December 6, 2024 • 50 mins
What if your heritage could guide your entrepreneurial journey? Join us as we sit down with Remi Attia, a dynamic entrepreneur with Jewish and Italian roots, who shares how her multicultural upbringing in Los Angeles shaped her path. From a "Legally Blonde" themed bat mitzvah to launching her brand, The Nosh Table, Remy gives us a delightful glimpse into how cultural milestones and family gatherings have left an indelible mark on her identity. She opens up about her transition from hospitality to interior design and how her new venture is a celebration of tradition through playful dinnerware that bridges her rich heritage with modern aesthetics.
Ever wondered what it takes to blend art, culture, and business into a unique venture? Discover the intricate world of entrepreneurship with Remi, as she takes us through her inspiring journey from restaurant and hotel consulting to studying at Parsons, and finally, to creating vibrant tablescapes that echo her childhood memories. Remi candidly discusses the challenges of urban hosting, the creative process behind her products, and the joy found in collaborating with manufacturers. Get an insider's look into The Nosh Table, where dinnerware is more than just functional—it's a storytelling experience that brings together Jewish, Middle Eastern, and California-style cuisine influences.
Get ready for a celebration of traditions and entrepreneurship as Remi shares insightful stories from her multi-hyphenate career. From helping launching a gelato business in Los Angeles to dreaming about opening a hotel, her passion for culinary arts is palpable. She offers heartfelt advice for aspiring retail entrepreneurs, emphasizing the importance of embracing the learning curve. Tune in to hear about her vision for spreading joy through Jewish culture and the positive reception her brand has received. As we chat about future plans, aperitivo glassware, and holiday giveaways, Remy reminds us of the power of community support and the beauty of blending cultural traditions in personal and professional life.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Nicole Kelly (00:01):
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Hi, welcome to Shebrew in theCity, I'm Nicole Kelly and today
(00:42):
I am talking to Remi Attia, whoI'm really excited to talk to,
and we're actually doing agiveaway on Instagram this week,
so we'll be talking a littlebit about her company and her
background and maybe a littlebit about what we're giving away
.
So how are you this evening,Remi?
Remi Attia (00:58):
I'm good.
Thank you for having me, Nicole.
I'm so happy to be here.
Nicole Kelly (01:01):
I'm so glad that we were able to do this.
So I usually start off by kindof getting the basic background
of my guests, asking wherethey're from, what their Jewish
upbringing was like, whatdenomination they were, if any,
if they had a bar or bat mitzvah.
So give me the background onall that.
Remi Attia (01:18):
Yeah, of course.
So I grew up in LA, born andraised.
I always grew up veryculturally Jewish, but more kind
of reformed, conservative,religious wise.
I grew up a couple blocks awayfrom my grandparents, so they
had such a big influence on meand I'm also Jewish and Italian
(01:40):
so my whole upbringing wasreally kind of revolved around
food and family and really bigdinners.
So I think from a young age,when I was kind of growing up
Jewish, I just thought it wasfood and eating a lot.
So yeah, and so now I live inNew York but I come to visit my
(02:02):
family in LA a lot and I wasbought mitzvahed and kind of
loved learning about Judaismfrom a young age and I feel like
it's very full circle now, kindof launching a Jewish focused
business and everything.
Nicole Kelly (02:19):
What part of LA.
Remi Attia (02:21):
I grew up in West LA .
Nicole Kelly (02:25):
I'm a valley girl, yeah, so not too far from
Westwood.
Remi Attia (02:26):
I love that I'm a valley girl.
Nicole Kelly (02:28):
I spent a lot of money on an arts education to
not sound like I'm a valley girl, but I fall back into it
sometimes when I'm with friendsand family.
Yeah, not happening.
What part of the city do youlive in now?
Remi Attia (02:41):
So I live in Brooklyn in New York.
Nicole Kelly (02:43):
Okay, I've been to Brooklyn maybe seven times in
the entire 11 years I lived inNew York, because the first nine
I lived in Queens and there'sno good way to get to Brooklyn
from Queens so I visited like acouple times to go to museums
and visit some friends, and nowit's it's still very far, but we
gotta come back.
It's some of the bestrestaurants I've ever.
Remi Attia (03:01):
Yeah, there actually there's good restaurants my
sister when we were visiting onetime dragged us.
It's still very far, but oh,we've got to come back.
It's some of the bestrestaurants I've ever been to,
actually.
Yeah, there's good restaurants.
Nicole Kelly (03:06):
My sister, when we were visiting one time, dragged
us to this place.
It was like a pretzel place.
This was a very long time agobecause she followed influencers
before.
That was a thing, so she usedto like read blogs and knew all
the places to come.
You know when we visited andeven now when she visits, she
finds all these places I'venever even heard of.
Yeah, totally.
So most important question inregards to what you just
(03:29):
answered what was the theme ofyour bat mitzvah?
Because I am obsessed with batmitzvah themes.
Remi Attia (03:36):
It's actually so funny.
So my theme was legally blondeand the tagline was legally bat
mitzvah.
Nicole Kelly (03:43):
Oh my gosh, I'm obsessed with that and we're
going to have to have a sideconversation about this.
My theme was the 50s and my momshould have at some point been
a party planner.
Remi Attia (03:52):
That's so cute.
It was like poodle skirts andall that.
Nicole Kelly (03:56):
Yes, I didn't have a poodle skirt.
My mom's best friend made likethis turquoise.
I'll send you information onthe TikTok video, but there's a
bunch of pictures.
Remi Attia (04:03):
I need to see this yeah.
Nicole Kelly (04:04):
It was a raging party in 1999.
Remi Attia (04:08):
Sounds like it.
I wish I was there.
Nicole Kelly (04:09):
I feel like my business card needs to say
Nicole Kelly, holocaust expertpodcaster.
People still talk about my batmitzvah.
Yes, because they do.
I mean that's the perfecttagline.
Yes, maybe that's the name ofthe book.
I don't know, but like I stillkeep in touch with people who I
know from preschool, and it'slike I posted the video and
(04:29):
they're like oh my God, Iremember this.
I was like we were so young.
We were so young.
I love it.
It's a very vivid memory.
It is, and my mom was like Ican't believe you remember all
this and I was like why would Inot remember this?
It's like the culmination of aridiculous amount of education
and a lot of planning.
Um, totally, it's true.
I always I say this like everyepisode.
But she always said she didn'twant to spend a lot of money on
(04:51):
my bat mitzvah, because no onesits around and talks about
their bat mitzvahs, but theytalk about their weddings.
I was like no, I talk about mybat mitzvah way more than my
wedding in my everyday life.
This is important, yes, but Ilove the legally blonde, was
everything like pink and wasthere like a chihuahua that made
an appearance at some point.
Remi Attia (05:08):
Yes, I've always well, not a real chihuahua, but
I've always been a huge, legallyblonde fan.
I just find her to be like sucha badass.
She loves pink but she's supersmart and just like conquered
law school.
I don't know, it just had likesuch a strong you know powerful
message to me when I was reallylittle and it just stuck through
(05:28):
me.
I think I would honestly havelike the same theme today.
Nicole Kelly (05:31):
Well, you're getting ahead of yourself,
because that's a question.
That's a question I ask.
You're getting ahead ofyourself, did you?
So I'm assuming you've seen themusical, then?
Remi Attia (05:39):
Oh yeah, Multiple times when I was in Performing
performing arts college.
Nicole Kelly (05:44):
they were developing it and they had this
like vlog series on broadwaycomcalled the road to legally
blonde and they were like it waslike their rehearsals and
things and I just rememberwatching that and yes, it was um
, I saw it at the.
Did we see it at?
I don't think we saw the pantat the Pantages.
(06:04):
I think we saw it at the OrangeCounty Performing Arts Center
and it's funny because someonewho was in the show ended up
being one of our trainers at agym called Mark Fisher Fitness.
I don't know if you've heard ofMark Fisher.
Remi Attia (06:15):
No, Is that in LA?
Nicole Kelly (06:18):
No, it's in Hell's Kitchen, so it's very full of
theater people and a lot of thetrainers are former actors and
we ended up he was one of ourtrainers um, yeah, there's five.
There's five people in theaterand they all know each other.
Um, okay, so talk to me alittle bit about, um, uh, being
an italian jew, because this issomething that a lot of people
(06:39):
don't think exists.
Um, I dated one in high school,so I know this exists, um, but
but it's very different thanAshkenazi or Sephardic Jews, and
I know, if we get even likemore local when we were in Rome
a couple years ago, roman Jewsare even more different than the
rest of the Italian Jews.
So can you talk to me a littlebit about that?
Remi Attia (07:00):
Yeah, of course.
So it's funny because mybackground it's really
multicultural.
My family we are Italian Jews,but they originally came from
Egypt.
So a lot of the kind oftraditions and recipes and
things that I grew up with werekind of a blend between Middle
Eastern, italian, california,just like influenced by all the
(07:23):
places that my family has livedin.
But yeah, I grew up with a lotof the Sephardic traditions.
I think from a young age Ithought that it just meant we
could eat rice on Passover.
Nicole Kelly (07:36):
Yes, that's a big difference and a point of
contention among many Jews ifyou can eat rice on Passover or
not.
Remi Attia (07:42):
Yeah, my friends were so jealous because Passover
was always so easy, because Icould just eat rice.
