Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/atoach/5056751407/sizes/m/in/photostream/

Shimon Goodman went in search of donations and prizes for an ESRA quiz evening hoping to raise money for endangered children

As I had never approached anybody about donating money or an item to a charitable society before I was worried about how to go about this. First of all I decided that my usual disheveled appearance was not acceptable and thought it would be better to take my spouse with me. So, looking neater than usual, with my wife, Alice, on my arm, I set off.

With much trepidation I entered the first restaurant and started to explain to them who and what ESRA stood for. I had barely finished the first sentence when the manager of a well-known countrywide café said they were not interested. This also happened at another chain and I came to the conclusion that it was better to approach a small local restaurant rather than to speak to a manager of a franchise or chain.

 I then approached the owners of Roquefort, a restaurant/café/bar expanded from a former kiosk. This café is situated at the busy intersection of Nesiei Yisrael and Keren Kayemet (Midrachov) Karmiel, Tel: 04 681 761. The owners, Amalia and Shimshon Elbaz, have invested both thought and capital in the expansion, making it look like a French bistro. Although this small restaurant/café has no official kashrut certificate it is closed on Shabbat and has a purely dairy and vegetarian menu. According to the owners, many extremely observant people frequent the restaurant. Many Karmiel residents are already acquainted with the owners and their menu. They opened their first café in another location in the same street (midrachov). Specialties of the place are to be found nowhere else: santorini, gratin, pasta filaretti, and more. In addition, the bar has draught beers and other alcohol and there are tasty cakes and pastries. The kitchen is an open kitchen so everybody can see the standard of cleanliness. There is also a menu printed in English. The prices are reasonable and the portions large, while the hospitality is homely and pampering.

After listening to me present my case they agreed to donate a breakfast for a couple as a prize for our quiz evening.

After this successful sortie I felt more confident and approached the Hotel Kochav Hagalil. This is a small hotel at 10 Nesiei Yisrael, which was built by the Karmiel municipality in 1988 and rented to the present owner in 2006. The hotel may be off the usual tourist track but is conveniently centrally placed for touring Northern Israel (tel: 04 908 0963). The restaurant serves a three-course lunch from Sunday to Thursday from 11:00 to 16.00. The décor is very plain, but this is made up for by the great welcome you get from the resident waitress and the excellent food. Many local business people frequent the place or order "take away".  So once again I asked to speak to the owner. This time I spoke to Nela, the lady in the office, who listened to me sympathetically. She answered that she could not decide anything as she was the manageress. The owner lived in Tel Aviv and I was given his telephone number. After leaving the hotel it struck me that I should have been quicker off the mark and asked her to telephone him on the spot. I still have a lot to learn.

Eventually I got hold of the owner via the telephone and after listening to my explanation he was more than happy to donate a meal for two. "As much as you can eat," he said. Being a hotel, it is of course 100% kosher. I can highly recommend the grilled meat skewers. The cook’s use of spices was outstanding in all we tasted.

Though we are not talking about large donations I feel I have achieved something and can now confidently approach people without feeling like an amateur any longer.