Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebecca King.
Rebecca, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I have always called myself a “Bad Jew” for loving pork. When I started cooking in 2018, I often thought to myself “What a great name for a treif (non-kosher) restaurant “. What would the concept be? Where would I even begin? I had little cooking experience and zero exposure to working in restaurants. I wanted to learn. I started working for my friend’s popup, Pop’s Bagels. I wedged myself into the food scene and loved every minute of it. I worked many other popups, signed up with a catering company, worked as a private chef, and staged at lots of restaurants.
In September of 2019, I had a Labor Day party. I bought an off-set smoker, a suckling pig, and a brisket. I had no idea what I was doing. My roommate said he had a friend that makes “fire brisket”. I immediately messaged Danny Gordon of Flatpoint Barbecue, “I have 10,000 questions.” He answered each one and taught me how to smoke meat via Instagram.
In October of 2019, I began a two-month stage at Birdie G’s, where I met Chef Joel Spadafore. This is where I asked another 10,000 questions, mostly about brine’s and fermentation. The combination of knowledge coming from Danny and Joel inspired me and one day I thought “OH MY GOD. PORK DELI SANDWICHES.” It just hit me. I had my concept.
By the end of October, I asked my friend, Kelsie Greenberg, to draw my logo and graphics, started recipe testing, and by December strangers were eating treif deli sandwiches on my front porch.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s been pretty wild. I have so much fun doing this but I probably cry once a week too. I’ve only been around since December so I had a short but incredible run pre-covid. I’d have popups on the porch. Music blasting, wine flowing, just a big party with me, my team, and my customers. I miss my team the most. Obviously covid-19 is the biggest challenge. Having to work alone and adapt my hot-food menu to sandwich kits. It’s intense but it’s worth it. My customers DM your photos of the food they put together… telling me how delicious everything was. That’s why I do this. To feed people and make them happy.
We’d love to hear more about the business.
I make pork deli sandwiches. Both porkstrami and corned pork are brined pork shoulder. I brine the meat for seven days with a mixture of brown sugar, salt, and toasted spices. The porkstrami is rubbed with yellow mustard and a bark mixture of black pepper and spices. It is then smoked for 12 hours. The corned pork is simmered with cabbage, onion, celery, and spices, also for 12 hours. The porkstrami is smokey where the corned pork is tangy. Similar yet oh so different.
What makes me proud is when old Jewish men tell this is the best deli sandwich they’ve ever had. That’s my favorite compliment. Also, my pre-covid team makes me the proudest. I miss them so much! And what makes me different is that I use pork. I’ve never seen this done anywhere else.
What are your future plans?
It’s hard to tell with the uncertainty of covid and the economy. I hope that my fellow popups and restaurants can stay open. We are a huge part of the vibrant diversity and culture in LA.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thebadjewla.com
- Phone: 2164011562
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebadjew/?hl=en
Image Credit:
Angelo Almonte
John Troxell
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