But it's really cool to seebecause when we visit my family
that now lives just outside ofFlorence, they have like very
similar traditions.
So for Passover we would eveneat matzo ball soup and brisket
(08:03):
and do the same prayers.
It's just really beautiful tosee that Judaism exists
everywhere and even if you liveacross the world, you can share
these different beautifultraditions together.
And especially when mygrandparents, you know they
settled in California, then theystarted to even kind of create
(08:26):
their own new traditions andrecipes, but still kind of
adapted from things that theylearned over the generations,
which I think is really special.
Nicole Kelly (08:35):
So when did they, when did your relatives go from
Egypt to Italy and what kind ofcaused that?
That's a that's a big culturalchange and geographical.
Remi Attia (08:44):
Yeah, so the timeline is a little bit fuzzy
because my family's kind ofspread out everywhere.
They went from Egypt to Italyand then my great grandparents
moved from to Sicily and then mygrandparents moved to
(09:07):
California.
So they originally went fromEgypt to Italy for job
opportunities and also there wasa really big uptick in
anti-Semitism and they weren'table to kind of practice a lot
of the traditions that they hadgrown up with.
So that's kind of honestly whyI think a lot of people, why a
lot of the traditions that theyhad grown up with.
So that's kind of honestly whyI think a lot of people, why a
lot of Jewish people have moved,is persecution and search for a
(09:32):
new life, a new opportunity.
So now I still have family inItaly, mostly in California, and
then we have some family inIsrael too, which is really cool
to see us kind of spread outall over.
Nicole Kelly (09:43):
It's nice that you have kept in touch with family
that's so far away.
I'm of a rare breed thatbasically my entire family lived
within a 20-minute radius ofeach other.
Seriously, like my dad'sparents, like everybody, my
entire family, with theexception of, like, a great
uncle who lived in New York andsome relatives in Minneapolis.
Everybody was here, was in LA,so I feel like when I was a kid
(10:07):
I was kind of always jealouswhen people got to go visit
relatives whereas visiting mygreat aunt was like a five
minute ride.
But now I get to do that, butit's nice that especially you
have relatives that are still inEurope, that you're able to go,
because I feel like people willask me and I'm like, no, none
of my relatives are left.
Or that kind of thing, but it'snice that you still have them
there.
So, kind of transitioning toyou personally and your story,
(10:31):
your original background is inhotel management.
What made you decide to studythat and what were the some of
the things that you did when youpursued that as a career?
Remi Attia (10:42):
Yeah, so I grew up just loving cooking.
I cooked a lot, with my grandmain particular, so I've always
kind of been around food andhospitality.
My grandfather was a winewriter for the LA Times for many
years.
Nicole Kelly (10:57):
That's the coolest thing I've ever heard and
probably the best job ever.
Remi Attia (11:02):
I love that so much.
Nicole Kelly (11:03):
I am a huge, I am a big fan of wine.
Um, I come from a big winefamily.
My family, my parent, my familyis not, they're not really
drinkers.
So yeah like Menishevitz, waswhat was on the table and when
you're exposed to that you'relike this is disgusting.
Um, it was like BlackberryMenishevitz.
So it wasn't until I turned 21and started like experimenting
(11:25):
on my own that I discovered Ireally love wine, and I also
really like beer, which I knowis like an un-female thing.
No, I love it, okay, so yourgrandfather was a wine writer
for the Times.
Remi Attia (11:38):
Yeah, so he used to work a lot with hotels and
restaurants and then in highschool I started interning for
different hotels and I justloved it.
I loved the world ofhospitality and I really just
wanted to learn more and andcooking and design and so many
of the different areas that Iwanted to.
(12:08):
So, yeah, that's kind of how mycareer in hospitality began and
there was such a greatcommunity there.
Some of my best friends arestill from that school and that
program so it really kind ofcatapulted my career in the
business.
Nicole Kelly (12:27):
And what did you do when you got out of school?
What kind of jobs did you have?
Were you managing?
Were you managing dining rooms?
What were you doing?
Remi Attia (12:34):
So it's funny I've had so many different jobs in my
career.
I've worked in restaurants onthe culinary side.
For most of my career I was aconsultant and I would do kind
of similar to what like amystery shopper does, so I would
go into different hotels,evaluate the operations, and
(12:56):
I've always just loved workingwith different brands and
learning from as many differenthotels around the world as
possible, because hospitality isso different everywhere yes,
it's different in California,it's different in Italy, it's
different really everywhere.
So that was really whatfascinated me about the industry
and, yeah, it just really gaveme the opportunity to just like
(13:18):
learn as much as possible, andthat's all I really wanted.
That's why I've loved kind ofmoving around in my career.
Nicole Kelly (13:25):
It's so funny that you say that the expectations
are different in differentplaces because we own a tour
company and people will talk tous about, like, whether or not
we get a lot of the Asian marketat least, pre-covid was very
huge in New York but they tourvery differently than people
from Europe and the UnitedStates and they tend to work
with companies that are basedout of places like China.
(13:45):
So it's just, and you know, andjust having traveled, the
expectations of how hotel stafftreats you or servers, it's very
different.
Remi Attia (13:54):
Yes.
Nicole Kelly (13:55):
So the best way to discover that, I guess, is to
travel and figure out thosedifferences.
It's an excuse to hop on aplane.
Remi Attia (14:00):
Yeah, exactly I agree.
Nicole Kelly (14:04):
So then you studied interior design at
Parsons, and I'm actually aboutto graduate from the new school
in um December, Uh, and I havemany.
I have many thoughts about thenew school over the past year
and what's been going on there,um, but uh, so what?
So that was a bit of a change.
What inspired that and what didyou do while you were at
Parsons?
Remi Attia (14:24):
Totally.
So I did that as I was workingactually, because I even
throughout college I always kindof had like an itch for design,
but I never knew and I couldn't, you know, obviously go to two
colleges at once at the time.
So I found out about this kindof hospitality interior design
(14:44):
graduate program where I couldtake classes and just learn
about all aspects of design.
So it was really a crash coursein like space planning,
learning about differentproducts that are used in hotel
rooms, and also just like how todesign a space for the new age
of travelers, because travel haschanged even so much from the
(15:08):
time that I had graduatedcollege.
So it really gave me theopportunity to like apply what I
learned at the hotel school,but in more of a design sense.
And then that's kind of how Igrew into the design world and
just loved that creative aspectof it.
Nicole Kelly (15:24):
I.
That is totally not mywheelhouse.
I feel like the fact that Ihave a functionally looking
apartment is an achievement onmy end and a lot of that has to
do with my husband.
So it's very impressive and,like some of the kids in my
class are at Parsons and talkingabout some of the projects that
they're doing, it's crazyimpressive and I know that it's
a big.
Like it's a very famous program.
That's so cool.
I didn't know they had a hoteldesign program.
Like it's a very famous program.
That's so cool.
I didn't know they had a hoteldesign program.
(15:46):
How long was that program?
Remi Attia (15:49):
So I did it for a very short.
I did kind of like theabbreviated version of it, so
mine was about six months, but Idid it like after work, every
day, gotcha.
So every month I took adifferent course.
So it was a lot of work but itwas really worth it.
And just to see what actuallygoes into designing a space and
(16:12):
designing a hotel.
It's so much more complicatedthan people think but it's also
fascinating, so I really enjoyedit.
Nicole Kelly (16:20):
And then you created the nosh table.
So did that come from your, youknow, studying at Parsons?
Can we talk about how thatstarted?
What was the inspiration?
I want to know everything.
Remi Attia (16:33):
Yeah, so I started the nosh table back in March, so
it's been about eight months,which is exciting, and I've
known for a long time that Iwanted to start my own business
but I didn't really know kind ofwhat that would look like, how
to do it, when to do it.
Never, never is the rightanswer to that.
I feel like as a business,owner myself.
Nicole Kelly (16:55):
we kind of were just like well, I guess we're
doing this now and that's justhow that works, Because it's
like having.
It's like having a kid, there'snever a good time, because you
can plan and be as financiallysecure as you want, and you're
still going to be like yeah, Idon't know if this is going to
work Exactly.
Remi Attia (17:09):
It's easy to make up excuses not to do it?
Nicole Kelly (17:12):
Yes, okay, so you wanted to start a business?
Remi Attia (17:16):
Yes, and it was really.
I wanted to do something toothat like incorporated my
passion for design but also myfamily background, and I kind of
noticed that especially aroundJudaica and Jewish holiday items
.
There I just really couldn'tfind anything that reminded me
(17:38):
of like the beautiful, excitingspreads that my grandma used to
make with like playfuldinnerware and just like a
really welcoming table.
Nicole Kelly (17:48):
So I started kind of yeah, white dinnerware was
very popular when I was gettingmarried.
Like, just like white chargerplates like the crate and barrel
aesthetic which, like was notmy thing, so I definitely get
what you're saying.
Remi Attia (18:02):
Yes, it's hard to find, and especially for like
holidays.
So really, my first product wasa Passover Seder plate, because
I wanted to create somethingthat was bright and colorful and
exciting, that people wouldwant to use all year round and
not just for Passover, becauseme personally, I couldn't even
find a Seder plate that I wantedto have when I hosted holidays.
