Interview with Chaim Davids
Interview with Chaim Davids
Pickle me some cucumbers - Storytelling 200 years of nostalgic flavors
“We’ve taken the most nostalgic flavor profiles of the last 200 years of Ashkenazi (Eastern European Jewish descent) Jewry - and we’re telling the story on an expanding canvas! ”
Meet Chaim Davids, founder of Prohibition Pickle who embarked on an extraordinary journey, turning a tiny pickle-making operation into a thriving deli and catering business, despite numerous setbacks. Drawing on the rich flavors of Ashkenazi cuisine, he creates pickles and condiments that celebrate cultural history and enhance everyday meals. The deli offers a wide range of low-cost, preserved delicacies, catering to groups and individuals alike. His vision extends to viewing Israel as the world's culinary R&D center for uniquely prioritizing flavor and culture over classic culinary tradition. Prohibition Pickle stands as a testament to culinary passion and innovative entrepreneurship.
Could you shed some light on your journey from "crafting" pickles in a makeshift home setup to inaugurating a storefront and further expanding to a warehouse?
It started with a great deal of culinary soul searching.
Disenchanted by years behind the stove and late nights, I held a difficult question for a long time: how can I use my hands and create in a way that is conducive to my new life in Israel, to a life lifestyle I want to live, one that is more free and available for my family?
In 2017 I began my journey as an entrepreneur contract producing and marketing a few different food and beverage products. For two years I learned the ropes the hard way and eventually I was recruited by a new coop to lead their Jerusalem sales at a similar capacity. Fate had other plans. As that road dead ended abruptly, and I was eager again to fully pursue my new passion and pivot into the development of great condiments and meal components that would be chef driven.
At this point I still didn't have the tools, confidence, and capital to launch a company.
Opening a delicatessen was a natural choice since the base offerings are largely made up of pickles and preserves. The vision was to open a flagship deli/market that would be the first of many, and potentially sell to franchisees.
Could you elaborate on how you managed to scale your operations?
First I would plan to build a central production facility to support multiple locations and manufacture a limited selection of pickles and sauces for” micro national” retail. After months of pitching, cooking, and courting, I recruited a group of well-established and respected Jerusalem based restaurateurs, and we formed a partnership to open our shop in Shuk Machane Yehuda – the Open market in Jerusalem.
We spent months turning over every stone searching for the “perfect” location. and when we were about to sign on for the 3rd best option money can buy, COVID hit. My group was forced to quickly consolidate as all places of recreation were barred and their business’s future was uncertain.
I walked away devastated.
I had no interest in cooking from home, but the corona sort of made it acceptable and home food businesses were popping up everywhere. My wife Batya, and a close friend kept on encouraging me to just get started.
So begrudgingly we dragged the beds out of our 2.5 meter second kids room, and I flipped it into a little production “facility”. "Bootlegging" pickles and condiments was just what I had to do. I needed income and I needed to start over and create a working prototype as proof of concept if I was ever going to be able to attract investment again, especially during a recession!
Would you mind sharing about the daring moves, roller-coaster experiences throughout your journey?
I felt then, and still believe, that ‘bold steps’ are the only moves that lead to growth. What came next was rapid growth into a small deli in a local mall, loans, growth, dips, and then a year later a forced premature exit into an underfunded expansion.
Along the way I was shown a lot of providence and managed to bring in an investor for the first stage. We did some things right and some things wrong, and they weren’t always in the most intuitive order, but i’m certain still that thus far we’ve done the best we could given the circumstances.
Today we're taking baby steps in filling our own shoes and our growth is healthy and organic.
In what ways has your experience in the food and beverage industry shaped your method of operating Prohibition Pickle?
I imagine that a lot of chef-owners run their business from the back of the house. I don't think of myself as a chef personality.
Sure, we’re a food business and food/ingredient driven, though the greatness of Prohibition Pickle is that we’ve taken the most nostalgic flavor profiles of the last 200 years of Ashkenazi (Eastern European Jewish descent) Jewry - and we’re telling the story on an expanding canvas!
Our elderly patrons can take pride, while the youth can crave.
We’re simply reimagining familiar foods with a little more color and trying our best to consider how takeaway food can be reheated and enjoyed. From the ordering process through delivery, most of my energy goes into creating a consistent experience.
Moving though many facets of food service from a very young age has helped me round out the sharp edges of this operation. From working in fine dining, to butchering, from pizza shops to wineries, I've been able to fill my bag with many techniques that promote an efficient menu.
Could you give us a sneak peek into your operations and offerings?
We currently operate with two platforms - a catering company, and an online delicatessen offering an a la carte menu.
As a deli, we highlight a wide range of delicacies that are cured & pickled in various methods - through salt, age, and smoked, we can offer a huge basket with lower-than-average labor and food costs.
Most items we produce in house, and some we outsource. Food preservation means less waste. Also, because we service primarily Anglo pocket communities through direct delivery and central pick up points for group orders, we can offer fresh and colorful food for 100 people -- while a single person can also order a small basket of only a few condiments.
Live mustard, hot sauce, and red sauerkraut (raw cabbage) can be kept in a fridge and enhance your everyday meals.
What's your perspective on the Galilee Culinary Institute as a nucleus for culinary innovation and synergies?
Israel is sort of the R&D center of the world and food is our common language, though we have many dialects.
If GCI can position itself as a culinary authority by honoring culture and flavor, and not necessarily classic culinary tradition, then maybe there's a sporting chance of creating something altogether new. I don’t think that the world needs more pedigree and foodie snobbery. We should be producing the finest food, wine, and produce that common people can access and appreciate.
What is a fun culinary fact about you?
I'm repulsed by organ meats and pine nuts, but I can eat sweet breads cooked over open coals, and enjoy foraging pine nuts with my kids and cracking them open with rocks and eating them with dirty hands under a tree.