The holiday of Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) is the holiest day of the year, when Jewish people come together, fasting and praying as one.

If Rosh Hashanah is about celebrating the arrival of the Jewish New Year, Yom Kippur symbolizes the cleansing of the previous year’s sins. The majority of the day is spent in Synagogue as many use the opportunity to reflect on their individual and collective actions over the past year, and their hope for the coming year.

It is believed that on this day, a person’s fate for the upcoming year is sealed, therefore, the entire day is spent fasting and praying for forgiveness and a good new year.

On Yom Kippur, observers abstain from eating, working, wearing leather, perfumes, and acts of intimacy. This is a sacred occasion and an opportunity to clean the slate, reset all systems, and start again smoothly.

First We Fast

Yom Kippur begins at sundown and concludes after nightfall the following day. Observance lasts about 25 hours; because dates and local nightfall times change each year, confirm the current Chicago calendar before planning.

The Jewish tradition of fasting stems from verses in the Torah, which state that fasting on Yom Kippur is a necessary component of the day. Fasting is believed to be a vehicle for reflecting and repenting for your sins.

Those who are too feeble, sick, or young to safely fast are not required to do so. However, healthy females from the age of 12 and males from the age of 13 must fast as part of the tradition. Throughout the fasting period, the focus moves from physical needs to engaging in repentance and prayer in the synagogue.

The 5 Prayers of Yom Kippur

Even though there is no food to be had on Yom Kippur, observers still dress the table with a festive cloth and light candles before the onset of the holy day. Two blessings are said to send thanks for enabling those of the faith to reach the new year.

Yom Kippur is a special occasion for children, who observe it by lighting candles, changing shoes, and finding new prayers to learn and recite.

On an ordinary day, there are three daily prayers: Maariv (evening prayer), Shacharit (morning prayer) and Minchah (afternoon prayer). On Shabbat and holidays, a fourth prayer is added. Yom Kippur, however, is the only day of the year when a fifth prayer is introduced. Ne’ilah, the closing prayer, is said as the sun sets in the west as this special day comes to a close.

How the Fast Ends

After the sun sets and the holiday of Yom Kippur comes to a close, the tradition of breaking the fast begins. And this is where we come in!

During the Rosh Hashanah meal, there are strict rules about what kosher food can be eaten after fasting. Yom Kippur is much different. In general, people often eat gentler, less spicy dishes. After fasting, the stomach is much more sensitive to rich, spicy food.

The typical assortment of foods includes fruits and veggies, lox and bagels, white albacore tuna salad, cakes, and baked casseroles.

Read More…

If you are like everyone else in the world — you love pizza. There is just something about the way this gooey, cheesy delight satisfies the mind, soul, and body.

It’s this universal love for pizza that has restaurants all over vying for the title of best pizza pie.

With so many different opinions, it would be impossible to claim which pizza eatery has the best pie out there. But there is one thing for sure — Chicago Pizza Oven & Grinder has mastered the pizza pot pie and made it on our list of Chicago restaurants we love!

Setting The Scene: An Authentic & Cozy Pizza Haven

This cash-only eatery sits inside a historic Chicago brownstone and is best known for its famous pizza pot pies.

Just as you would expect, the setting is intimate, cozy, and overwhelmed by the aroma of fresh pizzas.

There is limited seating inside so the wait for a table can be upwards of two hours — even if you go early! The hosts are old school and only take down names, remembering faces when tables are ready. Though this means no fancy pagers or text messages alerting you that a table is ready, it’s an intriguing experience to watch the host keep things going without a hitch.

By the time you sit down the urge to eat everything in sight is so strong that we recommend feeding your inner hunger monster with some of their fresh Mediterranean flatbread. The pizza pot pies take awhile to bake but the flatbread comes out quickly to satiate your hunger while you wait. It’s made from thin pita bread and topped with flaky cheese and fresh herbs.

Chicago Pizza Oven & Grinder Menu: Sticking To The Basics

The menu is short and sweet, offering the following:

• Salads
• Mediterranean flatbread
• Grinders (subs)
• Pizza-pot-pies
• Tortoni (Italian ice cream)

(Photo credit: Chicago Pizza Oven & Grinder’s Facebook page)

Read More…

Rosh Hashanah cooking is not really about finding recipes. Recipes are everywhere. The harder part is sequencing: two nights of dinner, a table that traditionally leans sweet rather than savory, guests arriving straight from services at different times, and a kitchen that has to produce a full holiday meal on a weeknight or right before sundown. Menu ideas are only useful if they survive that reality.

Rosh Hashanah 5787 begins at sundown on Friday, September 11, 2026 and ends at nightfall on Sunday, September 13, 2026. That timing matters more than usual, and it shapes every suggestion below.

Start planning your Rosh Hashanah menu with our team.

Looking for menu inspiration? This article focuses on symbolic foods, dish combinations, and planning two distinct Rosh Hashanah dinners. For current delivery options and ordering, visit the Rosh Hashanah catering and delivery page.

Build the menu around the symbolic foods, not around a protein

Most holiday menus start with the entree and work outward. A Rosh Hashanah menu reads better when it starts with the symbolic foods, because those are the parts guests actually remember and the parts that carry meaning.