(18:23):
So to me, it's really justabout kind of sharing these two
beautiful Italian and Jewishtraditions and creating kind of
fun and exciting dinnerware thatreally inspires people to come
together around the dinner table.
That's really what it's allabout.
Nicole Kelly (18:41):
Yeah, I love.
I love the color.
I feel like sometimes I'mafraid of color love the color.
I feel like sometimes I'mafraid of color, but that's what
I mean.
I mean more like in what I wearas opposed to my house, if that
makes any sense.
So I feel like colorful dishesare a really great way to to
kind of make a statement, causeI tend to wear.
I don't wear bright colors.
(19:01):
I'm very much a New Yorker,even though I'm from LA, so I
feel I have like a black coat.
Remi Attia (19:05):
I'm wearing a gray sweater.
Nicole Kelly (19:06):
Right now that's kind of my, my uniform, yeah.
So how did you come up with thename?
The nosh table?
Remi Attia (19:13):
So coming up with the name the nosh table actually
took me longer than you wouldthink.
I was playing around with abunch of different names, but I
wanted to create something thatreally embodied that like
playfulness around food, becausea lot of the dinners and
holidays that I grew up withwere very welcoming and playful
(19:35):
and they weren't stuffy orformal.
So I wanted the name to kind ofencompass that, and Nosh is
such like a not only is it likea funny sounding Yiddish name,
but it does have like a playfulconnotation of like eating a
snack or, you know, eating inthe kitchen as you're cooking.
So I just thought that was likethe perfect addition to the
(19:58):
name.
And then adding table, becausethis whole brand is kind of
centered around the table.
Even though we do have somemore lifestyle brands, I just
believe everything revolvesaround the table.
Even though we do have somemore lifestyle brands, I just
believe everything revolvesaround the table.
Nicole Kelly (20:10):
I love that.
You know what's really funny isspeaking about like a pretty
table.
Growing up, my great aunt, theone who lived five minutes away
from me, would hold these hugesatyrs with like over 30 people,
and she had these dishes and Ihave her entire fine china set
in my living room.
Yeah, but I don't have a diningroom table, so I have a set for
like 20 people and I don't havea table, but it's so funny do
(20:37):
you have a dining room table inBrooklyn where you get, or do
you have a space where you hostparties?
Remi Attia (20:42):
I do, finally, but for a while, and I used to live
in San Francisco and I didn'thave any table, so it was like
everything was on the couch.
Nicole Kelly (20:50):
Yeah, it's such a weird New York thing Like we eat
at the coffee table.
Now, in our last place we had akitchen table but we don't have
space.
But we got a third bedroom, soit's you know, and a washer and
dryer.
Remi Attia (20:59):
Yeah, okay, worth it .
You take what you can get.
Nicole Kelly (21:00):
You take what you can get Totally.
How do you decide what productsto sell?
Is this just something?
You know, I own a business, butI don't own a business that
sells physical things.
So is this just the kind ofthing where you do market
research where it's just like,hey, I want to do this, like
what do you just?
How do you decide that?
Remi Attia (21:17):
It's definitely a song and dance, I think.
Before I initially launched thebrand, I did talk to a lot of
kind of friends and family andsee okay, what products are you
looking for?
You know, how can we makeJewish holidays more fun, how
can we make dinner parties moreplayful and just kind of going
from there, and all of theproducts that I do design I hand
(21:39):
paint first and it does takequite a while to actually turn
it into a product.
It can take many months.
So I'm already kind of thinkingabout next year.
But yeah, my first product sinceI did start with the Passover
holiday was really centeredaround Passover.
So I launched with threedifferent Seder plates and then
(22:01):
kind of recipes around that tomake it a more kind of lifestyle
brand of okay, you can log ontoour website, try out a Passover
recipe that you can then usewith your Seder plate, and then
it just kind of grew from there.
I feel like, especially withlinens and our cocktail napkins,
I can be really fun with thembecause you can kind of set them
on your table and they're aconversation starter with a lot
(22:23):
of the kind of Italian andYiddish sayings, and that was
also something I really didn'tsee with other brands were
linens with, you know, nosh orItalian phrases on them.
I just thought could be reallyfun for people to kind of have a
conversation around the tablethat was inspired by the linens
(22:45):
and things that they actuallysaw physically on the table.
Nicole Kelly (22:48):
What do you mean?
You start by hand painting,like you do a painting, or
you're hand painting theproducts.
Remi Attia (22:54):
Yeah, so actually both.
I love to paint, so I alwayswould sketch things growing up
and paint things just to kind oflike get my ideas out.
So that's kind of how Iinitially start with visualizing
products, because I'm such avisual person, so I always start
visually first, and then,especially with the Seder plate
(23:17):
and the linens, it took a lot ofdifferent rounds of ordering
samples from different places totest quality because I'm such a
stickler for quality and thenputting things in the washer
over and, over and over againand seeing how it lasts.
So that part took a long timejust to like get the actual
products and quality set beforeI actually placed orders.
Nicole Kelly (23:41):
I love that you say the quality is so important,
because I feel like everythingtoday is so cheaply made and
there's even videos making funof things like if you you buy
something on shine like this iswhat you get.
But I feel like.
I, I like I'm old school likemy mom's father was a shoemaker,
so when my daughter was bornfirst started walking, she's
like you need to spend money onlike good shoes for her because
(24:02):
that's like a very importantthing and I think when it comes
to dinnerware and serve pieces.
That's important too.
Even though we don't have adining room table, we do host a
lot of parties and I feel like Ilove my serveware, and that was
one of the most exciting thingsthat I was so excited to
register for when we got marriedwas serveware because I wanted
to throw dinner parties, and Ilove that you're really focusing
(24:24):
on that quality because thatsets you apart from just buying,
like some schlock, on Amazon,which you know.
Remi Attia (24:29):
Definitely.
You know it's not ideal.
It's meant to be used for years.
Yeah, and I think it's soimportant.
Nicole Kelly (24:33):
And there is something about bringing out
certain serveware every year,Like when we host a holiday
party every year and likebringing this stuff out and like
, oh, like the memory isattached to that Totally.
Why do you think?
Why do you think that animpressive tablescape is so
important?
For, like I was saying, a lotof your stuff is very colorful
and pops, so why does it is animpressive tablescape so
(24:54):
important to a party in general?
Remi Attia (24:57):
Yeah, I just think it sets the tone for the whole,
for the whole experience.
I I just think it's soimportant, especially now, to
have kind of a welcomingenvironment for people, and I
remember my grandparents used toinvite over neighbors and
people with differentbackgrounds and religions.
But when you were sitting atthe table and you were all
(25:17):
passing around food and breakingbread together, I just think
creating kind of a welcomingspace for that with fun and
colorful dinnerware just is hugeand that immediately makes
people happy and just kind ofspreads joy around the whole
experience.
Nicole Kelly (25:35):
What are some of the other things that you think
that are important to acelebration other than tableware
?
Remi Attia (25:42):
Oh then definitely the food.
I colorful food, colorfuldinnerware, no, but I think also
just like inviting people intothe kitchen and like making it
just a really collaborativeprocess.
I think it's so much fun and Iknow my grandparents did that a
lot.
It wasn't a formal dinner orholiday.
(26:03):
They would make big platters offood and it was just meant to
be shared and passed around,which I absolutely love.
Nicole Kelly (26:12):
Yeah, A formal sit down dinner has its place, but
I think, especially when you'reagain talking when we got to New
York apartments, you're limitedon space.
It can be difficult to do that,and I don't know many people
who have these huge houses forthat anyway these days, because
I'm a millennial and no one ownsa huge house.
Remi Attia (26:26):
That I know.
Nicole Kelly (26:29):
Can you walk me through the making of a nosh
table product from idea tophysical product?
And you can do this for boththings like glassware and the
linens, because I know that's adifferent process.
Remi Attia (26:40):
Yeah, it's kind of like what I was saying before
with whenever I get an idea, Itypically like sketch it out or
paint it first, just to kind ofwork on the design mock-up from
the beginning.
Then I work with severaldifferent manufacturers and
producers because everyone kindof specializes in different
(27:02):
products.
So there's a lot of back andforth, especially when I first
launched like I don't, for myglassware I only have two
different types right now, andthat's because it took months to
kind of go back and forth orderdifferent samples and same with
the linens I was very pickyabout kind of the colors and the
(27:25):
materials.
So it was a lot of kind of backand forth of ordering samples,
figuring out what worked,talking to friends and family,
kind of pulling differentproducts as well.
But it definitely takes severalmonths from when I come up with
an idea to actually making it.
I'm now starting to work oncustom orders, which is really
(27:47):
exciting so I can kind of shrinkthe turnaround time and do
things that are very specialized, which I absolutely love.
So there are certain productswhich I can do custom coming up,
which is going to be veryexciting and kind of shorten
that turnaround time.
Customizing, like color ordesign customizing like color or
design yeah, both socustomizing specific designs,
(28:10):
whether it's napkins or platesfor events or certain gifts,
like if people want to dosomething for a wedding or
birthday I'll be able to do that, which is a lot of fun, do you?
Nicole Kelly (28:23):
this is not um, I can't speak English today um do
you tend to sell more toindividuals, like through your
website, or do you get, like,bulk orders from places like
catering companies or thingslike that?
Remi Attia (28:37):
It's kind of a combination.
I do wholesale and then alsodirect to consumer.
