Chef Shoshana Enters the Jewish Food Fray

There’s a new chef in town, Shoshana Nissimov, formerly Susan Kaplan, who is targeting the Jewish community. She grew up in Toco Hills, attended Torah Day School of Atlanta and Yeshiva Atlanta High School. Since her mother grew up in Alabama, and her father in Savannah, her childhood was full of matzo ball soup, biscuits and grits, gefilte fish, and chicken and dumplings.

Now operating as Chef Shoshana, she declared, “I work one-on-one with my clients to create individualized menus and atmosphere. I am excited to provide the unique combination of traditional American Southern and Israeli cuisines for the Atlanta Jewish community.”

Witnessing her love for food preparation, Nissimov’s father encouraged her to enroll in a culinary arts program at Gwinnett Technical College. Nissimov recalled, “On a bit of a whim, I decided to go for it. I enjoyed that program tremendously, though it also came with the realization that the fast-paced kitchen environment was more than likely not the right place for me.”

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Shoshana Nissimov catered a barbeque for 400 community members at Congregation Beth Jacob.

She then soon married husband, Shahar, who grew up in Beit Dagan, Israel, and operates Key Tov Locksmith. Then, the real sparks flew. “He ignited in me a love for Mediterranean food and taught me how to make dishes like Moroccan fish, chicken livers and kubbeh selek.”

Previously, Nissimov worked for several years in restaurant management at Formaggio Mio, a local kosher-dairy, Italian-style restaurant on Briarcliff Road. During her time there, she was responsible for updating the menu and hosting private events such as the Valentine’s Dinner for Two in 2020. As the pandemic started to plateau, with the encouragement of friends and family, she decided to launch Chef Shoshanna Private Chef Services, specializing in sourcing top-quality kosher ingredients and catering to a variety of diets, from Chalav Yisroel to gluten-free.

She shops ingredients from local Israeli markets, farmer’s markets, and kosher delis. Nissimov stated, “It is my goal to provide quality kosher food at a reasonable price. That is why my Shabbat menus typically fall under $100 for fish, an entree and two salads for 5-6 people.”

She also dives all-in for catering events like the End of Summer BBQ at Beth Jacob Synagogue for over 400 people, the largest she has catered to date. She added, “I love to get creative with my clients to provide a personalized experience. I can provide a Mashgiach or kosher certification for events, serve ware, and other services like music and atmosphere.”

Nissimov’s website is complete with options of varieties of tantalizing ways to mix and match. Her Sephardic Shabbat offers hand-rolled fish balls in a kickin’ sauce, blackened salmon steaks in creamy dill sauce, chicken afunat, chuck steak in tomato sauce with beans, rice, lentils, roasted cauliflower, grilled chatzil (eggplant) and mushroom burekas. Salads galore start at $4.99 each: parsley and peanuts, avocado and red onion, Moroccan spicy carrots, Italian coleslaw with corn, fried eggplant, confit of banana peppers, babaganoush and more.

Chef Shoshana Nissimov also provides atmosphere and décor like this golden baby naming.

Still mouthwatering with choices, there’s shwarma plus Southern selections: beef and beans, chili with corn and homemade cornbread, chicken pot pie, fried chicken, and breakfast parfait. Most items can last in the freezer for up to two months.

Then, there’s the Italian menu, starting with cheese lasagna and mushroom Alfredo pasta and garlic bread. With her eye on reasonable prices, the bi-weekly meal plan with meals over four days is $103.52 and features eight meals.

Nissimov leaves us with her Kaplan family recipe for Southern cheesy latkes.

“This one stumped me. I’ve been eating and making latkes for years! It wasn’t until last year that I tasted some of my friend’s and they were amazing! Her secret? Adding shredded cheese to the mix before frying. Why didn’t I ever think of that? Top with sour cream, salsa, and a dab of hot sauce, the good ole’ Southern way.”

Note that Chef Shoshana does not have AKC certification, but will arrange proper supervision for the client’s needs.

Reach Chef Shoshana at 404-295-3455 or chef.shoshana@gmail.com and find menu updates on Facebook and Instagram.