L ifestyles /C ulture
Jamie Geller Joins Aish Global for New Media Initiative
M E DIA
TOBY KLEIN GREENWALD
“KOSHER QUEEN” Jamie Geller,
a Philadelphia native, is taking on
a new challenge. The author of
seven bestselling cookbooks and
the founder and CEO of Kosher
Network International, Geller is
partnering with Aish Global to
create a new media network.

The partnership
was announced on Chanukah during
a live candlelighting ceremony
and concert viewed by over
100,000 people at the Aish World
Center across from the Kotel.

Geller — whose person-
ality-driven KNi, the parent
company of jamiegeller.com
and @jewlishbyjamie, draws
millions of followers through
a strong social media presence
with thousands of recipes and
viral how-to videos — attri-
butes much of her success to her
Philadelphia upbringing.

“I have such gratitude for my
Philly background. There were
so many successes that came
out of it,” she said. “I grew up
in a very healthy, robust, well-
attended Conservative synagogue
— ‘AJ,’ Adath Jeshurun.”
Geller went to Solomon
Schechter Day School in
Elkins Park, and then to
Akiba Hebrew Academy (now
Barrack Hebrew Academy).

“I had a strong background in
[Jewish] education, and Zionism
was preached and adopted there;
there was a huge love for Israel.”
After attending New York
University, Geller worked at
CNN and HBO.

“I was on the sets of TV shows,
on film sets, met celebrities,” she
Wolf Continued from Page 17
“Was the empty chair for
Elijah or Uncle Ray?” he said.

Shoemaker’s balanced a
standup career with various
stage, film and television acting
and writing roles, but said he’s
18 JANUARY 21, 2021
said. “My mother was so nervous
that after everything she did —
sending me to a Jewish school
and shul and Camp Ramah in
the Poconos my whole Jewish
life — I would meet a non-Jewish
guy.” She needn’t have worried.

“I went to singles events run
by Rebbetzin [Esther] Jungreis
and to the Aish New York
Monday parsha class, where they
would try to make the parshahs
relevant to your life,” she recalled.

“I loved it and it moved me,
and I went to an Aish Discovery
Shabbaton, and it was 20 years to
this year, on Parshat Miketz, that
I decided I wanted to become
shomer Shabbos. I knew all the
davening, so I was comfortable
in Hebrew, from school.”
After a decade-long career as
an award-winning TV producer
and marketing executive, Geller’s
second career as celebrity chef
was somewhat unexpected —
especially given that before she
was married, she used her oven
in Manhattan for storage.

“We were newlyweds and my
husband said, ‘What’s for dinner?’
and I said, ‘I don’t know. You tell
me!”’ Geller said. “My grandpar-
ents on both sides were amazing
chefs. One was a proprietor of
his own unbelievable restaurant
in Chestnut Hill. My grand-
mother had a natural gift. On
the other side, my grandfather
was a butcher in Allentown and a
tremendous cook; they called him
‘Chefu,’ not ‘Dad,’ which means
‘chef’ in Romanian. My parents
emigrated from Transylvania to
Pennsylvania in 1964.

“Then my husband taught me
how to cook. He’s a dream, he
worked in catering, his whole
family cooked. To this day, he’s
my sous chef.”
While she was on maternity
leave from HBO, Geller wrote
a cookbook at her husband’s
urging. “It became an autobiog-
raphy — how I married, made
mistakes in the kitchen — and I
needed recipes, so I wrote those
after I wrote the book.”
That book was “Quick &
Kosher — Recipes From the
Bride Who Knew Nothing.”
“I had called a Jewish
publisher but they declined a
meeting with me because they
were already committed to a
different cookbook author, so I
called Feldheim Publishers and
said, ‘I’m a producer at HBO, can
I have a meeting?’ and I got it.

They printed 10,000 copies and
they sold out in a few weeks. It’s
now in its seventh printing, and
has been translated to Hebrew.”
Now, many books and 1
billion video views later, Geller is
known for being able to connect
with a Jewish audience — which
is precisely why Aish Global
pulled her in and made her
their chief media and marketing
officer. The goal of the partner-
ship, over the next 10 years, is to
connect 3 million Jews around
the world to their Jewish identity
“through cutting-edge, quality,
professional and commercially
viable Jewish entertainment
and edutainment,” Geller said.

