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National Post

Cook This: 3 'reimagined' Jewish recipes from Arthurs, including challah French toast

Our cookbook of the week is Arthurs: Home of the Nosh by Raegan Steinberg and Alexander Cohen, co-owners of Montreal's Arthurs Nosh Bar, with writer Evelyne Eng. Article content Jump to the recipes: challah French toast, smoked salmon panzanella salad and cheese blintzes. Article content Article content Raegan Steinberg paid homage to her late father, Arthur Steinberg, with a restaurant. She and her husband, executive chef Alexander Cohen, opened Arthurs Nosh Bar in 2016. Today, Montrealers (and the occasional visiting celebrity) line up for a seat at their luncheonette. Article content Article content 'Reimagined' Jewish fare, including syrniki (Eastern European cottage cheese pancakes), latkes, challah French toast and ever-changing shakshuka, reflects their heritage: Raegan's 'Romanian-Russian-Ashkenazi' and Cohen's 'Moroccan-Spanish-Sephardic.' Article content Article content Nine years after opening Arthurs' doors, with three restaurants — including American-style bistro Romies — Raegan and Cohen (with writer Evelyne Eng) carry on Arthur's legacy in a cookbook, Arthurs: Home of the Nosh (Appetite by Random House, 2025). Article content 'I feel like maybe that was my life's purpose,' says Raegan. 'I never thought I would lose my dad, and that really shifted my whole life. And I'm so grateful that my husband was on board and willing to create this — conceptualize this whole thing we've done.' She explains that Arthur was a food lover well before the term 'foodie' took hold. Her family's life revolved around eating, the where and the what. 'From a young age, all of us were introduced to food in a way that I don't know necessarily all families were.' Article content Raegan began her culinary career in Montreal at Mandy's Gourmet Salads. After attending culinary school at the Art Institute of Vancouver, she worked at celebrated restaurants such as the Blue Water Cafe and Joe Beef. Cooking professionally became entwined with processing the trauma of losing her father. 'It was such an easy way just to forget. You're working with your hands. You put your head down. You work.' Being a chef wasn't what Raegan had expected to be doing, but she embraced it. Article content Article content Today, she oversees business development at Arthurs Nosh Bar. 'I'll always love food, making food and being creative with food. To be the best chef you can be, you need to be 100 per cent focused, and I don't think I could do that wearing all the hats. I love doing the other parts. I love working on the marketing and the branding, and I love building something from scratch and conceptualizing it.'