For the Love of Challah
World famous Challah Prince comes to the Merage JCC

Thursday, December 22, 6 P.M.

Idan Chabasov’s journey to becoming the Challah Prince worshipped by 70,000 Instagram was unexpected. An Israeli Sephardic Jew, he did not grow up watching his mother preparing and braiding dough. What started as a small Instagram account soon grew into a growing community of art, creativity and deliciousness. With a background in professional dancing, video production, animation, art and public relations, it is now Chabasov’s mission to bring art into the baking world and demonstrate the beauty of every single piece of challah.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Idan Chabasov for Jlife and asked him about his path to becoming an “influencer”. He grew up afraid of the kitchen, but when he moved to Berlin in 2013 he was forced to learn how to cook in order to eat. Basic cooking evolved into Shabbat dinners with friends. What is Shabbat without challah? He started playing with challah and created an Instagram account as a creative outlet. With the COVID-19 lockdown and America’s obsession with baking, Idan’s Instagram account exploded in popularity.

In addition, to being a self-taught baker, Idan’s previous experiences shape the Challah Prince account. As a previous marketing exec, he has intimate knowledge of social media platforms and strategies. Even a dancing background integrates with challah, as Idan poetically waxes on about “dancing with his hands and strands of dough” as he braids the challah.

It had to be asked. With hundreds of recipes in the challah universe why does he stick to a single recipe? He noted his preferred recipe produces a dough that is elastic and easy to braid into various complicated shapes. His creative genius is in the artistry of developing new shapes and braiding techniques, and, as he suggested he gives “all his energy to the beauty of the challah.”

To Idan, challah represents love, creativity and joy. He expressed a passion for the process of braiding and baking challah, noting that it is “about being connected and staying present in the moment.” What does the future hold? He honestly does not know where life will take him, he plans to “follow the challah braid wherever it leads.”

For more information about the Challah Prince at the JCC visit www.jccoc.org.

Follow the Merage JCC and the Challah Prince on Instagram @meragejcc @challahprince

Chef Liron Regev is the Culinary Arts Director at the Merage Jewish Community Center in Irvine.