Kat Romanow
Kat is a Jewish food historian and the director of food programming at the Museum of Jewish Montreal. Born and raised in Montreal in an Italian-Catholic family, she celebrated Christmas, ate pasta for lunch every Sunday, and didn’t know much about Judaism. As an undergrad she delved deep into studying Jewish religion and culture and discovered that not only did she want to study Jewish food history but she wanted to convert. She has since become a central part of the community of Jewish food entrepreneurs across North America by creating projects in which food is used as a medium to teach people about Jewish culture and history. She created Fletchers - Espace Culinaire, the first Jewish food space of its kind in Montreal where people can eat a meal inspired by diverse Jewish food traditions or attend one of the food events that happen there. She also founded the Wandering Chew in 2013 after participating in the ROI Connection Point, Nu Montreal. The Wandering Chew is a two-woman food collective that introduces Montrealers to the diversity of Jewish cuisines and communities through innovative food events. As co-curator, researcher, and cook, Kat has created pop-up meals that feature the food and stories of Montreal’s Iraqi, Mexican, Scandinavian, and Italian Jews. Finally, Kat’s passion for food, her city, and storytelling led her to research and create the Beyond the Bagel food tour during which she teaches participants about Montreal Jewish food history and feeds them A LOT of food.