• Round challah, dipped in honey. Traditionally the round shape speaks to the cycle of the year, and many families dip it in honey rather than salt through this season. Plan on more than you think you need. It doubles as the first thing guests touch when they walk in.
• Apples and honey. Simple, and the one item that should never be portioned stingily. Sliced apples brown quickly, so this is a course to hold and finish close to service, not to plate an hour early.
• Pomegranate. Traditionally associated with abundance. Seeds scattered over a salad or a roasted vegetable dish give you the symbolism without asking guests to work at the table.
• A new seasonal fruit for the second night. Many families mark the second night with a fruit they have not yet eaten that season. Late-season figs, Concord grapes, and early Michigan pears all work in Chicago in mid-September.

Some households also serve a Sephardic-style seder of simanim, symbolic foods eaten in order with blessings, which commonly includes dates, leeks, beets, gourd or pumpkin, string beans or black-eyed peas, and a fish head. If any of your guests keep that custom, ask early. It changes the shape of the first course entirely.

Choose one centerpiece, then stop

Two entrees on a holiday table sounds generous and usually eats worse. Pick one anchor and give it the oven time it deserves.

• Brisket is the most forgiving choice for a crowd. It improves when cooked a day ahead, sliced cold, and reheated in its own jus, which means you are not carving under pressure while guests are seated.
• Roast chicken or a honey-glazed chicken reads lighter and plates faster. It is the better pick if you are serving a later second-night dinner where guests have already eaten a full meal the night before.
• Whitefish or a poached fish course gives you a non-meat centerpiece and fits households that want the meal to feel less heavy.

Around the anchor, the traditional supporting cast does real work: tzimmes with carrots and dried fruit, a sweet noodle or apple kugel, roasted root vegetables, and a green vegetable that has not been sweetened, because a table where every dish leans sweet gets tiring by the third course.

Two nights means two different menus

This is the single most common planning mistake. Households cook one enormous meal for the first night, then serve the same food again on the second night, and the second dinner feels like an afterthought.

A cleaner approach is to make the first night the formal one, plated or family style, with the full symbolic opening and the brisket. Then make the second night lighter and looser: a chicken or fish centerpiece, more salads, the new fruit, and dessert that is genuinely different from the night before. Guests who attend both nights notice, and the kitchen workload drops sharply.

In 2026, the calendar does most of the deciding

Rosh Hashanah day one falls on Shabbat in 2026, which creates an unusually long observance stretch. For observant households, the period runs continuously from sundown Friday, September 11 through nightfall on Sunday, September 13, with Shabbat and both festival days back to back. No cooking, no shopping, and no deliveries during that window.

Practically, that means everything has to be in the house before candle lighting on Friday evening, which is approximately 6:48 pm in Chicago (Hebcal, Chicago calculation). The next possible delivery or pickup is after nightfall on Sunday. Households that observe less strictly still feel the squeeze, because Friday afternoon becomes the only realistic prep window for a three-meal weekend.

Menu implications worth building around:

• Favor dishes that hold or reheat well over dishes that must be finished at the last minute.
• Plan cold and room-temperature courses for at least one of the meals so you are not depending on oven space.
• Decide serviceware in advance. If nobody is going to run a dishwasher for two days, that changes what you want food arriving in.
• Keep meat and dairy planning separate if you are hosting guests who observe religious dietary laws, since holiday dinners are typically meat or pareve.

Where a caterer actually changes the outcome

You do not need a caterer to make a Rosh Hashanah dinner. What a caterer changes is the compression. For a 2026 holiday that starts on a Friday evening and runs into a Sunday night, the meaningful help is production and timing: food that arrives before sundown, packaged so it can be reheated or served without a working kitchen, portioned for the number of people actually sitting down.

Catering by Michaels has served Chicago-area events since 1980. For holiday hosting, most households land in one of two places: a delivered spread they set out themselves, or full-service catering with staff, service ware, and linens when the guest count or the room makes self-service unrealistic. Our full-service menus and our Rosh Hashanah delivery menu start from different assumptions, and the right one depends less on budget than on whether anyone in the house wants to be plating food during the meal.

If you want the broader holiday arc, including how Yom Kippur planning differs, our complete Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur catering guide covers both holidays in one place. North Shore hosts can also see how we handle seasonal hosting locally on our Northbrook holiday catering page.

A menu that works, start to finish

If you want one structure to copy for the first night:

• To start: round challah with honey, apples and honey, a pomegranate and citrus salad
• First course: chicken soup with matzo balls, or a roasted squash soup for a lighter open
• Centerpiece: braised brisket, sliced and served in its jus
• Sides: tzimmes, sweet noodle kugel, roasted root vegetables, a simple green vegetable
• Dessert: honey cake and apple cake, fresh fruit, coffee and tea

For the second night, swap in roast or honey-glazed chicken, add two salads, and lead dessert with the new seasonal fruit.

To talk through a Rosh Hashanah menu for your own table, call (847) 966-6555 or contact our team. We are at 6203 Park Ave, Morton Grove, IL 60053, and you can reach us at events@cateringbymichaels.com.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does Rosh Hashanah start in 2026?

