Thirty-six years ago, Yamin Dayan was a student of management information systems at Yeshiva University in New York. To help pay his way through college, Dayan took a job as a mashgiach, an individual who ensures kashrut standards, at various New York restaurants and catering services that operated under the auspices of the Kof-K kashrut agency. Dayan expected the job would be boring, but he was quickly disabused of that notion. He took an active part in prepping food and catering massive events at venues like the Waldorf Astoria and the Trump International Hotel. Dayan found that he loved the food business.
Despite several job offers upon graduation, Dayan aborted his plan for an information-systems career and decided to enter the restaurant business full time. He managed the Deli Kasbah at YU and eventually launched Estihana, a kosher Asian fusion restaurant with branches in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Teaneck.
“All my friends who own restaurants started out as mashgichim,” Dayan said. “Working as a mashgiach is a great way to learn a trade.”
Many kosher food establishments have recently opened in Bergen County, already a hub for kosher eateries. Most of these establishments are certified kosher by the Rabbinical Council of Bergen County in consultation with the Kof-K. With the restaurant boom came an increased demand for trustworthy mashgichim to ensure kashrut meets the RCBC’s high standards.
“As Yamin attests, a mashgiach job can serve as a springboard to a career in other areas,” advised Rabbi Daniel Senter, Kof-K’s longtime COO. “Working as a mashgiach is also a great role for students, women or men seeking part-time employment, or professionals looking for work during a career lull.”
HVAC engineer Alan Krantz falls into the latter category. Much of his business dried up in the wake of the terror attacks on September 11, 2001. Fortunately, Krantz was able to leverage his engineering background to work as a Kof-K mashgiach at large industrial facilities.
Krantz found that his work as a mashgiach was technically involved. For example, “I had to ensure the integrity of the seals on ISO containers containing 50,000 pounds of glycerin,” he said. “The glycerin then had to be repackaged in drums and shipped off to make Breyers ice cream of Wrigley’s chewing gum.”
Krantz also found that his engineering background served him well in his role, as he had insight into the machinery that other mashgichim lacked. He enjoyed his work as an industrial mashgiach, even continuing it for a time after his HVAC business picked up again. According to Krantz, working as a mashgiach is a great role for a responsible, hardworking person.
Mashgichim play a crucial role in the kashrut process. “Systems and protocols only go so far,” said Rabbi Ari Zahtz, vice president of kashrut at the RCBC. “We rely on the people on the ground to drive the success of our standards and ensure the kashrut of our food.”
Rabbi Zahtz added that mashgiach work can also serve as a launchpad for a long-term career. “I have known many mashgichim who leveraged the knowledge they gained to build successful careers in the food service and kashrut industries.”
One individual worked in the high-tech world of marketing when he moved his family from the Midwest to Teaneck about a decade ago. When he struggled to break into New York’s advertising industry, he accepted a short-term role as a mashgiach at a fish plant in Jersey City. That led to additional projects with the Kof-K and RCBC. The tech-savvy professional leveraged his computer skills to build up the Kof-K website, implement an online mashgiach training course, and run the Pesach sales program. He even developed an app that streamlines the ingredient-approval process for restaurants and caterers. Restaurateurs now simply scan a barcode with their smartphones to receive an immediate notification as to whether ingredients meet Kof-K and RCBC kashrut standards.
The former advertising professional’s mashgiach work led to a role running the hashgacha department for a renowned kosher food company. Within months, he was promoted to vice president of operations, a position he still holds today.
“As vice president of operations, I engage in a lot of planning, interact with different departments, and implement programs,” he said. “I found a role that allows me to draw on my background in both marketing and hashgacha.”
The hashgacha world is a complex ecosystem that draws upon a variety of skill sets and backgrounds. Mashgiach work is a viable career option for recent graduates, mid-career professionals looking for a change, or people in search of a flexible work schedule.
According to Rabbi Senter, there are plenty of open positions in Bergen County. “If you’re a trustworthy and responsible person, we’d love to hear from you,” he said. “You might just find that mashgiach work is the job you’ve been looking for.”
By Zvi Joshua Wiesenfeld