I love working with retailstores because it really helps
me kind of expand my audience todifferent stores around the
country.
So it's kind of a combinationof both.
Our products are now on Zolatoo, which is really exciting.
(28:57):
So especially for wedding gifts, host gifts, that's a really.
Our items, like the Seder plate, are a really popular item on
Zola.
But I love working with newstores and um restaurants as
well.
Nicole Kelly (29:12):
That's so exciting that there's many different
avenues, that you're able to getthese products out in lots of
different ways.
Um, so, what are the?
So?
Because your business is veryJewish focused, what are the
some of the challenges and eventhe rewards that you find in
owning a business that is veryJewish focused, like the Nosh
Table?
Remi Attia (29:30):
Yeah, I think it's tough.
Even just being Jewish today ishard, and there is definitely a
weight to that being a Jewishwoman, being a Jewish
woman-owned business.
It's a lot of layers.
It's definitely been achallenging year for so many
people.
But at the same time, I thinkone kind of really unexpected
(29:54):
thing that happened with thisbrand is meeting so many other
business owners, jewish womenowned businesses and other
brands that kind of share asimilar mission, and we've been
able to collaborate on productsbut also kind of lean on each
other during these really thisparticularly really difficult
year.
(30:14):
So that's been kind of a brightlight through it all.
Nicole Kelly (30:18):
What's your, what's typically?
I mean, this is your first year.
I was like what's the busiesttime of the year?
But what has been the busiesttime of the past eight months
for you?
Remi Attia (30:29):
I think now actually , which is exciting You're right
, this is my first year, so Ihave nothing to compare it to.
But kind of going into Hanukkahand the holidays and also since
it has, you know, been eightmonths, it's starting to spread,
which is really exciting.
So I'm just really happy to seeit in more stores and just like
(30:53):
the fact that it's kind ofgrowing organically now is
really exciting to see.
Nicole Kelly (30:58):
Is it just you, or do you have people that work
with you?
Remi Attia (31:03):
It's just me.
My husband does help with a lotof the packing and shipping
because we actually doeverything out of our basement.
Nicole Kelly (31:11):
Oh, my goodness.
Remi Attia (31:12):
I'm a small business , yeah, so everything is at our
apartment, which a lot of peopledon't realize.
But also exciting when you'resupporting small businesses.
We're really doing everythingourselves, so, but there's so
much more reward.
Nicole Kelly (31:26):
It's like it's a lot of work.
I know, but there's a lot ofreward in that, because I feel
like at some point you turnaround you're like this is how
I'm supporting my life with thisbusiness that I created, and I
remember that, like when wefirst started our company, it
was just me and my husband wouldbe giving two Statue of Liberty
tours a day, which is eighthours, basically, of just
talking and dealing with crowdsand boats.
And I think back to those times, like when we couldn't afford
(31:47):
toilet paper and now I have thislovely life that I'm, you know,
because of our business.
So it's that you built.
Remi Attia (31:53):
Yeah, but when?
Nicole Kelly (31:54):
so when you build it yourself, there's just so
much more reward in that Um,we're not packing anything up.
I feel like I don't have thespace for physical items, and I
know this is this this office isall messy because we have like
a bunch of business stuff here.
It's just a lot of paperworkbut no physical stuff.
So you keep going back tocooking, and you mentioned this
(32:15):
is something that you grew updoing and then you studied that
as well, so you've done allsorts of crazy things that I am
so impressed by.
So you talked a lot aboutcooking with your grandmother.
What are some of the thingsthat you would make for what
holidays?
Remi Attia (32:34):
And then what made you decide to further your
education with the culinary arts?
Yeah, so, oh.
There's so many recipes that mygrandma used to make, but she
really did do kind of a blend ofJewish, Middle Eastern,
California style cooking, whichI think is really cool.
She used to make kibbeh, whichwas delicious, grape leaves,
which my mom now makes today,which are absolutely insanely
(32:55):
delicious, but so much work.
But then she would also make alot of Italian recipes like osso
bucco, a lot of risotto, lotsof pasta and I feel like too,
because she was influenced by somany cultures, it was, it
really was just a blend ofdifferent ingredients, and she
(33:16):
used to grow a lot ofingredients in her backyard.
And myself, my family, we lovegardening, so that's one thing.
Especially being fromCalifornia, we just like learned
so quickly and loved isincluding like fresh herbs,
tomatoes and all of our cooking.
So it really just likebrightens everything up.
Nicole Kelly (33:36):
And then you correct me if I'm wrong.
You studied in Italy.
Yes, yeah, yes, so tell me alittle bit about that.
Remi Attia (33:45):
Yes, so I studied in Italy twice.
So I studied abroad in Italyand took a bunch of culinary
courses while I was in collegeand then, once I graduated, I
went back to Italy and I studieda gelato school program there.
So I learned like the art ofmaking gelato and pastry, which
(34:06):
is really fun and exciting.
So I just love to learn how tocook and Italy is just the place
place to go.
Nicole Kelly (34:12):
I am infamously a terrible cook, so I'm always
impressed when people are ableto do things like that.
No, I'm really bad.
It's impressive when I don'tkill people Like I think the
first time I cooked chicken Ithink I was 27 years old and I
was I literally wrote onFacebook.
Remi Attia (34:29):
Nobody died.
Nicole Kelly (34:29):
So that's my husband's an excellent cook, and
he is prepping for.
Remi Attia (34:33):
Thanksgiving right now, and we got like a fresh.
Nicole Kelly (34:37):
It's a lot and he does it all by himself.
Um, which is I know I help withthe mashed potatoes cause I can
, I can, I can do that.
That's very easy to peel and toto whip them, uh, but he is one
of the few people I know whocan make a turkey that's
actually edible and I'm not ahuge fan of turkey to begin with
.
It's like the only time of theyear I eat turkey.
Remi Attia (34:55):
It's hard to make it is.
Nicole Kelly (34:57):
It is, but it's like a whole thing.
He brines it for like a day anda half.
Wow, he goes all and he'sperfected the brine.
No-transcript.
Remi Attia (35:35):
I don't at home because I don't have the proper
machine.
But I helped launch a businessout in Los Angeles which is a
gelato business and I just lovekind of spreading the Italian
culture, learning how to makedifferent types of Italian food.
But whenever I come home, andespecially for Thanksgiving, my
mom and I love cooking togetherand we just kind of whip up
(36:03):
different things all the timeand it's really what grounds me.
So I think wherever I am in mycareer, there's always has to be
some sort of food or cookingaspect, because that's just my
favorite part my daughter, Ithink, is already picking up on
that from my husband really.
Nicole Kelly (36:14):
Yeah, we're getting her one of those like
toddler towers for hanukkah andI bought her their toddler
knives.
But I told my husband I waslike she's getting knives for
hanukkah and he thought I was.
He's like what I said.
Remi Attia (36:25):
No, they're like children yeah, they, they're kid
knife set.
Nicole Kelly (36:27):
Yeah, they're like Montessori knives so she can
like cut vegetables and stuff,because she stands on a
stepladder now, which is notvery safe.
So we want to get her like anactual tower and she can cut
stuff, but she seems interesting.
Remi Attia (36:39):
I don't think they had that when I was growing up.
Nicole Kelly (36:41):
No, no they didn't want children in the kitchen
safely, I guess.
But those like toddler towersare very popular.
Remi Attia (36:48):
I've never seen them .
Yeah, you should go look onAmazon.
Nicole Kelly (36:51):
They're very popular, but my sister even says
she's like I was alwaysinterested when our mom was
cooking and you didn't care, Iwas like correct.
I did not care, I was probablyoff reading some book about
World War II when I was eight,instead of cooking.
That's okay, we all have ourthing.
I mean, look, yeah.
So we talked a lot about thedifferent things that you've
done in career in your career.
Remi Attia (37:17):
What are some of the challenges of being a
multi-hyphenate career woman?
It's tough because I think atthe end of the day, there's more
positives to it than negatives.
I think for a long time I waslike, why am I so interested in
so many different careers or somany different businesses?
And I think just from a youngage I've loved learning.
I was always the kid that lovedgoing to school, did every
(37:40):
extra credit.
I just love learning aboutdifferent people, about
different cultures and thisbusiness also.
I knew nothing about retailgoing into this.
My background is in hospitalityso it really like threw me into
the fire where I got to learnso many different parts of the
business world.
So I just think that's fun andexciting.
(38:02):
I think people don't need tokind of go down one path.
You can really explore so manydifferent careers and so many
different areas of life.
Nicole Kelly (38:11):
I agree.
I think limiting yourself canbe really stifling, and I'm not.
I don't think you are either,but I'm not the kind of person
that can sit at an office andjust that's my whole thing.
I feel like I need to be outthere physically doing stuff,
and it's amazing that you'veturned all these different
passions into something that isbecoming very successful.
Thank, you.
(38:32):
And kind of going along withthat because it is such a new
business.
What are some of the thingsthat you have as far as hopes
for the future, for the tableand your career as well?
Remi Attia (38:43):
Yeah, it's funny.
It's hard to see I'm trying notto like put too much weight
onto what this will turn into.
I'm so excited about it and Ithink the future of it is so
hopeful.
