Israeli celebrity chef turns her hand to New York stand-up comedy

Einat Admony, founder of the Balaboosta chain, is the latest Jewish comedian performing at the Comedy Cellar in Greenwich Village

OVER THE YEARS, there’s been no shortage of funny Jews who’ve performed at the Comedy Cellar, New York’s premier comedy club: Jon Stewart, Sarah Silverman, Marc Maron and Jerry Seinfeld, to name a few.

Now there’s a new Jewish comedian performing at the subterranean club in Greenwich Village: Israeli celebrity chef Einat Admony.

Grub Street reported last week that Admony, the owner and founder of Balaboosta restaurant and the falafel mini-chain Taim, has been tapped to revamp the Olive Tree Café, the vaguely Middle Eastern restaurant that’s attached to the Comedy Cellar and a place where comedians often gather.

In addition to sprucing up the menu — adding her signature crispy cauliflower with raisins and pine nuts, as well as the falafel that made Taim famous — Admony is going one step further: She’s occasionally performing on the Comedy Cellar’s legendary stage. Just last week, she did a last-minute set opening for fellow Jewish funny woman Amy Schumer.

Admony, 50, who has been credited with popularizing Israeli cuisine in the U.S., is known for her sense of humour: As a guest on “Call Your Mother,” the podcast from our partner site, Kveller, Admony joked that she made her daughter, then 9, sign a contract promising she wouldn’t turn into a monster teenager.

“I’ve had a lot of [business] partnerships in my life, I know what a breach of contract is,” she told hosts Shannon Sarna and Jordana Horn.

FULL STORY Israeli star chef Einat Admony cooks up a new gig: standup comedy (JTA/New York Jewish Week)

Photo: Chef Einat Admony, in front of her NYC restaurant Balaboosta. (Courtesy Einat Admony)