Making Dough with Spencer Perdeck

While everyone is trying to "Get that bread," Spencer Perdeck of Hollywood, Florida, is making dough. More specifically, Challah Dough. Challah is a traditional Jewish egg-based bread served on the Sabbath (Friday nights) and holidays (except Yom Kippur and Passover). While the world effectively shut down in the face of COVID-19, Perdeck illuminated the South Florida area with his business Chollywood Challah.

Interview

How has COVID-19 changed your life?

Completely. I was living in New York. I'm currently living in Florida now. So I'm in a different state. Because of COVID, I started my own business out of boredom. I think my whole perspective on everything is entirely different. I've become such a hermit. I'm a very outgoing person. I love to hang out with my friends and, and, and do a lot of things. I mean, living in New York, you never have a moment to stop. You always go, go, go, go, go. Fun, fun, fun work, work work. So that stopped.

And honestly, there's a silver lining. I never thought or expected that I'd ever be the owner of a small business. I've learned a lot already. And it's only a little over three months since I started it. And it's grown so much so quickly that it's cut me on my toes, which has been fun and keeps me busy.

What was your career before Chollywood Challah?

I'm an actor, which at the end of the day means I have many careers. Work me is very fulfilling. But before this, I worked for Hillel at Queens College in New York City doing student engagement and community building for two years. While I was in college at NYU, I worked at SoulCycle.

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What is Shabbat?

Shabbat ,also known as the Sabbath, is a holiday that happens once a week, celebrated for 25 hours from Friday at sundown to Saturday night.

What does Shabbat mean to you?

Shabbat is a period of renewal and celebration of the week's end and the beginning of a new week. It's's celebrated in different ways by all different types of Jews. I think it's beautiful that Shabbat can observe in any way you want. Traditionally, people don't use technology, drive or spend money during that time.

For me, Shabbat is the time a person usually spends with their family. It's a nice breath of fresh air. I look forward to weekly ceremonies to light the candles and bless the wine and bread. Something is comforting about tradition. I always say it's not Shabbat if you're not full after.

What lessons from your careers at soul cycle and Hillel help with your businesses?

SoulCycle is a high-volume environment where you deal with lots of people all at once, and everyone's needs need to be met. It's a hospitality brand where I learned how to be quick and efficient. At Soul Cycle, it's about having the customer in mind. It a place where you treat everyone at the utmost level of hospitality, and it's something I've learned there that I take in with me today.

Hillel is all about community engagement. Hillel is a place where you get to know who you serve and create memorable experiences. I apply to this my business when I make my bread. So with my Challah I, it's not just Challah; it's about creating a whole experience about Shabbat from the time you fill out the form to the time you receive and eat it. Hillel taught me how to elevate everyday occurrences to awe-inspiring experiences.

How did you come up with the idea for Chollywood Challah?

It just happened. I was in my apartment alone in New York for three months, and I wanted to make Challah for Shabbat, but I didn't because I would have eaten the whole thing by myself. When I ended my time in New York and moved back home to Florida, I knew I wanted to make Challah with my parents. So I started making it ad it was not very good. But every week, I just kept working on it, and it began to get a little bit better. I kept tweaking the recipe, and I arrived at something so delicious.

It was around Rosh Hashanah (The Jewish New Year typically occurring from late August- mid-September) when I finally came up with something good. My family had Rosh Hashanah with my aunt and uncle, and they said, " This is so good; you need to sell this." I said, " Absolutely no, this is not my career path."

A month or two after Rosh Hashanah, my parents and I visited my sister Jillian in Orlando, Florida, where some of my mom's friends had tried some of it. They said, " This is so good; you need to sell this." I said, " Absolutely no, this is not my career path."

I was in Atlanta for a month where I was floating and spending some time with friends. It was there when I decided that I'm just going to start selling my bread. I had nothing to do and nothing to lose. So I said, why not?

As far as the name, I think I just came up with it in the shower. I come up with all my best ideas when I'm in the shower. I'm from Hollywood, Florida. So I thought Challah is a CH, but it's pronounced as an H sound. And Hollywood has an H sound. So I thought, why not add a C in front of Holywood. I just came up with I was like, I kind of love this, and I stuck with it.

To read the full article: https://www.husstlingaroundtown.com/post/making-dough