And I think, just at the end ofthe day, just whether it's this
business or just overall in mylife is really focused on kind
(39:03):
of spreading joy around theJewish culture, around the
traditions that I grew up with,and just creating something that
kind of gives people hope and Ithink that's also why I loved
working in hospitality is it'sall about just kind of spreading
(39:24):
joy, creating memorableexperiences for people, and I
think the Nosh table can grow inso many different directions
and I'm really excited about itand the response has been great
so far, so I'm very hopeful.
Nicole Kelly (39:38):
What is your advice to someone who's
interested in starting their ownbrand that sells physical items
?
You know, like retail.
What would be your advice sinceit's all very fresh right now.
Remi Attia (39:58):
Totally.
I think the important thing isto.
It's tough because I think,especially before you start your
own business, whether it'sretail or something else, it's
definitely terrifying.
I think it's impossible not tobe scared because it's very
you're being very vulnerable,you're putting yourself out
there, you're testing the waters, you're kind of like open to
all criticism.
So just trying to kind ofcreate like a shield around
(40:21):
yourself of protection I thinkis so important, and just kind
of knowing that like it's allabout trial and error.
I think the whole business is alearning business.
There are some products thatyou will love and you'll be like
this is going to sell in asecond and it won't, and then
(40:42):
there's some that are surprisingto you, that you're going to
have to reorder.
So I think just like notputting too much pressure on
yourself of having you know tomake everything perfect, which
is hard, but just kind of beingopen to being receptive on what
people like and just kind ofgoing with the flow of your
business, I think is reallyimportant.
Nicole Kelly (41:03):
So, jumping back to you personally, you got
married last year.
Back to you personally, you gotmarried last year.
So what were some of theItalian or Jewish traditions
that you incorporated in yourwedding and in the celebration
in general?
Remi Attia (41:19):
Yeah, so I met my husband in college.
So I've known him for 12-ishyears, which is crazy.
But one of the things that Iwas immediately drawn to of him
is he also comes from a reallyinteresting background.
So his family was originallyfrom Syria, then moved to Panama
(41:40):
and then he still has cousinsin Panama, but most live in New
York.
So he kind of has a veryinteresting Sephardic and
Ashkenazi background.
So for our wedding we reallyjust incorporated all the Jewish
traditions that we love.
We weren't super strict on.
We had to follow certain things, but especially the food.
(42:02):
We incorporated a lot of reallydelicious Italian food and then
we incorporated, like hisgrandfather's, tallit for our
cuppa, which was really nice,and we really just tried to kind
of blend our families and blendall of our traditions, which I
thought was really beautiful.
Nicole Kelly (42:22):
So, jumping to something a little more serious
you kind of hinted at this thishas been an extremely difficult
almost year and a month, really,I think, for I feel like it's
been 15 years.
Remi Attia (42:35):
I feel like I've aged that much.
Nicole Kelly (42:37):
For anybody who's Jewish, who's visibly Jewish
online or in person.
A lot of my guests and myselfhave dealt with anti-Semitism on
social media.
Is this something that you'vehad to deal with, and what would
be your advice to somebodywho's having trouble with this,
if you have any?
Remi Attia (42:56):
Yeah, yeah, I think it's definitely really tough.
I think from when I was little,my grandparents always warned me
that anti-Semitism was reallybad and it's really important to
be proud of being Jewish andkind of spread positivity around
that.
And I don't think I fullyunderstood that until this year.
(43:19):
I think it's really been a teston all of us and I wanted to
start this brand before, and Iwanted to start this brand
before really, you know, for awhile, for a couple years now,
so it was before October 7th,before the extreme uptick in
anti-Semitism, and then, kind ofgoing into this year, I had a
(43:42):
lot of hesitation and kind offear of my family, about
security and all of that.
But I think one thing that'sreally been helpful is meeting
other Jewish business owners andkind of leaning on each other,
looking out for each other andchecking in, and it's really
brought people together evenmore, which I think is really
(44:05):
beautiful to see.
So yeah, I think at the end ofthe day, it's just really
important to be there for eachother and kind of protect, you
know, the people that are aroundyou and support one another for
sure.
Nicole Kelly (44:20):
I definitely agree .
I think that in a weird way,it's made a lot of people more
Jewish.
People who were passivelyJewish are becoming more proud
of who they are.
I think a lot of people arebecoming more religious or
finding communities.
So, at least there's somethingsmall in a pot, something
positive, a small positive thingthat has come out of this.
Remi Attia (44:41):
I think, so we're dealing with a lot.
Nicole Kelly (44:42):
It's just very stressful and you know I totally
living in New York, especiallywhere a lot of the protests are
happening.
It's really it's really easy tofeel overwhelmed and alone, but
it's amazing that you've beenable to connect especially with
business owners on on that levelabout that.
So this last portion is modeledafter the actor studio.
(45:03):
These are short form answers soyou don't need to give me a
full answer unless you want to.
The first question is what isyour favorite yiddish word?
Remi Attia (45:11):
and I'm gonna add italian word as well oh, I feel
like I have to say nosh.
It's my favorite, of course, Ido it every day.
Nicole Kelly (45:23):
No, definitely nosh and what about an italian
word?
Do you have a favorite italianword?
Remi Attia (45:28):
And what about an Italian word?
Do you have a favorite Italianword?
That's hard.
There are so many beautifulItalian words.
I mean this is more of a phrase, but I've always lived by the
phrase like la vita bella Lifeis beautiful.
(45:50):
I think it's such a beautifulphrase and something that I just
grew up hearing all the timefrom my family, and especially
whenever times get really hard,I always remind myself of that.
So I think it's a phrase that'sprobably my favorite and the
most beautiful.
Nicole Kelly (46:05):
So if you were to have a bat mitzvah today, what
would the theme be?
And you can't say legallyblonde, because you already said
that, oh, this is so hard now.
Remi Attia (46:12):
Okay, Well, I guess this is kind of similar to my
wedding, but I would do a pastatheme because at my wedding
every table was a differentpasta shape.
We're a little obsessed withpasta in my family.
My dog's name is Ravioli.
My parents' dog's name isTortellini.
Nicole Kelly (46:33):
I am also a pasta fan, so I there is no judgment
coming from me about the love ofpasta.
It is one of God's greatcreations.
Uh, I agree.
Um, what profession other thanyour own would you want to
attempt?
Remi Attia (46:53):
I would love to open a hotel one day, whether it's
my own brands or I just thinkthat would be so cool.
That's like been on my bucketlist forever and a girl can
dream.
So maybe one day.
Nicole Kelly (47:05):
If heaven is real and God is there to welcome you,
what would you like to hear himsay?
Remi Attia (47:12):
Oh, I feel like if I were to imagine it, I kind of
go back to thinking about mygrandparents, especially because
I lost them when I was incollege and I, I would hope they
would just be happy that youknow, I'm continuing a lot of my
(47:34):
Jewish family traditions andcreating new ones.
I think that they would bereally happy to see kind of the
light that we're all kind ofspreading together.
Nicole Kelly (47:46):
I'm sure they would.
There's so much inspirationfrom them in everything that
you've done in your career, soI'm sure they would.
There's so much inspirationfrom them in everything that
you've done in your career, soI'm sure they'd be super proud
of what you've accomplished.
Remi Attia (47:54):
Thank you.
Nicole Kelly (47:55):
So we're participating in a giveaway with
a couple of other brands andwhat we're going to be giving
away from the Nosh table is aset of aperitivo glasses.
Can we talk a little bit aboutthe inspiration behind those?
Because they are gorgeous andwhen I was looking at your items
I was like, oh my God, theseare amazing and I think people
would die for these, so theyhave to be included in the
giveaway.
(48:15):
So talk to me a little bitabout the glasses and the
inspiration behind that, so ifpeople, when someone wins,
they'll know what theinspiration was when they get it
in the mail.
Remi Attia (48:30):
Oh, thank you.
Well, aperitivo is one of myfavorite traditions in Italy.
Every time we go to Italy withmy family, we always enjoy
aperitivo, so it's basicallylike having Italian nosh with a
spritzy drink.
So it can be Aperol spritz,prosecco, really anything but
it's really a ritual wherepeople gather before dinner and
(48:52):
unplug, take things slow andjust kind of enjoy the end of
the day.
So I wanted to create aglassware that really
encompasses that, where you canenjoy it with an Aperol spritz
or with wine or really anybeverage.
And saw them.
I saw them and thoughtchampagne.
I thought.
Nicole Kelly (49:11):
I saw them and thought champagne immediately.
I was like champagne and mysister's getting them for that
retro feel and my sister'sgetting them for hanukkah, so
hopefully she doesn't listenthis episode before she gets it
because I saw them I was likebecause she does not necessarily
like an aperitivo drinker, butshe likes champagne.
So I was like Because she doesnot necessarily like an
aperitivo drinker, but she likeschampagne, so I was like yes,
yeah perfect.
So we're going to be giving awaythe aperitivo glasses, a Monica
(49:35):
drip like a menorah drip trayfrom Ariel's Orger, as well as
some challahs and a tote fromthe challah back girls, and you
can check out my Instagram andfor or anybody who's
participating their Instagramfor information on this and if
you have any questions about it,you can send me a DM on
(49:56):
Instagram.
Remi Attia (49:57):
Stay tuned.
There's a lot of fun Nosh TableHanukkah items coming out and
it's going to be really excitingnext year.
I'm ready for 2025.
