It will be difficult for us to choose which flavor muffin to indulge our taste buds when our “Shop ‘til You Drop” group to Israel visits the Muffin Boutique at 16 Ben Yehuda.
The aesthetically pleasing and warm atmosphere of the store is absolutely due to the charm and devotion of the owners Shmarya and Lainie Richler. They give of themselves night and day to make sure that the ingredients in their products are fresh and natural.
Shmarya and Lainie arrived in Israel 20 years ago from Montreal and settled in Efrat. At that time, the idea of opening a store was far from their minds. Shmarya was involved in the high-tech industry and Lainie spent her time tending to her growing family. One of her greatest passions has always been healthy cooking and baking and staying fit. She is actually a personal trainer. After several years of establishing herself as a wonderful epicure she began to involve Shmarya in her interest in combining new flavors in baking, always having “healthy” as her goal.
In their interest in working together, and after Shmarya took a course at The Jerusalem Business Development Center and another course in opening a restaurant, they decided it was time to “go for it.”
One of the attractions of the store, whose hashgacha is Mehadrin, is that they are baking Montreal-style bagels. You have to taste them in order to really appreciate their fine texture. How difficult it will be to choose which type: sesame, poppy seed or cinnamon and raisin, each made in whole-wheat or white-flour versions.
When difficulties began in Israel in the last few months, the Muffin Boutique decided to reward soldiers, police officers or ambulance workers with a free bagel sandwich, drink and muffin whenever they visit the store. They have asked the public to assist in supporting this endeavor. Trays of sandwiches or platters of muffins are being sent to various checkpoints for our soldiers and border police. Schools and organizations in the United States have been holding fundraisers to support this cause. For further information to support this endeavor, please call +972 2 500 0041.
Lainie and Shmarya, we are pondering at this point just which muffin we want to taste first. Montreal bagels are awfully tempting, or do we want a sandwich? Gosh, we will have to visit several times during our shopping trip to Jerusalem. Join us. You will meet the nicest people who are looking forward to making your acquaintance as well.
The Jewish Link Mission to Israel will take place February 9 through 15. The all-inclusive cost of $1200 includes El Al travel and five nights in Jerusalem. Call me at 201-366-9106 or email [email protected].
By Nina Glick
