. They massacred the immediate family of my grandmother Sipro – her four sons and husband. The streets were filled with the bodies of Jews. When it was all over, the authorities sent an army unit to remove the corpses. One soldier saw that the young woman was still alive. He took her to the hospital and began to visit her. My grandmother recovered, but she had scars on her back for the rest of her life from four blows of the dagger. That same soldier – my future grandfather Pesach – was a widower with two children. This is how my grandparents met. They started a family in which three more sons were born. The middle son - Year - became my father. My grandparents were observant Jews. I didn’t meet my grandfather, but I remember that my grandmother had her own kosher dishes from which she ate exclusively, and she didn’t trust anyone to cook or let anyone near her kitchen. My father was an intelligent, well-read man, had a wonderful sense of humor, and was a very good family man. My mother, Mazanthu, was an orphan: her parents died very young, and she was raised by her uncle. My mother is an amazing woman, she fought during the war, serving in the fortifications of the city of Baku. My father was a very kind person and always wanted to help others. One day she met a crying girl on the street. It turned out that she ran away from her parents, who wanted to marry her to someone she didn’t love. And until everything was resolved in that family, my mother hid the girl with us. My mother worked at the State Bank, and was a very honest person. She always returned things to those who lost them. It happened that she found rings in the bathroom that a woman had left behind after washing their hands. One day she found a bag of money that the bungling collectors had forgotten. She could have carried it out and no one would ever have found it. But my mother took the bag of money to the bank manager. I first celebrated Passover at my parents' house and since then it has been my favorite holiday. My father always bought us children new clothes for Passover. My mother kept the dishes for Passover in a closed closet. Before the holiday, the house was thoroughly cleaned and then whitewashed, so that not a crumb of chometz remained in any corner of the house. Although holidays were celebrated separately in each family, for Passover extended family often gathered at my grandmother’s.
It is known that you opened kosher catering in the community, which is incredibly popular - everything you cook is amazingly tasty. When did you first develop an interest in cooking? My mother cooked Kavkazi Jewish dishes very well.
Which dishes?
All Kavkazi dishes. Gailyo – a lot of greens with spinach and fried onions, poured over eggs. It's delicious with rice. Holyagush – chicken is boiled, a lot of onions are stewed separately, stewed onions, chestnuts, and sometimes potatoes are added to the chicken pulp, egg whites are poured inside, and yolks are poured on top. And it's all baked. This is a favorite Kavkazi Passover dish. I have been interested in cooking since childhood, and started cooking very early. My son Ephraim followed in my footsteps. When we came to Canada, our family dream was to open our own kosher catering business. At first I worked as a chef for families of religious Jews. In addition, we often cook for Shabbat and holidays at the Kavkazi synagogue of Rabbi David Davidov, to which we belong. One day Ephraim was asked to be a cook at the JRCC Richmond Hill branch under Rabbi Avrohom Zaltzman. This is how our family brand “Beyond Delish” was born, which received kosher certification from COR. Within six months, there were so many orders that we outgrew the small kitchen, and we rented a room next to the main JRCC office. My son Ephraim is a talented chef, without whom our business would not be possible. I would like to note that we prepare dishes for all Jewish communities - Kavkazi, Bukharian, Ashkenazi, Moroccan and even Greek. Greek?! Yes, yes, in Greece there are also Jews with their own cuisine. Our “Beyond Delish” catering is convenient because we prepare everything: salads, appetizers, soups, main courses, pilafs, kebabs and lula kebabs, cholents of different communities, gefilte fish, baked salmon, Moroccan fish, a variety of kugels, pancakes with different fillings, pies and pies, all cakes from Napoleon to honey cake, the best baklava in the city and Baku kyata. Synagogues order food for Shabbat kiddush, and people like to order meals for family celebrations - Bar Mitzvah, Sheva Brachot, birthdays and Jewish holidays. This year, at the request of the community, we are opening a kosher Passover kitchen for the first time. Everything will be cleaned and prepared under the supervision COR. By ordering Passover dishes from us, Jews of different communities will have the opportunity to free themselves from cooking