“The programs will be strati-
fied — covering a diverse range
of topics.” The visionary and
architect of the plan, said Geller,
was Rabbi Yitzchak Berkovits,
the rosh yeshiva of the Aish
HaTorah Yeshiva in Jerusalem.

Gladwyne philanthropist
David Magerman, the founder
of the Kohelet Foundation, is a
longtime investor in KNi. As a
proponent of kashrut — he’s the
owner of the kosher restaurants
Zagafen and Citron & Rose Tavern
— he’s excited about Geller’s
potential to spread the word.

“I’m thrilled that she is
partnering with Aish Global to
continue promoting the kosher
lifestyle,” said Magerman. “I
can’t think of a better ambas-
sador for kashrut than Jamie
to represent the message of the
beauty, simplicity and healthful-
ness of kashrut.”
Of course, keeping kosher
will be just one part of Geller’s
message with Aish Global.

“We hope to reach Jews who
are so far living without any
Judaism in their lives. Maybe
they’re Jewish by birth, maybe
they identify, maybe not,” Geller
explained. “We see the enthu-
siasm for the [Netflix series]
‘Unorthodox,’ which wasn’t
‘sold’ to Jewish audiences. It all
starts with quality content. ...

People will come if the content
is compelling, creative and
entertaining.” Geller knows a bit about
compelling content. Before she
started KNi, Geller worked on
some big hits, including “Sex in
the City” and “The Sopranos.”
“Regarding ‘Sex in the City,’
I was a single girl living in
Manhattan. It certainly wasn’t
my life, but it spoke to so many,
it had its finger on the pulse of
culture and society and I think
there was value for the culture in
the society at that time. I learned
a lot from that experience.”
Working on those projects gave
her insight that she’d use later.

“When I became religious,
always been an entrepreneurial
guy — he helped developed “on
hold” advertising and founded
the nonprofit LaughterHeals.org.

Although he’s lived on the
West Coast for years, he retains
a love for Philadelphia, which is
apparent in the show. Numerous
Philadelphia landmarks are
referenced and familiar faces
make cameo appearances.

“This show needs Philadelphia
to be its own character,” he said.

Philadelphia plays a key role
in the first four episodes, which
feature a beauty salon operator,
a natural energy food bars
inventor and an entrepreneur in
the sports collectibles market.

Shoemaker said another six
Philadelphia-centric episodes are
planned before the show heads
in future seasons to Boston,
Chicago and perhaps beyond.

Cleveland native Lodish
said the show is designed to
show that business can be fun
despite the struggles would-be
entrepreneurs often face.

“We want to motivate
JEWISH EXPONENT
Jamie Geller lights the menorah
with her daughter at the Aish World
Center during the Facebook Live
announcement of the partnership.

Photo by Todd Rosenblatt
I was crying, wondering, ‘Why
did I waste 10 years of my life?
How would this be relevant to me
now?’ But it has been the most
relevant professional experience,
for everything I have done. That
career and specific professional
experience and expertise has
opened every single door.”
Now, the Gellers don’t even
have a TV in their home. “But
I do keep my ear to the ground
and make sure that I’m informed
and watch elements of whatever
is trending in streaming
programming,” Geller said. “I
often go outside of the Jewish
world to my network of contacts
when it comes to production
and marketing.”
She will surely do some of that
in her new role with Aish. The
organization is looking forward
to having Geller onboard.

“This is an initiative for and
by the Jewish people,” Aish CEO
Rabbi Steven Burg said. This isn’t
about building up Aish. This is
about building and improving
the world.” l
Toby Klein Greenwald is an award-
winning journalist, theater director and
editor-in-chief of WholeFamily.com.

people to start businesses and
own businesses,” said Lodish,
a co-founder and partner
with Musketeer Capital LLC
and co-leader of Wharton’s
Venture Initiation Program in
San Francisco. l
agotlieb@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0797
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM