Gefilteria

What Gefilteria does

Gefilteria is a privately-held culinary and cultural education business co-founded by Jeffrey Yoskowitz and Liz Alpern around 2010-2012, dedicated to the revival of Ashkenazi Jewish culinary heritage. Based in Brooklyn, New York, the company operates as a content, events, and consulting enterprise with 1-10 employees. Its stated mission addresses the preservation of fading Jewish culinary traditions in the face of closing Jewish delis, an aging generation of traditional cooks, and the perception of Ashkenazi cuisine as outdated.

The company's product portfolio centers on The Gefilte Manifesto cookbook (a 2016 Flatiron Books publication containing 100 recipes), the Meet Me at the Deli podcast launched in March 2026 in partnership with Heeb Media, online educational hubs for gefilte fish and pickling, and limited merchandise including the Carp in Bathtub Hat and a sold-out children's book. Its service offerings include fee-based workshops, lectures, and culinary experiences for corporate clients (Saatchi, Grammarly, TrueCar, Maroon), universities (Brown, American, UPenn, Princeton), and cultural institutions (Museum at Eldridge Street, Museum of Jewish Heritage, Smithsonian Folklife Festival, YIVO, Borscht Belt Museum). The company has reported having taught tens of thousands of people about Jewish pickling and food history.

The business generates revenue through four primary streams: cookbook sales ($35 per signed copy), merchandise sales (Carp in Bathtub Hat at $30), fee-based workshops and consulting for corporate and institutional clients, and event collaborations including pop-ups, corporate retreats, and culinary residencies. Gefilteria is bootstrapped and founder-owned with no disclosed external funding rounds and operates without a technology stack beyond a Squarespace-based e-commerce and content platform. Marketing is community-led through the long-running Gefilte Hotline (since 2012), the podcast, newsletters, and event participation at festivals such as Borscht Belt Fest, Bagelfest, and Seltzerfest.

Name

Gefilteria

Legal name

Gefilteria

Website

https://gefilteria.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Gefilteria is a Brooklyn-based culinary and cultural education company that revives Ashkenazi Jewish food traditions through an award-winning cookbook, a podcast, educational online hubs, workshops, and corporate and cultural consulting engagements.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Culinary Education and Jewish Food Cultural Programming

NAICS

Other Specialty Food Retailers (44529)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Culinary Skills Workshops (Baking, Regional Cooking, Food Prep Skills) (THAJAKAE)

Keywords

• Jewish culinary education
• Ashkenazi food revival
• Culinary workshops
• Cookbook publishing
• Cultural event programming

Headquarters

HQ city

Brooklyn

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Cookbook Sales: Sale of The Gefilte Manifesto cookbook, an award-winning publication containing 100 recipes for Jewish cooking, sold directly through the website at $35 per signed copy.
2. Merchandise Sales: Sale of branded merchandise including the Carp in Bathtub Hat (Navy Blue) at $30 and The Carp in the Bathtub children's book (sold out).
3. Workshops and Consulting: Fee-based workshops, lectures, and custom culinary experiences for corporate clients, universities, and cultural institutions. Corporate clients include Saatchi, Grammarly, and various Jewish organizations.
4. Events and Collaborations: Partner with companies and communities to create programs, conferences, pop-ups, and corporate retreats, bringing culinary know-how and creativity.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Gefilteria is a Jewish food revival venture that sells a cookbook and branded merchandise directly through its website, produces a food advice podcast ("Meet Me at the Deli"), and delivers fee-based culinary workshops, lectures, consulting, and pop-up event programming for corporate clients, universities, Jewish organizations, and cultural institutions. The company monetizes founder expertise in Ashkenazi culinary heritage through a mix of product sales, professional services, and community-driven content.

Product overview

Gefilteria is a Jewish food revival company founded by Jeffrey Yoskowitz and Liz Alpern in 2010, offering a portfolio of products and services centered on Ashkenazi culinary heritage. The core offerings include The Gefilte Manifesto cookbook (award-winning, $35.00), the Meet Me at the Deli podcast (with Heeb Media), the Pickling Hub (educational fermentation resource), the Gefilte Fish Hub (gefilte fish guide), merchandise including the Carp in Bathtub Hat ($30.00) and The Carp in the Bathtub children's book, and Talks & Workshops programming including consulting services for brands and cultural institutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Gefilte Manifesto (Cookbook) An award-winning cookbook co-authored by Jeffrey Yoskowitz and Liz Alpern featuring 100 recipes that anyone, anywhere can make at home, exploring the culture and history of Ashkenazi Jewish culinary heritage. Author-signed copies available for $35.00 through the Gefilteria website.
• Carp in Bathtub Hat (Navy Blue) A limited-edition embroidered navy blue hat featuring the carp-in-bathtub design, celebrating Gefilteria's 10-year anniversary and the tradition of keeping live fish in NYC tenement bathtubs for Passover. Sold for $30.00.
• The Carp in the Bathtub (Children's Book) A 1970s children's classic by Barbara Cohen (illustrated by Joan Halpern, published by Kar-Ben) capturing the tradition of keeping a live carp in the family tub before Passover. Sold for $12.00; currently sold out.
• Meet Me at the Deli Podcast A food advice podcast in partnership with Heeb Media Podcast Network where hosts Liz Alpern and Jeffrey Yoskowitz answer listeners' questions about deli culture, Jewish cooking, and Jewish food traditions. Episodes are released every other Thursday on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
• Talks & Workshops Fee-based culinary programming offered to corporate clients, universities, and cultural institutions, including The Shtetl Kitchen lecture, An Immigrant History of Jewish Food in America, How to Make Gefilte Fish & Horseradish cooking demo, Holiday Baking workshops, The Art of Pickling, and Custom Workshops & Experiences. Clients include Saatchi, Grammarly, TrueCar, Maroon, Smithsonian, BBYO, Moishe House, and EZ Cater.
• Collabs & Projects (Consulting) Content and event consulting services for brands, media organizations, cultural centers, and festivals. Includes projects such as the B'teavon Jewish Culinary Retreat at Ramah Darom, Smithsonian Folklife Festival participation, Our Place's Shabbat Set, Taste the Nation (Hulu), YIVO's A Seat at the Table, The Great Big Jewish Food Fest, and various culinary residencies.

Quantifiable outcome

• Tens of thousands of people taught about Jewish pickling and food history

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Heeb MediaflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 26 March 2026Gefilteria launched 'Meet Me at the Deli' podcast in partnership with the relaunched Heeb Media Podcast Network. The food advice podcast, hosted by Liz Alpern and Jeffrey Yoskowitz, answers questions on deli culture, Jewish cooking, and the nouveau shtetl kitchen lifestyle. Episodes released every other Thursday.
• Our PlacecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGefilteria collaborated on Our Place's Shabbat Set, bringing their expertise in Jewish culinary heritage to product development and cultural storytelling for the cookware brand.
• Ramah DaromflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing partnership for B'teavon Jewish Culinary Retreat, a dynamic food-centric retreat at Ramah Darom in Georgia. Gefilteria develops and leads the culinary programming for this multi-day experience featuring guest chefs.
• Trybal GatheringscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGefilteria serves as culinary programming partner for Trybal Gatherings adult Jewish summer camp experiences, teaching cooking and leading hands-on culinary workshops at camps in the Berkshires and New York.
• YIVO Institute for Jewish ResearchminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on 'A Seat at the Table' programming exploring Jewish food culture and history through YIVO's archival resources and Gefilteria's culinary expertise.
• Smithsonian Folklife FestivalflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerGefilteria participated in the prestigious Smithsonian Folklife Festival, showcasing Jewish culinary traditions on a national stage.
• GrammarlyminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate team building workshop client. Liz and Jeffrey led interactive cooking sessions for Grammarly employees as part of their team events.
• OneTableminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for DIY Passover programming and Goose Shabbat experiences, helping young adults host meaningful Shabbat dinners through cooking workshops.
• Borscht Belt MuseumcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerAnnual participation in Borscht Belt Fest festival with live podcast tapings, lectures, and the Great Kugel Cook-Off judging. Partnership supports Jewish cultural programming in the Catskills region.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Saveur Magazine: Food culture magazine covering heritage cuisines, culinary travel, and recipes. Comparable content-led approach to heritage and cultural cooking.
• MasterClass: Premium video-based education platform featuring celebrity chefs teaching culinary techniques. Comparable culinary education positioning with a digital-first delivery model.
• Food52: Food media and commerce platform with community recipes, content, and DTC retail. Comparable in combining niche culinary content with e-commerce and brand partnerships at greater scale.
• Milk Street: Christopher Kimball's culinary media and education brand offering cooking school, magazine, podcast, and DTC products. Comparable content-plus-education-plus-product model at larger scale.
• America's Test Kitchen: Multi-channel cooking media brand producing cookbooks, TV shows, schools, and an online subscription platform. Comparable content-plus-workshop-plus-DTC structure at much larger scale.

Others

• Heeb Media: Jewish-culture media network that partnered with Gefilteria to launch Meet Me at the Deli podcast. Direct media/distribution partner in the Jewish cultural ecosystem.

Emerging players

• Cookly: Online marketplace for in-person cooking classes across global destinations. Comparable experience-led culinary workshops business with marketplace distribution model.
• The Nosher (My Jewish Learning): Jewish food vertical within My Jewish Learning featuring recipes, chef profiles, and food culture content. Comparable Jewish food content and community audience.

Direct peers

• Jewish Food Society: Nonprofit dedicated to preserving and celebrating Jewish foodways through programming, cookbooks, and community events. Directly comparable mission to Gefilteria's Jewish culinary revival focus.
• Gather: Jewish communal dining and events network running pop-up dinners and Shabbat experiences. Comparable mission of building Jewish community through food events.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/gefilteria
• Facebookfacebook.com/Gefilteria
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-gefilteria

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Gefilteria