Amaze in Taste says Mashgiachim are with them

October 19, 2013 by Henry Benjamin
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Responding to the statement made by the Kashrut Authority on J-Wire, caterer Amaze in Taste has emphasised its plan to go it alone.Spokesman for Amaze in Taste Hilton Cohn said: “We will make a full statement in good time but for the moment we want the Sydney community to be aware that the Mashgiachim responsible for assuring that our food is perfectly kosher both in its sourcing and its preparation will remain with us. These are the same “watchers” who worked with us when we had our temporary and now expired KA licence.”

 

Comments

11 Responses to “Amaze in Taste says Mashgiachim are with them”
  1. Mike says:

    Approx 3-4 years ago there was a wedding held in Sydney where the caterer was Eshel (Fogel) from Melb.

    If I recall correctly, the cost for the entire affair was approx 40-50% less than the Syd caterer had quoted.
    The caterer has a hechsher from Melb’s charedi Adass Rabbi who sent along his own mashgichim.
    I have heard that since that time there have been a number of functions catered by Eshel and Kosher Classique – another Melb Adass caterer.

    In addition to Syd caterers being far more expensive than those in Melb, the cost of supervision is less than half of Sydney’s KA.

    The reason is quite obvious, Sydney KA has a monopoly and they charge whatever they wish, whilst in Melb there are currently 3 Kashrut orgs.

    KA (which is basically owned my the Mizrachi (who these days make a nice profit – despite charging less than its Syd counterpart).
    Then there is Adass – who have been in the Kashrut field for over 50 years.
    And the newcomer being Rabbi Meir Rabi of “It’s Kosher”. He is far from popular with the rabbis who run both KAs
    and who regularly pass motions at the rabbinical get-togethers besmirching him and his org. (Doesn’t seem to help as his list of licensees seems to be growing).
    Melb used to have 2 other private rabbinical Kashruts – one was Rabbi Mordechai Gutnick and the other Rabbi Yanki Barber.

    At the time they too were a thorn in the side of KA (then operating as ‘Mizrachi Kashrut’). They too were the targets of plenty of bad-mouthing at the time, which like now, made absolutely no difference.
    Then Mizrachi made a smart move and hired both of them. This wiped out most of the competition and they all live happily ever after.
    For those of us who remember, we find it absurd that these 2 rabbis now use the same lines that were said against them against “It’s Kosher”.

    Maybe they should make Rabbi Rabi and offer that he can’t refuse..

    Back to Syd, if their KA had a competitor or 2, it too would find ways to lower charges and keep the clients happy.

    However what is happening now is a scandal and ALL rabbis and Kosher consumers should boycott any affair that has no rabbinical supervision.

  2. evi says:

    Who provides the cheaper Kosher meats in Canada? Must tell my sister in Toronto!

    • Sam says:

      I have no idea who it is. My wife went shopping a few times with friends. I expect it also depends on what level of kosher you require

  3. Bernhard says:

    As an secular jew who might want a kosher function so that any attending jew will feel welcome, I do not understand the different levels of kosher. All I and most of the community want are catered functions that are kosher enough for the average Australian, less costly, and most important that are acceptable to our Rabbis. For those who wish I would expect that Taste would be amenable to supplying extra kosher food that can be supplied from an “acceptable” kosher source.

  4. Benseon Apple says:

    So the mashgichim are paid by the company, rather than by an independent kashrus agency? This is a major criticism of the Israeli Rabbanut’s very low kashrus standards – how can one trust a mashgiach who is paid by the company they are meant to be supervising? Do they really have the freedom to call their bosses out when infractions take place without fear of losing their income?!

    • Rabbi Meir says:

      Benseon, we have already discussed this at length elsewhere, and you know that there is no substance to your claim. Reb Moshe Feinstein Paskened, details on my website http://www.kosherveyosher.com/lone-rabbis.html, that if a communal agency receives any payments whatsoever from the establishments they are servicing, even if only to defray the costs of the Mashgichim (supervisors), then they offer no advantage over the individual Rabbonim who are providing similar services. [i.e. and these Rabbanim are being paid by those companies]

      In fact, it is quite likely that the Hashgocha of the communal agency is inferior simply because there is no one single individual in whom the final responsibility rests. There is no one “at the top” who feels personally responsible. Whereas an individual Rov is far more likely to feel the responsibility and the repercussions of any errors and he is far more likely to be fearful of having erred, having caused others to sin and lose the respect of his supporters.

      Besides it is the way of the world that people tend to automatically trust the larger agencies without really checking their operations unlike the individual Rov who is queried and investigated.

      • Benseon Apple says:

        There is no “individual Rov” in this case concerning the Sydney caterer, so R Feinstein’s psak is not even relevant. It is a mashgiach. Whilst he or she may or not be up to the task, they do not necessarily hold rabbinic qualifications. The caterer concerned has not publicised who the mashgiach is and the mashgiach has not publicised themselves nor their rabbinic qualifications.

        • Benseon,
          Reb Moshe is extremely relevant. He discusses not the competence but the trustworthiness, the vulnerability to pressure or bribery. In this regard he says that an individual, be it a Rov or a Mashgiach, will be more fearful of being unmasked and trashed whereas the Kosher org, like a juggernaut, will just carry on, crush all criticism – business as usual.

          In fact the Mashgichim will provide a superior Kosher standard because they will simply tell the caterer whenever anything questionable happens, “We are not rabbis so we can’t decide. You have chosen not to use a rabbi, therefore we can only tell you that this cannot be used”, whereas a rabbi may well argue that this is a case of great financial loss and therefore we are entitled to employ various leniencies. Now this is a risk that must be worn by the caterer.

          Dont think I am not in favour of having rabbinic certification, I am very much in favour of it. However, that is not the same as saying that without rabbinic certification the foods are not Kosher.

          • Benseon Apple says:

            Rabbi Rabi,

            This is yet another argument of yours that defies basic logic. Re-read the psak of Rav Moshe that you display so prominently on your site. It does not give the blanket approval that you claim it does. Nor does it propound the nonsensical quote you have put into the words of a mashgiach.

            You also put words into my mouth, claiming that I said that, without a supervising agency, the food is not kosher. It could well be kosher, as could the food that you supervise. However, without a RELIABLE, independent authority willing to stake its reputation on the kashrus, and without clearly defined policies that meet INTERNATIONALLY accepted kashrus standards, there is simply no way to categorically claim that the food is kosher l’mehadrin.

            Benseon

    • Sam says:

      Works well in Canada. They also have kosher meats that do not come from the regular KA and much cheaper. Most people are happy to know it is kosher without the extra costs.

      • those meats still are certified Kosher by a Rabbi, and there are reliable systems in place to ensure that it has not been substituted and is wearing a forged label.

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