Jacob Cohen, a New Yorker using digital media to celebrate the vastness of Jewish cuisine. Courtesy of Wake & Jake.FOOD. We all love it, but do we love to make it? I hate to sound preachy, but getting into cooking really changed my life a few years ago, and I guarantee it can improve anyone who feels like their life is in a rut. I was in a horrible place not too long ago, trying to survive amidst a global pandemic and just mentally not in a healthy space. One day, I decided to skim through Instagram videos and jot down recipes for some vegan meals. The next day, I did the same thing. And the next day… Eventually, I had lists and lists of recipes and ingredients and marched my way through every grocery store in the vicinity, selecting foods I had never even heard of before. (Hemp seeds? Seitan? Nutritional yeast?) Cut to a few years later and I am a literal BEAST in the kitchen every night, chopping up vegetables and utilizing every appliance in my kitchen. Cooking is truly one of the healthiest ways to cope with anxiety. It’s like medicine, a workout in a weird sense. It takes all the stress we’ve been holding in all day and releases it. And if it wasn’t for the hundreds of cooking videos and “digital chefs” I find on my phone every day, I don’t think I’d feel this good.
Jake Cohen is just one of many chefs I have to thank for introducing me to the passion of cooking. Of all the digital media artists I’ve had the pleasure of discovering on this blog, Cohen is hands-down the most well-known. He has over 1.5 million followers on TikTok, including over 1 million on his Instagram. I repeat: OVER 1 MILLION. Holy what?!
In addition to satiating our appetites with his flawlessly edited food content, Cohen is the New York Times bestselling cookbook author of Jew-Ish, a book entirely devoted to Jewish recipes. (His next book, I Could Nosh, comes out this September.) Prior to becoming this mega chef, he spent his time working at some of the best and most delectable restaurants in The City That Never Sleeps. His skills paid off, and Cohen, an everyday NYC Jewish boy, and his recipes are so popular that they have appeared on shows like Good Morning America, The Drew Barrymore Show, Rachael Ray, and so much more.
So what is it about this chef that makes him so incredible? Is it his charming personality and sense of humor? His mouth-watering cooking videos that make you drool on your phone? His vast collection of Jewish and non-Jewish foods from different cultures? All of the above. In the end, however, to be a great digital content creator, it’s all about the content. The videos need to deliver. If you’re on social media, you probably know the rules of the best ways to get engagement for a post. (I.e., you take a picture in front of the Eiffel Tower.) When you’re making food on camera for viewers, there are many things to take into consideration. The food needs to look flawless, of course, which is always a daunting task. The editing needs to be swift and not too long or short. The directions should be clear. And most importantly, the creator of the post should have an appealing, especially easygoing personality. Cohen follows every one of these “rules,” and this guy was made to be both a chef and a digital content creator.
Much of Cohen’s foods are Jewish, obviously, but they’re not just the simple, centuries-old Ashkenazic recipes we so often see. His husband is Persian-Iraqi, and Cohen combines that heritage with his own Ashkenazic one to make a variety of Jewish ethnic foods. Sephardic recipes, Mizrahi recipes, you name it.
“Jew-ish is a brilliant collection of delicious recipes, but it’s also much more than that,” as stated on Cohen’s website, WakeAndJake.com. “As Jake reconciles ancient traditions with our modern times, his recipes become a celebration of a rich and vibrant history, a love story of blending cultures, and an invitation to gather around the table and create new memories with family, friends, and loved ones.”
The praise for Jew-Ish is outstanding, so much so that even local chef Michael Solomonov of Zahav loves it.
“Jew-ish is a wonderful celebration of identity,” states Solomonov. “Jake’s recipes are memorable, packed with flavor, and filled with joy.”
I think that’s what I love most about Cohen: his willingness to both be inventive with recipes (like his Purim “rainbow-tashen”) but also explore other sides of Jewish cuisine. How often do we talk about Sephardic cuisine or the differing ways Sephardic, Ashkenazic, and Mizrahi Jews eat during the Sabbath or High Holy Days? The way I’ve been taught is the Ashkenazic way, and to be honest, I find myself enjoying Sephardic recipes so much more. (It’s all about the rice, and I am OBSESSED with rice.) Cohen understands that there isn’t just one type of Jew. There isn’t just the Ashkenazic Jew from Eastern Europe with the challah, matzo ball soup, and gefilte fish. Jewish recipes are infinite, and when you watch Cohen’s videos, you’ll feel a little prouder realizing how broad and beautiful Judaism is, not to mention that you’ll also get very hungry…
So which of Cohen’s cooking videos are my favorite? Oh my. That is an impossible question to answer. Impossible! How can I possibly choose? Off the top of my head, these ones come to mind.
- Ratatouille gnocchi. I can practically smell the food off my phone.
- A round challah set to the tune of what sounds like Barbra Streisand singing “Avinu Malkeinu.”
- This simple pasta. PERIOD.
- This closeup shot of Cohen squeezing baked garlic out of their heads.
- Israeli couscous alla vodka. (There’s dairy here, but I don’t even care.)
Mr. Cohen, never stop cooking please!
@jakecohen A true labor of love! Link in my bio to order! #✡️ishcookbook
To learn more about Jacob Cohen, visit WakeAndJake.com.
Follow Jacob Cohen on TikTok and Instagram.