Born in the Bronx, Andrea Watman grew up in the shadow of Yankee Stadium.
It was while watching her Grandmother Bertha cook that she began to appreciate the fact that the kitchen was the heart of the family. “Grandma Bertha” was frugal and believed that you did not have to spend a fortune to create a healthy family dinner.
Andrea’s parents both worked so Grandma Bertha would travel from Fordham Road to do the shopping and prepare dinner. She was Russian and her cooking style reflected that heritage. Andrea asked many questions, and often offered too many opinions.
By the time she was in High School Andrea had taken over the cooking responsibilities.
In college she began to do cooking demonstrations in the Cellar at Macy*s Herald Square. Not a formally trained cook, she was comfortable in the kitchen. Her confident style made cooking seem easy. She even managed to sell a copper wok to Princess Grace of Monaco.
After college she came to work at Zabar’s, and has been with Zabar’s for over 30 years.
She still loves the Yankee’s, she still believes that the kitchen is the heart of the family and that there is nothing as special as sitting down to a meal with family and friends.
She works with the Zabar’s Catering Department, as well as being Zabar’s Creative Director. When she has a little spare time she shares her family recipes with us.
If you have a question about one of her recipes email her andreawatman(at)zabars.com
She really loves your emails!
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