Nicole Kelly (50:09):
It can only be up from here, hopefully.
Yes, I think so.
So thank you so much forjoining me, Remi.
This is so lovely and it's beenso great getting to talk to you
and get to know you.
This is Nicole Kelly, and thishas been Shebrew in the City.
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com and check us out on socialmedia for offers and discounts.
Hi, welcome to Shebrew in theCity, I'm Nicole Kelly and today
(00:42):
I am talking to Remi Attia, whoI'm really excited to talk to,
and we're actually doing agiveaway on Instagram this week,
so we'll be talking a littlebit about her company and her
background and maybe a littlebit about what we're giving away
.
So how are you this evening,Remi?
Remi Attia (00:58):
I'm good.
Thank you for having me, Nicole.
I'm so happy to be here.
Nicole Kelly (01:01):
I'm so glad that we were able to do this.
So I usually start off by kindof getting the basic background
of my guests, asking wherethey're from, what their Jewish
upbringing was like, whatdenomination they were, if any,
if they had a bar or bat mitzvah.
So give me the background onall that.
Remi Attia (01:18):
Yeah, of course.
So I grew up in LA, born andraised.
I always grew up veryculturally Jewish, but more kind
of reformed, conservative,religious wise.
I grew up a couple blocks awayfrom my grandparents, so they
had such a big influence on meand I'm also Jewish and Italian
(01:40):
so my whole upbringing wasreally kind of revolved around
food and family and really bigdinners.
So I think from a young age,when I was kind of growing up
Jewish, I just thought it wasfood and eating a lot.
So yeah, and so now I live inNew York but I come to visit my
(02:02):
family in LA a lot and I wasbought mitzvahed and kind of
loved learning about Judaismfrom a young age and I feel like
it's very full circle now, kindof launching a Jewish focused
business and everything.
Nicole Kelly (02:19):
What part of LA.
Remi Attia (02:21):
I grew up in West LA .
Nicole Kelly (02:25):
I'm a valley girl, yeah, so not too far from
Westwood.
Remi Attia (02:26):
I love that I'm a valley girl.
Nicole Kelly (02:28):
I spent a lot of money on an arts education to
not sound like I'm a valley girl, but I fall back into it
sometimes when I'm with friendsand family.
Yeah, not happening.
What part of the city do youlive in now?
Remi Attia (02:41):
So I live in Brooklyn in New York.
Nicole Kelly (02:43):
Okay, I've been to Brooklyn maybe seven times in
the entire 11 years I lived inNew York, because the first nine
I lived in Queens and there'sno good way to get to Brooklyn
from Queens so I visited like acouple times to go to museums
and visit some friends, and nowit's it's still very far, but we
gotta come back.
It's some of the bestrestaurants I've ever.
Remi Attia (03:01):
Yeah, there actually there's good restaurants my
sister when we were visiting onetime dragged us.
It's still very far, but oh,we've got to come back.
It's some of the bestrestaurants I've ever been to,
actually.
Yeah, there's good restaurants.
Nicole Kelly (03:06):
My sister, when we were visiting one time, dragged
us to this place.
It was like a pretzel place.
This was a very long time agobecause she followed influencers
before.
That was a thing, so she usedto like read blogs and knew all
the places to come.
You know when we visited andeven now when she visits, she
finds all these places I'venever even heard of.
Yeah, totally.
So most important question inregards to what you just
(03:29):
answered what was the theme ofyour bat mitzvah?
Because I am obsessed with batmitzvah themes.
Remi Attia (03:36):
It's actually so funny.
So my theme was legally blondeand the tagline was legally bat
mitzvah.
Nicole Kelly (03:43):
Oh my gosh, I'm obsessed with that and we're
going to have to have a sideconversation about this.
My theme was the 50s and my momshould have at some point been
a party planner.
Remi Attia (03:52):
That's so cute.
It was like poodle skirts andall that.
Nicole Kelly (03:56):
Yes, I didn't have a poodle skirt.
My mom's best friend made likethis turquoise.
I'll send you information onthe TikTok video, but there's a
bunch of pictures.
Remi Attia (04:03):
I need to see this yeah.
Nicole Kelly (04:04):
It was a raging party in 1999.
Remi Attia (04:08):
Sounds like it.
I wish I was there.
Nicole Kelly (04:09):
I feel like my business card needs to say
Nicole Kelly, holocaust expertpodcaster.
People still talk about my batmitzvah.
Yes, because they do.
I mean that's the perfecttagline.
Yes, maybe that's the name ofthe book.
I don't know, but like I stillkeep in touch with people who I
know from preschool, and it'slike I posted the video and
(04:29):
they're like oh my God, Iremember this.
I was like we were so young.
We were so young.
I love it.
It's a very vivid memory.
It is, and my mom was like Ican't believe you remember all
this and I was like why would Inot remember this?
It's like the culmination of aridiculous amount of education
and a lot of planning.
Um, totally, it's true.
I always I say this like everyepisode.
But she always said she didn'twant to spend a lot of money on
(04:51):
my bat mitzvah, because no onesits around and talks about
their bat mitzvahs, but theytalk about their weddings.
I was like no, I talk about mybat mitzvah way more than my
wedding in my everyday life.
This is important, yes, but Ilove the legally blonde, was
everything like pink and wasthere like a chihuahua that made
an appearance at some point.
Remi Attia (05:08):
Yes, I've always well, not a real chihuahua, but
I've always been a huge, legallyblonde fan.
I just find her to be like sucha badass.
She loves pink but she's supersmart and just like conquered
law school.
I don't know, it just had likesuch a strong you know powerful
message to me when I was reallylittle and it just stuck through
(05:28):
me.
I think I would honestly havelike the same theme today.
Nicole Kelly (05:31):
Well, you're getting ahead of yourself,
because that's a question.
That's a question I ask.
You're getting ahead ofyourself, did you?
So I'm assuming you've seen themusical, then?
Remi Attia (05:39):
Oh yeah, Multiple times when I was in Performing
performing arts college.
Nicole Kelly (05:44):
they were developing it and they had this
like vlog series on broadwaycomcalled the road to legally
blonde and they were like it waslike their rehearsals and
things and I just rememberwatching that and yes, it was um
, I saw it at the.
Did we see it at?
I don't think we saw the pantat the Pantages.
(06:04):
I think we saw it at the OrangeCounty Performing Arts Center
and it's funny because someonewho was in the show ended up
being one of our trainers at agym called Mark Fisher Fitness.
I don't know if you've heard ofMark Fisher.
Remi Attia (06:15):
No, Is that in LA?
Nicole Kelly (06:18):
No, it's in Hell's Kitchen, so it's very full of
theater people and a lot of thetrainers are former actors and
we ended up he was one of ourtrainers um, yeah, there's five.
There's five people in theaterand they all know each other.
Um, okay, so talk to me alittle bit about, um, uh, being
an italian jew, because this issomething that a lot of people
(06:39):
don't think exists.
Um, I dated one in high school,so I know this exists, um, but
but it's very different thanAshkenazi or Sephardic Jews, and
I know, if we get even likemore local when we were in Rome
a couple years ago, roman Jewsare even more different than the
rest of the Italian Jews.
So can you talk to me a littlebit about that?
Remi Attia (07:00):
Yeah, of course.
So it's funny because mybackground it's really
multicultural.
My family we are Italian Jews,but they originally came from
Egypt.
So a lot of the kind oftraditions and recipes and
things that I grew up with werekind of a blend between Middle
Eastern, italian, california,just like influenced by all the
(07:23):
places that my family has livedin.
But yeah, I grew up with a lotof the Sephardic traditions.
I think from a young age Ithought that it just meant we
could eat rice on Passover.
Nicole Kelly (07:36):
Yes, that's a big difference and a point of
contention among many Jews ifyou can eat rice on Passover or
not.
Remi Attia (07:42):
Yeah, my friends were so jealous because Passover
was always so easy, because Icould just eat rice.
But it's really cool to seebecause when we visit my family
that now lives just outside ofFlorence, they have like very
similar traditions.
So for Passover we would eveneat matzo ball soup and brisket
(08:03):
and do the same prayers.
It's just really beautiful tosee that Judaism exists
everywhere and even if you liveacross the world, you can share
these different beautifultraditions together.
And especially when mygrandparents, you know they
settled in California, then theystarted to even kind of create
(08:26):
their own new traditions andrecipes, but still kind of
adapted from things that theylearned over the generations,
which I think is really special.
Nicole Kelly (08:35):
So when did they, when did your relatives go from
Egypt to Italy and what kind ofcaused that?
That's a that's a big culturalchange and geographical.
Remi Attia (08:44):
Yeah, so the timeline is a little bit fuzzy
because my family's kind ofspread out everywhere.
They went from Egypt to Italyand then my great grandparents
moved from to Sicily and then mygrandparents moved to
(09:07):
California.
So they originally went fromEgypt to Italy for job
opportunities and also there wasa really big uptick in
anti-Semitism and they weren'table to kind of practice a lot
of the traditions that they hadgrown up with.
So that's kind of honestly whyI think a lot of people, why a
lot of the traditions that theyhad grown up with.
So that's kind of honestly whyI think a lot of people, why a
lot of Jewish people have moved,is persecution and search for a
(09:32):
new life, a new opportunity.
