Local food-fan fave "Two Jews Making Food" with Rebecca Edana and Amy Steinhaus Kirwin has always had a potentially broader appeal than to the LTV and Sun20TV broadcast viewers it has entertained for two years.
The show debuted in a true D.I.Y. fashion on Facebook Live in 2019, with a national audience of friends and supporters, and stayed there for two years before LTV took over the production side of things and began airing the show.
Now, a Los Angeles-based streaming platform for content related to Jewish faith and culture has announced it has picked up the half-hour comedic romp through the kitchen for its own launch. Last week, ChaiFlicks, which is available on every major streaming device, began carrying the show. Not only does this expand the program's reach nationally, but to Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand -- well beyond those who might stumble upon it on YouTube. More locally, it can also be seen in the Bronx through BronxNet Inform, a cable access channel, on alternate Sundays at 7:30 p.m. as well as streamed.
These patrons can now access the same broad-humored banter, traditional and unorthodox recipe prep, cocktail culture, and Yiddish lessons that the South Fork has enjoyed for three seasons and 37 episodes. The company said it acquired the show to serve as a companion to another food-related show it offers called "Schmoozing and Cruising." It's an unscripted half-hour devoted to exploring innovative Kosher restaurants and food purveyors in the United States.
Although both hosts of "Two Jews Making Food" live here, they were raised in California and have backgrounds in theater. As a result, they are natural performers as well as major foodies. Ms. Edana likes simplicity and healthy approaches to recipes and food preparation, calling herself the "one-pot wonder." Ms. Kirwin is more baroque in her perspective, looking for adventure in her kitchen encounters, with fussy presentations and a love of improvising that can lead to stunning success as well as disaster.
As she told The Star in 2023, she likes to try things she's never made before on the show, "because it's very funny if it's terrible." If they try something that bombs, it's okay. The idea is not to fear failure. After Ms. Edana gave her a cocktail with mezcal, for example, Ms. Kirwin told her it tasted like a shoe.
They like interacting with an audience, even the minimal one they can fit in the small LTV kitchen studio. Food and drinks are shared with them, along with a side of banter. Then, they help the hosts clean up. Seats for future tapings can be reserved by email at [email protected]. Who knows? You could be seen in New Zealand.
As Ms. Edana said in 2023, "What I like about our show is that it's friendly, it's accessible, and it's very relatable." She added, "It's just so nice to talk to people about food and how it affects their life and their story . . . and how we relate to each other as humans through food."
The show's episodes remain on YouTube and LTV's website, and are also available on the "Two Jews Making Food" website. LTV will continue to air the episodes on its television channel as well. Their latest episodes are "Set It and Forget It" and "Weird Science." In honor of their new home in the Bronx, they will take a food tour with Matthew O'Connor, an actor from the Bronx who now lives on the East End, for what they believe will be their 40th episode. Episodes 38 and 39 will be recorded on Feb. 5 with "themes T.B.D.," they said.
