Ivano-Frankovsk, a southwestern city in the Ukraine, a new kosher hotel has opened. Called Under the Temple, and located next to the city’s primary shul, the hotel also houses a museum displaying exhibits on the area’s rich Jewish history (the city was home to several Chasidic rebbes before World War II). Tzimmes Lounge, a kosher catering facility, is also on-site, and is certified by Rabbi Moshe Leib Kolesnik, the city’s chief rabbi and Chabad representative in the region.

Back home, there were many new interesting additions. Shalom Pita, a pizza and falafel store opened on the Jersey Shore, in Ventnor. Both cholov yisroel and pas yisroel, Shalom Pita serves pizza, falafel, knishes, and more, and offers summer travelers to the beaches of New Jersey – which has limited kosher menu options – a slice of the pie. In North Carolina, home to Duke University but not home to many kosher establishments, Polka Dot Bake Shop, located in Charlotte, has received kosher certification from the Star-K for its most famous product: the sweet potato cracker, baked with real sweet potatoes. The crackers are available in original; rosemary and olive oil; cracked black pepper; and chipotle with smoked paprika flavors, and are pareve and egg and nut-free.

In Dorset UK, the Bournemouth Hebrew Congregation (BHC) opened a market on its premises. Shop@theShul sells kosher meat, poultry, dairy products and baked goods, including challah. For the recent Shavuot holiday, the market offered soft cheese and dairy cakes. The market is open on Thursdays, Fridays, and Sunday mornings, and is run by a team of volunteers. BHC has been open for over 100 years and serves hundreds of Jewish families in the area. Since 1976, the shul has offered an on-site mikvah, and now, it provides kosher food as well. And at the Prosserman JCC in Toronto, kosher cooking classes based on French cuisine are now being offered, with a long-term goal of forming a certification program for kosher chefs. The program is coordinated by Nancy Weisbrod, a graduate of Le Cordon Blue in London, with the participation of Chef Eran Marom, an Israeli who trained in French cooking schools. Chef Marom told the Jewish Tribune that he finds his work to be  fun and a big challenge.” He said that he has to constantly search for new items. “ We want to educate [future students] about other products that are out there, other stuff that is available,” he says. Also in Toronto are two new restaurants set to open this month. Delicacies is an upscale eatery serving meat dishes, and My Zaidy’s Pizza and Bakery will be the city’s most northern restaurant. Both restaurants are under the supervision of the COR – the Kashruth Council of Canada.