So now I still have family inItaly, mostly in California, and
then we have some family inIsrael too, which is really cool
to see us kind of spread outall over.
Nicole Kelly (09:43):
It's nice that you have kept in touch with family
that's so far away.
I'm of a rare breed thatbasically my entire family lived
within a 20-minute radius ofeach other.
Seriously, like my dad'sparents, like everybody, my
entire family, with theexception of, like, a great
uncle who lived in New York andsome relatives in Minneapolis.
Everybody was here, was in LA,so I feel like when I was a kid
(10:07):
I was kind of always jealouswhen people got to go visit
relatives whereas visiting mygreat aunt was like a five
minute ride.
But now I get to do that, butit's nice that especially you
have relatives that are still inEurope, that you're able to go,
because I feel like people willask me and I'm like, no, none
of my relatives are left.
Or that kind of thing, but it'snice that you still have them
there.
So, kind of transitioning toyou personally and your story,
(10:31):
your original background is inhotel management.
What made you decide to studythat and what were the some of
the things that you did when youpursued that as a career?
Remi Attia (10:42):
Yeah, so I grew up just loving cooking.
I cooked a lot, with my grandmain particular, so I've always
kind of been around food andhospitality.
My grandfather was a winewriter for the LA Times for many
years.
Nicole Kelly (10:57):
That's the coolest thing I've ever heard and
probably the best job ever.
Remi Attia (11:02):
I love that so much.
Nicole Kelly (11:03):
I am a huge, I am a big fan of wine.
Um, I come from a big winefamily.
My family, my parent, my familyis not, they're not really
drinkers.
So yeah like Menishevitz, waswhat was on the table and when
you're exposed to that you'relike this is disgusting.
Um, it was like BlackberryMenishevitz.
So it wasn't until I turned 21and started like experimenting
(11:25):
on my own that I discovered Ireally love wine, and I also
really like beer, which I knowis like an un-female thing.
No, I love it, okay, so yourgrandfather was a wine writer
for the Times.
Remi Attia (11:38):
Yeah, so he used to work a lot with hotels and
restaurants and then in highschool I started interning for
different hotels and I justloved it.
I loved the world ofhospitality and I really just
wanted to learn more and andcooking and design and so many
of the different areas that Iwanted to.
(12:08):
So, yeah, that's kind of how mycareer in hospitality began and
there was such a greatcommunity there.
Some of my best friends arestill from that school and that
program so it really kind ofcatapulted my career in the
business.
Nicole Kelly (12:27):
And what did you do when you got out of school?
What kind of jobs did you have?
Were you managing?
Were you managing dining rooms?
What were you doing?
Remi Attia (12:34):
So it's funny I've had so many different jobs in my
career.
I've worked in restaurants onthe culinary side.
For most of my career I was aconsultant and I would do kind
of similar to what like amystery shopper does, so I would
go into different hotels,evaluate the operations, and
(12:56):
I've always just loved workingwith different brands and
learning from as many differenthotels around the world as
possible, because hospitality isso different everywhere yes,
it's different in California,it's different in Italy, it's
different really everywhere.
So that was really whatfascinated me about the industry
and, yeah, it just really gaveme the opportunity to just like
(13:18):
learn as much as possible, andthat's all I really wanted.
That's why I've loved kind ofmoving around in my career.
Nicole Kelly (13:25):
It's so funny that you say that the expectations
are different in differentplaces because we own a tour
company and people will talk tous about, like, whether or not
we get a lot of the Asian marketat least, pre-covid was very
huge in New York but they tourvery differently than people
from Europe and the UnitedStates and they tend to work
with companies that are basedout of places like China.
(13:45):
So it's just, and you know, andjust having traveled, the
expectations of how hotel stafftreats you or servers, it's very
different.
Remi Attia (13:54):
Yes.
Nicole Kelly (13:55):
So the best way to discover that, I guess, is to
travel and figure out thosedifferences.
It's an excuse to hop on aplane.
Remi Attia (14:00):
Yeah, exactly I agree.
Nicole Kelly (14:04):
So then you studied interior design at
Parsons, and I'm actually aboutto graduate from the new school
in um December, Uh, and I havemany.
I have many thoughts about thenew school over the past year
and what's been going on there,um, but uh, so what?
So that was a bit of a change.
What inspired that and what didyou do while you were at
Parsons?
Remi Attia (14:24):
Totally.
So I did that as I was workingactually, because I even
throughout college I always kindof had like an itch for design,
but I never knew and I couldn't, you know, obviously go to two
colleges at once at the time.
So I found out about this kindof hospitality interior design
(14:44):
graduate program where I couldtake classes and just learn
about all aspects of design.
So it was really a crash coursein like space planning,
learning about differentproducts that are used in hotel
rooms, and also just like how todesign a space for the new age
of travelers, because travel haschanged even so much from the
(15:08):
time that I had graduatedcollege.
So it really gave me theopportunity to like apply what I
learned at the hotel school,but in more of a design sense.
And then that's kind of how Igrew into the design world and
just loved that creative aspectof it.
Nicole Kelly (15:24):
I.
That is totally not mywheelhouse.
I feel like the fact that Ihave a functionally looking
apartment is an achievement onmy end and a lot of that has to
do with my husband.
So it's very impressive and,like some of the kids in my
class are at Parsons and talkingabout some of the projects that
they're doing, it's crazyimpressive and I know that it's
a big.
Like it's a very famous program.
That's so cool.
I didn't know they had a hoteldesign program.
Like it's a very famous program.
That's so cool.
I didn't know they had a hoteldesign program.
(15:46):
How long was that program?
Remi Attia (15:49):
So I did it for a very short.
I did kind of like theabbreviated version of it, so
mine was about six months, but Idid it like after work, every
day, gotcha.
So every month I took adifferent course.
So it was a lot of work but itwas really worth it.
And just to see what actuallygoes into designing a space and
(16:12):
designing a hotel.
It's so much more complicatedthan people think but it's also
fascinating, so I really enjoyedit.
Nicole Kelly (16:20):
And then you created the nosh table.
So did that come from your, youknow, studying at Parsons?
Can we talk about how thatstarted?
What was the inspiration?
I want to know everything.
Remi Attia (16:33):
Yeah, so I started the nosh table back in March, so
it's been about eight months,which is exciting, and I've
known for a long time that Iwanted to start my own business
but I didn't really know kind ofwhat that would look like, how
to do it, when to do it.
Never, never is the rightanswer to that.
I feel like as a business,owner myself.
Nicole Kelly (16:55):
we kind of were just like well, I guess we're
doing this now and that's justhow that works, Because it's
like having.
It's like having a kid, there'snever a good time, because you
can plan and be as financiallysecure as you want, and you're
still going to be like yeah, Idon't know if this is going to
work Exactly.
Remi Attia (17:09):
It's easy to make up excuses not to do it?
Nicole Kelly (17:12):
Yes, okay, so you wanted to start a business?
Remi Attia (17:16):
Yes, and it was really.
I wanted to do something toothat like incorporated my
passion for design but also myfamily background, and I kind of
noticed that especially aroundJudaica and Jewish holiday items
.
There I just really couldn'tfind anything that reminded me
(17:38):
of like the beautiful, excitingspreads that my grandma used to
make with like playfuldinnerware and just like a
really welcoming table.
Nicole Kelly (17:48):
So I started kind of yeah, white dinnerware was
very popular when I was gettingmarried.
Like, just like white chargerplates like the crate and barrel
aesthetic which, like was notmy thing, so I definitely get
what you're saying.
Remi Attia (18:02):
Yes, it's hard to find, and especially for like
holidays.
So really, my first product wasa Passover Seder plate, because
I wanted to create somethingthat was bright and colorful and
exciting, that people wouldwant to use all year round and
not just for Passover, becauseme personally, I couldn't even
find a Seder plate that I wantedto have when I hosted holidays.
(18:23):
So to me, it's really justabout kind of sharing these two
beautiful Italian and Jewishtraditions and creating kind of
fun and exciting dinnerware thatreally inspires people to come
together around the dinner table.
That's really what it's allabout.
Nicole Kelly (18:41):
Yeah, I love.
I love the color.
I feel like sometimes I'mafraid of color love the color.
I feel like sometimes I'mafraid of color, but that's what
I mean.
I mean more like in what I wearas opposed to my house, if that
makes any sense.
So I feel like colorful dishesare a really great way to to
kind of make a statement, causeI tend to wear.
I don't wear bright colors.
(19:01):
I'm very much a New Yorker,even though I'm from LA, so I
feel I have like a black coat.
Remi Attia (19:05):
I'm wearing a gray sweater.
Nicole Kelly (19:06):
Right now that's kind of my, my uniform, yeah.
So how did you come up with thename?
The nosh table?
Remi Attia (19:13):
So coming up with the name the nosh table actually
took me longer than you wouldthink.
I was playing around with abunch of different names, but I
wanted to create something thatreally embodied that like
playfulness around food, becausea lot of the dinners and
holidays that I grew up withwere very welcoming and playful
(19:35):
and they weren't stuffy orformal.
So I wanted the name to kind ofencompass that, and Nosh is
such like a not only is it likea funny sounding Yiddish name,
but it does have like a playfulconnotation of like eating a
snack or, you know, eating inthe kitchen as you're cooking.
So I just thought that was likethe perfect addition to the
(19:58):
name.
