How the Soom Sisters Continue a Family Tradition of Working in the Food Industry

Shared by Amy Zitelman
Recipe Roots: Baltimore > Washington, D.C. > Rockville, MD > Philadelphia 

In the Zitelman family, working in food and restaurants was never meant for the next generation. Harry Zitelman, who owned the iconic mid-century D.C. restaurant Bassin’s told his son Rick: “I did not have a restaurant for 30 years so you could go to college and open a restaurant — absolutely not.” But two generations later, all three of Rick’s daughters — Amy, Shelby, and Jackie — work in the industry as the team behind Soom Foods, a tahini company that supplies restaurants like the acclaimed Zahav and home cooks across the country. Food is “kind of in our blood,” explains Amy.  

Amy’s great grandfather Morris and his wife Rebecca Zitelman in their corner store in Baltimore in the 1930s.

On December 20, 1904, their great grandfather Moshe Suttleman moved from present-day Ukraine to the United States. Here, he went by Morris Zitelman, settled in Baltimore, and operated a corner store. “The family lore is that it was also a place where…there was bootlegging,” says Amy. “And I think that my grandfather was a runner for betting…some type of Jewish mafia business.” 

Born in 1913, their grandfather Harry grew up in the shop and when he was drafted in World War II, “he lied to the army and said he had culinary experience,” Amy recounts. He was sent to Normandy to clear slain soldiers from the shores, but also found his way to a culinary unit and traveled to Paris. 

Back in the United States, he turned to the front of house, becoming the co-owner of Bassin’s restaurant, which served corned beef sandwiches and hot dogs near the White House. As Bassin’s grew, it opened D.C’s first sidewalk cafe and expanded into adjoining rooms, one housing a piano bar while another featured go-go dancers. Like their grandfather Harry, their father Rick grew up around food, learning to make cocktails, finished with cherries from the barrels of maraschinos that Bassin’s bought, and helping the in-house butchers.  

On the other side of the family, the sisters’ maternal grandfather Marvin Kramer owned a sandwich and butcher shop called Mr. Sirloin in the Northeast section of Philadelphia and other relatives founded Quaker Valley Foods, a large meat distributor. 

Amy’s Aunt Jean, Aunt Minnie and Tanta Hinda in Baltimore in the 1980s.

Food served its purpose on both sides of the family, providing business opportunities and a way to build a life in America, but at home, cooking wasn’t imbued with Jewish sentiment. When the sisters were growing up in Maryland in the 1980s and 1990s, “Our family did not pass down traditions or create stories around food,” Amy says. “It wasn’t really part of the generational links.” And, like their father, the sisters were never encouraged to enter the food industry.

Still, the Zitelman sisters found their way in. In 2011, Shelby visited her sister Jackie in Israel and her then-boyfriend (now-husband) Omri. On her trip, Shelby met Omri’s mother Rachella who served her signature carrot cake, made nutty and rich with tahini. The slice of cake made her wonder why high quality tahini wasn’t available back in the U.S. and ultimately set her and her sisters on a mission to change that. 

The sisters banded together and created Soom Foods, starting out by carrying buckets of tahini to the kitchen doors and loading docks of restaurants. Amy jokes about the sisters, saying: “We couldn’t stay away — and ended up going through the back door.” 

When asked what their grandfather Harry would have thought about Soom, Amy says, laughing: “I think more than anything, he would just be shocked by how much people pay for tahini…. But, otherwise, I think he would be really proud.”   

Chicken with Turmeric Tahini, Chickpeas, and Onions

After the sisters started Soom, their mother Cindy wanted to cook with tahini more. At the same time, a friend sent her a recipe for turmeric yogurt chicken. Keeping a kosher home, and not wanting to mix milk with meat, Amy and her mom remade the chicken, replacing the yogurt with tahini. The recipe has since become a family classic, particularly for Shabbat. Like the carrot cake below, it is shared from The Tahini Table Cookbook.

