Today we’d like to introduce you to Mela Gallegos and Diana Brigitt.
Mela and Diana, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
We grew up in a Jewish household with our grandmother, Mira, and grandfather, David adhering to strict kashrut rules. We remember when our grandmother would refuse to use a knife that touched any pork product, even if it was washed. We decided as young girls that limiting the foods we could eat was no option, which sparked our love for making meals for our family and friends. Once we moved to America, we knew we still wanted to cook for people and make them happy, so we decided to be a part of Carvery Kitchen. Carvery Kitchen was once located in Santa Monica, and when we moved to Pico-Robertson, we were the talk of the area since we were (and still are) the only non-kosher restaurant on the block.
In a predominantly Jewish area, a non-kosher, a ‘new deli on the block’, was not exactly welcomed with open arms. Our neighbors expressed mixed feelings during the first few months. Some were excited and thought we’ll do well while others were not so much. It’s a great challenge. But it’s OK, it makes us stronger. We treat Kosher food places and their customers with respect and we hope they will do the same. We specialize in food that makes people feel good, comfort food. We’ve developed a 24 hour slow-roasting technique that we use for our meats, and we don’t believe in processed foods or GMO’s. Slow roasted, fresh ingredients help us make people feel at home.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
When we arrived on Pico-Robertson, we started to notice that some of the locals would stand outside of our business and stare at our menu and sign in disbelief. Some were even brave enough to come into our restaurant and ask, “Are you kosher?” When we tell them no, we usually hear, “Well how did that happen in this neighborhood?” and we have to kindly ask them to leave. We don’t want to cause any problems for the locals who only eat kosher, we just want to provide something different to the people, like us, who do not follow the kashrut rules. We’re Jewish too, we’re just not kosher.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Carvery Kitchen is known for our brisket. We are known for our brisket because we use a slow roasting technique which takes about 24 hours. We utilize this method with most of our proteins such as our brisket, turkey and pastrami, and people have really responded to it. We like to call brisket the “king of the deli” so, that of course, has become our personal favorite thing on the menu. It’s so juicy and delicious, and we thick-cut our brisket for a tender bite that you won’t forget. We don’t use any processed foods or GMO’s and want to show that even classic deli dishes can be a healthy option. We also like to create dishes people will love. Especially when it comes to catering, we are here for you to make something that you will love. Not all restaurants are willing to develop new menu items or specialize things for their customers, but we believe in adapting ourselves for you. You want brisket tacos? We will figure out a way to make them for you.
What were you like growing up?
We were both very strong little girls with a passion for food. Even though we grew up in a strict Jewish household with our grandmother, we decided at a young age that we wanted to enjoy all the food that the world had to offer. Our passion for cooking came from our grandmother, however. She didn’t eat a whole lot, but boy, did she know how to cook. We remember that she used to make these cakes that were very delicate when they had to rise. If anyone slammed the door or dropped something heavy in the kitchen around the cake while it was rising, we would hear it for sure. One day, a friend stopped by to see our grandmother, and she slammed the door when she left. We got an earful for that, and the story still makes us laugh today.
Contact Info:
- Address: 8832 Pico Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90035 - Phone: (310) 450-0880
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carverykitchen/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarveryKitchenLosAngeles/?ref=bookmarks
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/carvery-kitchen-los-angeles
Image Credit:
Personality Photo Credit – fooda.com, All other photos provided – Sarah King Photography
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