Woodmere Mom to Compete in National Cooking Contest

Allison Hoschander said she always tries to make recipes her own — and now her propensity for adapting recipes under kosher restrictions has landed her in a national cooking competition.

The 33-year-old mother of three from Woodmere will take part on Thursday in the Man-O-Manischewitz Cook-Off, which the company says is America’s only national kosher cooking contest. She’ll compete against four other cooks from across the country at the company’s headquarters in Newark, NJ, for the chance to win a prize package worth more than $25,000.

“If Passover wasn’t three days after, it would probably be all I’m thinking about,” Hoschander told Patch. “I’ve never cooked in front of a crowd before. I don’t have stage fright. I like being in front in people. I watch Top Chef and all those shows. This is why this is so exciting.”

This will be the seventh time Manischewitz has held the contest, and the first time it will do so in its headquarters. According to the company, contestants were asked to submit a “family-friendly recipe that can be created in less than one hour, using one of the Manischewitz All-Natural Broths. This competition encourages at-home chefs to experiment with kosher and Manischewitz products and to think about using these kosher items in all types of cuisine all while making delicious, healthy dishes that could become a family favorite.”

Hoschander found out about the contest a day before its deadline from a friend. She looked through all her recipes, and submitted her recipe for Chicken & Potato Leek Pie two hours before the end of the contest. She found out she was a competitor a few days later.

“Allison’s recipe looked simply delicious and so family friendly,” said Manischewitz Co-CEO and President Alan Banker.

Hoschander, who has been cooking since she was 12, said she always looks for new flavors to try to expand on traditional Jewish fare. Her Chicken & Potato Leek Pie recipe was inspired by a magazine recipe that included bacon.

“It’s fun to get out of the box,” she said. “Sometimes you need something a little different.”

She added, “I always take time to cook for the weekend. I always try to make one new thing. I barely follow a recipe. I like to take recipes I see and try to make my own.”

Showing her competitive spirit, Hoschander has been practicing cooking her recipe as often as possible. While her husband is her typical guinea pig, she said everyone in her immediate family has tried the Chicken & Potato Leek Pie. She has even prepared for things that could go wrong, like the oven being too hot.

This may give her the edge with the panel of judges, led by Jamie Geller, founder of the Joy of Kosher with Jamie Geller magazine and website.

“The money would be amazing,” Hoschander said, “but just to be able to go and try this, because I love cooking, is exciting on its own.”