Makes: 4 Servings
Total Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes

Ingredients
1 (3 ½- to 4-pound) chicken, cut into parts, or 3 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken parts
Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 cups Turmeric Tahini Sauce, divided
2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced, divided
1 tablespoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Coarsely chopped leaves from ½ bunch cilantro
¼–½ teaspoon hot sauce

Preparation
1. Rub the chicken pieces with a generous amount of salt and pepper and put in a large zip-top plastic bag with 1 cup of the tahini sauce. Seal the bag, leaving one corner open about ½ inch. Massage the bag to coat all of the chicken pieces with sauce, then squeeze as much air as you can out of the bag and seal the bag completely. Let it sit out for 30 minutes, or overnight in the refrigerator.

2. Turn the oven to 425°F. 

3. Toss the chickpeas and half of the onion with the turmeric, cumin, and coriander on a large sheet pan. Drizzle with the olive oil, season with salt and pepper to taste, and toss everything to coat. Push everything to the edges of the pan and put the chicken pieces in the center in a single layer. Bake until the onions are crisp, the chicken skin is brown, and an instant-read thermometer registers 160°F when inserted into the thickest part of a thigh, about 50 minutes.

4. While the chicken is cooking, toss the remaining onion with the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

5. When the chicken is done, transfer it to a serving plate along with the chickpeas and onions. Drizzle with some of the remaining 1 cup of tahini sauce and the hot sauce. Scatter the onion-lemon mixture and cilantro on top. Serve any remaining tahini sauce on the side.

Reprinted with permission from “The Tahini Table” by Amy Zitelman, Agate Publishing, November 2020.

Turmeric Tahini Sauce

Makes: About 2 cups

Ingredients
3 garlic cloves, minced with coarse sea salt
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup premium tahini paste
1 tablespoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
¾ cup ice-cold water

Preparation
1. Combine the garlic and lemon juice in a medium bowl. Let it sit for 1 to 2 minutes. 

2. Whisk the tahini, turmeric, cumin, and coriander into the garlic mixture until just combined. Don’t worry if it gets thick and grainy. Whisk in the water, ¼ cup at a time, until the sauce is smooth and creamy. It should be the consistency of a creamy salad dressing, like ranch. 

3. Store in a closed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Reprinted with permission from “The Tahini Table” by Amy Zitelman, Agate Publishing, November 2020.

Rachella’s Tahini Carrot Cake

Makes: 8 Servings
Total Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes

Ingredients
Cooking spray, for greasing

For the batter:
4 large eggs
1 ½ cups lightly packed light brown sugar
¾ cup mild vegetable oil, such as grapeseed oil
¾ cup premium tahini paste
1 ¼ cups whole-wheat pastry flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
7 medium carrots, peeled and shredded (about 2 1⁄2 cups)
1 ½ cups chopped walnuts (optional)

For the frosting:
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into small pieces 
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature
½ cup premium tahini paste
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
½ cup black and white sesame seeds

Preparation
1. Turn the oven to 350°F. Grease two (8-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray. 

2. To make the batter: In a large bowl or in a stand mixer, beat the eggs and brown sugar until completely combined and thick. Beat in the oil, a bit at a time, then beat in the tahini.

3. Mix the flour, cinnamon, allspice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl until combined. Add a third of the flour mixture to the tahini mixture, stirring to combine. Add half of the carrots and mix well. Add half of the remaining flour mixture, then the remaining carrots, and then the remaining flour mixture, stirring between each addition to combine. Stir in the walnuts (if using). 

4. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and bake on the middle rack of the oven until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool in the pans for 15 minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans, then transfer them to wire racks to cool completely.

5. To make the frosting: While the cakes are baking, beat the butter, cream cheese, and tahini in a stand mixer (or large bowl) until smooth. Add the confectioners’ sugar and mix until just smooth. If the frosting is too soft to spread, chill in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes. 

6. Set one cake layer on a serving plate. Top with a third of the frosting and 2 tablespoons of the mixed sesame seeds. Add the next layer and frost the sides and top with the remaining frosting. Top with the remaining sesame seeds (it’s fine if some fall down the sides). If the cake seems at all wobbly, refrigerate until the icing firms and the cake feels sturdy. Cut into wedges and serve.

Reprinted with permission from “The Tahini Table” by Amy Zitelman, Agate Publishing, November 2020.