Rosh Hashanah 5787 begins at sundown on Friday, September 11, 2026 and ends at nightfall on Sunday, September 13, 2026. Candle lighting in Chicago is approximately 6:48 pm on Friday, September 11, per Hebcal’s Chicago calculation. Because the holiday begins at sundown rather than on a calendar morning, plan deliveries and prep against Friday afternoon, not Friday evening.

Why is the 2026 timing harder than usual for Chicago hosts?

Day one of Rosh Hashanah falls on Shabbat in 2026. For observant households that creates a continuous stretch from Friday sundown through Sunday nightfall with no cooking, shopping, or deliveries. Everything has to arrive before candle lighting Friday evening, and the next delivery window opens after nightfall on Sunday.

How much food should I plan for a Rosh Hashanah dinner at home in Chicago?

Count seated guests rather than invited guests, then add a buffer for family members who arrive from services with someone extra. Round challah and the apples and honey course always go faster than hosts expect, so over-order those two specifically rather than adding another entree.

Should the two nights of Rosh Hashanah have different menus?

Many families do exactly that, and it works better. A formal plated or family-style first night with the full symbolic opening, then a lighter second night built around a different centerpiece and the new seasonal fruit. It reduces kitchen load and keeps the second dinner from feeling repetitive.

Do you deliver Rosh Hashanah food to the North Shore suburbs?

Catering by Michaels operates from 6203 Park Ave in Morton Grove and delivers throughout the Chicago area, including North Shore communities such as Northbrook, Highland Park, Glencoe, Winnetka, and Skokie. Call (847) 966-6555 to confirm your address and the delivery window you need before sundown.

Are there foods some families avoid at Rosh Hashanah?

Traditionally some households avoid nuts during this period, and some avoid sour, bitter, or vinegar-forward dishes on a holiday centered on sweetness. If you are hosting guests whose customs you do not know well, asking one question in advance is easier than rebuilding a course.

Guests have a few basic expectations when attending a wedding. They expect a nice meal, a little booze, and dancing late into the night. What they probably don’t expect? Interactive stations where guests can see our chefs in action!

We recently sat down with Stacey Combrzynski, an Event Coordinator on our team, to discuss how action stations can captivate guests at a wedding (or any event!)

Why Would Someone Want to Use a Food Station at Their Wedding?

Food stations offer an element of interactivity that’s missing from many weddings. Normally at a wedding, you come in, sit down, and talk to the people at your table. We love action stations because they get people up and moving, adding a fun and social element to the experience. 

How are Catering by Michaels’ Action Stations Different Than A buffet?

The main difference is that we push the envelope when it comes to interactive stations and are willing to try new things that will be exciting for guests. A recent example is when we used tea siphons as a way to infuse wild mushrooms into broth at a ramen action station.

Because of their dynamic nature, action stations can cater to the couple’s personalities more. We can also be more creative with action stations, so it really takes the guest experience to the next level.

Read More…

Throwing the perfect party without going broke is an art we are all trying to master. It can be hard to decide what to cut back on versus where you should go big. As the Director of Sales and Marketing at Catering by Michaels, I’ve found that these 5 event catering tips are the best way to save money on your next catering order while still serving great food.

#1: Appetizers: Passed Instead of Placed

Passing out your more expensive appetizers is a great way to minimize the potential for wasted food. It’s important to understand that people tend to grab more when there is a tray placed on a table but guests consume fewer items when they’re passed around by servers.

#2: Limit Options for Each Course

In general, the less options people have, the less food they will take. If you have a buffet setup with various food options, people want to try everything—even if they don’t plan on eating it all. Buffets often require more equipment, larger portions, and a higher food cost. A good rule of thumb for saving money? The fewer options for each course, the more you’ll be able to mitigate costs associated with food waste.

#3: Offer Plated Service

When catering an event, most people choose one of three options:

• Action stations
• Family-style
• Plated meals

Action stations and even family-style meals tend to cost more money than a plated dish. This is because of how plated meals give you control over quantity and portion sizes.

Even accounting for multiple courses, knowing the exact amount of food to serve for each guest will certainly cut down cost and waste. Plated meals can also keep rental costs low—it’s hard to find the right platters at the right cost for family-style service!

The type of meat you select can also make an impact on your budget. So get creative with chicken or different types of beef (you don’t have to serve filet mignon). Or, select more affordable seafood options.

Here are a few budget-friendly meat options to consider when planning your next event:

• Flat iron steak
• Skirt steak
• Short rib

#4: Don’t Skimp: Skip Instead

Don’t skimp on something just because you feel obligated to serve it. Today’s wedding trends push people to feel compelled to offer specialty sweet stations or other late night food offerings. Instead of doing it halfway because you think you have to—better to skip it altogether.

On a related note, don’t skimp on the food and drink that’s an expected part of the territory. For example, a cocktail hour without appetizers feels like it’s missing something. Similarly, an entree without a first course seems like an incomplete meal at a wedding. Don’t skimp on the things your guests may otherwise remember as a weird experience.

Read More…