Kosher Mobile Kitchen opens in Canada’s First National Park

Banff is a popular vacation town in Alberta, Canada, filled with natural hot springs, numerous ski slopes, and gorgeous scenery. Now, the newly opened Chabad of the Canadian Rockies is preparing to inaugurate a 30-foot, $200,000 glatt-kosher mobile commercial kitchen that serves kosher food to visitors.

By Tzemach Feller – Lubavitch.com

Banff is a popular vacation town in Alberta, Canada, filled with natural hot springs, numerous ski slopes, and gorgeous scenery. Luxury resorts in this idyllic setting make it a destination of choice for vacationers, conferences and weddings, attracting some 5 million tourists each year, including tens of thousands of Jews. But until now, kosher food was almost impossible to get in the relatively remote town nestled in the Canadian Rockies.

That is about to change.

Now, the newly opened Chabad of the Canadian Rockies is preparing to inaugurate a 30-foot, $200,000 glatt-kosher mobile commercial kitchen that will open Banff to the world of kosher tourism.

The leaders of Chabad of the Rockies, Rabbi Dovid AND Devorah Pinson have moved to Banff, putting their experience in communal Jewish activity to enrich life for the local Jewish community with holiday celebrations, Shabbat dinners and family events. As part of their job, they will manage the mobile kosher kitchen.

The project reflects the vision of two grieving parents and the dedication of a man who received a new lease on life thanks to a kidney donation. When Yehuda(Eugene) and Ilana Weigs son 20 years old DANIEL passed away under tragic circumstances, they wanted to remember and celebrate his life with a project that would improve the lives of a Jewish community. Torontonians chose to donate the seed money to start building the mobile kitchen.

Taking it to the next step was Howard Moster. The former Cincinnati police detective became seriously ill several years ago and needed a new kidney. His close friend, Rabbi Dovid Pinson, launched a campaign to find Moster a donor. After many donors came forward and were rejected, Rabbi Mendy Blachman, a Chabad representative in Edmonton, Alberta, was a perfect match. They couldn’t be a better match if they were brothers, the doctor said.

Mosters’ new deal inspired him to act with influence. He entered the campaign, bringing funds from a variety of sources to the project.

Now, Jewish travelers to the Canadian Rockies won’t have to look far for kosher supplies, and Pinson says a Bar Mitzvah destination is already booked for this July.

rabbi Menachem Matusof, Senior Rabbi and Executive Director of Chabad Lubavitch of Alberta, says establishing a Chabad center serving the Canadian Rockies Jewish community has been a goal for many years. The Pinson family is the perfect match for the post, Matusof said. This Chabad center is already a tremendous asset, adding to Jewish life for locals as well as tourists visiting from around the world.