Jewish neighborhoods can be overwhelming,вЂќ he said. вЂњItвЂ™s so off-the-beaten path that people feel they can relax.

Wendel described the neighborhood - about ten minutes from where his wife grew up - as вЂњJewish no-manвЂ™s land.вЂќ But he thinks that thatвЂ™s part of the restaurantвЂ™s appeal. вЂњItвЂ™s just like any Brooklyn bistro, it just happens to be kosher,вЂќ Wendel said. In October, Wendel broke away to open Pardes. In March 2010, he helped open Basil Pizza & Wine Bar in Crown Heights, which is known for blending gourmet and religious sensibilities in a neighborhood where kosher restaurants are anything but inventive. When he became religious, his attention turned toward kosher food. He eventually ran the kitchen at the ever-popular Django restaurant in Philadelphia. Wendel, 32, attended a culinary apprenticeship program in Pennsylvania and then cooked around the South of France before moving on to mostly French restaurants in the Philadelphia area. вЂњI think IвЂ™m more in tune with food now than ever before.вЂќ Though he canвЂ™t use the cheese or butter he used use in his meat dishes, Wendel thinks the food heвЂ™s making now is better. Now I cook what I really want to be cooking,вЂќ he said. But my wife thought I was selling myself short. Being a chef is a very rough job, and I wanted something low stress. вЂњWhen you become religious you lower your expectations for what youвЂ™re going to do in the kitchen.

вЂњShe tried my food and said it wasnвЂ™t as good as the stuff I was making when I cooked treyf,вЂќ said Wendel. She knew that he had perfected all kinds of food in the вЂњregular world,вЂќ and wanted him to show what he had learned. But his wife and partner in the restaurant, Shana - who like her husband, once worked in the non-kosher restaurant world and became religious later in life - steered him against it. Wendel - who became religious through Chabad five years ago - admits that his original plan for Pardes was to cook more traditional meat dishes like steaks and burgers. And itвЂ™s noticeably un- frum location has opened religious customers up to a new Brooklyn neighborhood. Pardes serves fresh, seasonal and nuanced dishes - like beef cheek pizza - which change almost daily, opening kosher diners up to new kinds of food. And he doesnвЂ™t run your typical kosher restaurant. But Moshe Wendel, chef and owner of Pardes restaurant, in BrooklynвЂ™s hip Boerum Hill neighborhood, is no ordinary kosher chef. In response to guestsвЂ™ demands, kosher chefs tend to play it safe. Kosher restaurants are not usually known for taking culinary risks. First up: Chef Moshe Wendel of BrooklynвЂ™s Pardes. If we were the betting type, we might see some James Beard Awards in their future. These are members of the tribe who youвЂ™ll want to keep on your radar. And in case you canвЂ™t get there, weвЂ™ll include a recipe from each of the chefs that you can make at home. In our new series, Chosen Chefs, we will profile up-and-coming Jewish chefs making waves from L.A.

Pardes brooklyn