Lillian and Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum
575 3rd Street NorthwestJoin the Capital Jewish Museum for a conversation with award-winning food writer and historian Alissa Timoshkina, celebrating her new cookbook, Lozhka: Eastern European Soups, Stews & Other Things We Eat with a Spoon. Samples of Alissa's Crimean Jewish Borsch with Quince will be shared with attendees.
In conversation with chef, writer, and cooking instructor Susan Barocas, Alissa will explore the rich, overlapping culinary traditions of Eastern Europe; the role recipes play in preserving Jewish memory and identity; and what the humble, comforting foods we inherit can tell us about the people and places that came before us.
Part cookbook and part cultural history, Lozhka celebrates Eastern Europe through one of its most humble and powerful symbols: the spoon. From herb-scented soups and hearty grain stews to pillowy dumplings and custard-soaked desserts, each dish carries a sense of meaning, memory and belonging. Drawing on a wide range of traditions, including Ukrainian, Jewish, Tatar, Hungarian, Polish, Slovak and Roma, amongst others, Lozhka reveals a borderless cuisine shaped by resilience and generosity.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Alissa Timoshkina is a London-based food writer, cookbook author and historian specializing in the culinary culture of Eastern Europe. Born in Siberia with Ashkenazi and Eastern Slavic roots, her family history is a defining ingredient in her cooking and writing. Alissa moved to the UK in the late 1990s to study, later completing a PhD in Soviet culture and Holocaust history. Ultimately, her love of cooking pulled her away from academia, and in 2015 she founded the supper club and catering company KinoVino, which she ran until 2020.
She is the author Salt & Time (2019) and Kapusta (2025), which won the André Simon Special Commendation Award, and writes the Substack newsletter In Her Hands. In response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Alissa co-founded the global fundraising campaign #CookForUkraine with her friend, chef and writer, Olia Hercules, raising over £2.5 million for humanitarian relief and receiving multiple international awards. Alissa lives in North London with her partner and their two children. Lozhka is her third cookbook. Find her on Instagram at @alissatimoshkina.
Susan Barocas is a chef, writer and cooking instructor passionate about Jewish food, especially Sephardic cuisines, culture and history. She appeared on the 2025 PBS program “Family Recipes: Jewish American Style” and is co-founder/co-director of the project Savor: A Sephardic Music & Food Experience (savorexperience.com). Susan served as guest chef for three Passover seders in the Obama White House and has worked with the Capital Jewish Museum and previously the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington for many years including as founding director of the innovative Jewish Food Experience.
Photo credit: Kim Lightbody
Wed, Nov 4, 2026 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Lillian and Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum
575 3rd Street Northwest
The Lillian and Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum collects, preserves, and shares the diverse stories of Jewish history and culture in the National Capital Region. Through exhibitions and programs, we build connections across generations and communities, encourage reflection on the relevance of the past to today, and inspire civic and community engagement.
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