And then adding table, becausethis whole brand is kind of
centered around the table.
Even though we do have somemore lifestyle brands, I just
believe everything revolvesaround the table.
Even though we do have somemore lifestyle brands, I just
believe everything revolvesaround the table.
Nicole Kelly (20:10):
I love that.
You know what's really funny isspeaking about like a pretty
table.
Growing up, my great aunt, theone who lived five minutes away
from me, would hold these hugesatyrs with like over 30 people,
and she had these dishes and Ihave her entire fine china set
in my living room.
Yeah, but I don't have a diningroom table, so I have a set for
like 20 people and I don't havea table, but it's so funny do
(20:37):
you have a dining room table inBrooklyn where you get, or do
you have a space where you hostparties?
Remi Attia (20:42):
I do, finally, but for a while, and I used to live
in San Francisco and I didn'thave any table, so it was like
everything was on the couch.
Nicole Kelly (20:50):
Yeah, it's such a weird New York thing Like we eat
at the coffee table.
Now, in our last place we had akitchen table but we don't have
space.
But we got a third bedroom, soit's you know, and a washer and
dryer.
Remi Attia (20:59):
Yeah, okay, worth it .
You take what you can get.
Nicole Kelly (21:00):
You take what you can get Totally.
How do you decide what productsto sell?
Is this just something?
You know, I own a business, butI don't own a business that
sells physical things.
So is this just the kind ofthing where you do market
research where it's just like,hey, I want to do this, like
what do you just?
How do you decide that?
Remi Attia (21:17):
It's definitely a song and dance, I think.
Before I initially launched thebrand, I did talk to a lot of
kind of friends and family andsee okay, what products are you
looking for?
You know, how can we makeJewish holidays more fun, how
can we make dinner parties moreplayful and just kind of going
from there, and all of theproducts that I do design I hand
(21:39):
paint first and it does takequite a while to actually turn
it into a product.
It can take many months.
So I'm already kind of thinkingabout next year.
But yeah, my first product sinceI did start with the Passover
holiday was really centeredaround Passover.
So I launched with threedifferent Seder plates and then
(22:01):
kind of recipes around that tomake it a more kind of lifestyle
brand of okay, you can log ontoour website, try out a Passover
recipe that you can then usewith your Seder plate, and then
it just kind of grew from there.
I feel like, especially withlinens and our cocktail napkins,
I can be really fun with thembecause you can kind of set them
on your table and they're aconversation starter with a lot
(22:23):
of the kind of Italian andYiddish sayings, and that was
also something I really didn'tsee with other brands were
linens with, you know, nosh orItalian phrases on them.
I just thought could be reallyfun for people to kind of have a
conversation around the tablethat was inspired by the linens
(22:45):
and things that they actuallysaw physically on the table.
Nicole Kelly (22:48):
What do you mean?
You start by hand painting,like you do a painting, or
you're hand painting theproducts.
Remi Attia (22:54):
Yeah, so actually both.
I love to paint, so I alwayswould sketch things growing up
and paint things just to kind oflike get my ideas out.
So that's kind of how Iinitially start with visualizing
products, because I'm such avisual person, so I always start
visually first, and then,especially with the Seder plate
(23:17):
and the linens, it took a lot ofdifferent rounds of ordering
samples from different places totest quality because I'm such a
stickler for quality and thenputting things in the washer
over and, over and over againand seeing how it lasts.
So that part took a long timejust to like get the actual
products and quality set beforeI actually placed orders.
Nicole Kelly (23:41):
I love that you say the quality is so important,
because I feel like everythingtoday is so cheaply made and
there's even videos making funof things like if you you buy
something on shine like this iswhat you get.
But I feel like.
I, I like I'm old school likemy mom's father was a shoemaker,
so when my daughter was bornfirst started walking, she's
like you need to spend money onlike good shoes for her because
(24:02):
that's like a very importantthing and I think when it comes
to dinnerware and serve pieces.
That's important too.
Even though we don't have adining room table, we do host a
lot of parties and I feel like Ilove my serveware, and that was
one of the most exciting thingsthat I was so excited to
register for when we got marriedwas serveware because I wanted
to throw dinner parties, and Ilove that you're really focusing
(24:24):
on that quality because thatsets you apart from just buying,
like some schlock, on Amazon,which you know.
Remi Attia (24:29):
Definitely.
You know it's not ideal.
It's meant to be used for years.
Yeah, and I think it's soimportant.
Nicole Kelly (24:33):
And there is something about bringing out
certain serveware every year,Like when we host a holiday
party every year and likebringing this stuff out and like
, oh, like the memory isattached to that Totally.
Why do you think?
Why do you think that animpressive tablescape is so
important?
For, like I was saying, a lotof your stuff is very colorful
and pops, so why does it is animpressive tablescape so
(24:54):
important to a party in general?
Remi Attia (24:57):
Yeah, I just think it sets the tone for the whole,
for the whole experience.
I I just think it's soimportant, especially now, to
have kind of a welcomingenvironment for people, and I
remember my grandparents used toinvite over neighbors and
people with differentbackgrounds and religions.
But when you were sitting atthe table and you were all
(25:17):
passing around food and breakingbread together, I just think
creating kind of a welcomingspace for that with fun and
colorful dinnerware just is hugeand that immediately makes
people happy and just kind ofspreads joy around the whole
experience.
Nicole Kelly (25:35):
What are some of the other things that you think
that are important to acelebration other than tableware
?
Remi Attia (25:42):
Oh then definitely the food.
I colorful food, colorfuldinnerware, no, but I think also
just like inviting people intothe kitchen and like making it
just a really collaborativeprocess.
I think it's so much fun and Iknow my grandparents did that a
lot.
It wasn't a formal dinner orholiday.
(26:03):
They would make big platters offood and it was just meant to
be shared and passed around,which I absolutely love.
Nicole Kelly (26:12):
Yeah, A formal sit down dinner has its place, but
I think, especially when you'reagain talking when we got to New
York apartments, you're limitedon space.
It can be difficult to do that,and I don't know many people
who have these huge houses forthat anyway these days, because
I'm a millennial and no one ownsa huge house.
Remi Attia (26:26):
That I know.
Nicole Kelly (26:29):
Can you walk me through the making of a nosh
table product from idea tophysical product?
And you can do this for boththings like glassware and the
linens, because I know that's adifferent process.
Remi Attia (26:40):
Yeah, it's kind of like what I was saying before
with whenever I get an idea, Itypically like sketch it out or
paint it first, just to kind ofwork on the design mock-up from
the beginning.
Then I work with severaldifferent manufacturers and
producers because everyone kindof specializes in different
(27:02):
products.
So there's a lot of back andforth, especially when I first
launched like I don't, for myglassware I only have two
different types right now, andthat's because it took months to
kind of go back and forth orderdifferent samples and same with
the linens I was very pickyabout kind of the colors and the
(27:25):
materials.
So it was a lot of kind of backand forth of ordering samples,
figuring out what worked,talking to friends and family,
kind of pulling differentproducts as well.
But it definitely takes severalmonths from when I come up with
an idea to actually making it.
I'm now starting to work oncustom orders, which is really
(27:47):
exciting so I can kind of shrinkthe turnaround time and do
things that are very specialized, which I absolutely love.
So there are certain productswhich I can do custom coming up,
which is going to be veryexciting and kind of shorten
that turnaround time.
Customizing, like color ordesign customizing like color or
design yeah, both socustomizing specific designs,
(28:10):
whether it's napkins or platesfor events or certain gifts,
like if people want to dosomething for a wedding or
birthday I'll be able to do that, which is a lot of fun, do you?
Nicole Kelly (28:23):
this is not um, I can't speak English today um do
you tend to sell more toindividuals, like through your
website, or do you get, like,bulk orders from places like
catering companies or thingslike that?
Remi Attia (28:37):
It's kind of a combination.
I do wholesale and then alsodirect to consumer.
I love working with retailstores because it really helps
me kind of expand my audience todifferent stores around the
country.
So it's kind of a combinationof both.
Our products are now on Zolatoo, which is really exciting.
(28:57):
So especially for wedding gifts, host gifts, that's a really.
Our items, like the Seder plate, are a really popular item on
Zola.
But I love working with newstores and um restaurants as
well.
Nicole Kelly (29:12):
That's so exciting that there's many different
avenues, that you're able to getthese products out in lots of
different ways.
Um, so, what are the?
So?
Because your business is veryJewish focused, what are the
some of the challenges and eventhe rewards that you find in
owning a business that is veryJewish focused, like the Nosh
Table?
Remi Attia (29:30):
Yeah, I think it's tough.
Even just being Jewish today ishard, and there is definitely a
weight to that being a Jewishwoman, being a Jewish
woman-owned business.
It's a lot of layers.
It's definitely been achallenging year for so many
people.
But at the same time, I thinkone kind of really unexpected
(29:54):
thing that happened with thisbrand is meeting so many other
business owners, jewish womenowned businesses and other
brands that kind of share asimilar mission, and we've been
able to collaborate on productsbut also kind of lean on each
other during these really thisparticularly really difficult
year.
(30:14):
So that's been kind of a brightlight through it all.
Nicole Kelly (30:18):
What's your, what's typically?
I mean, this is your first year.
I was like what's the busiesttime of the year?
But what has been the busiesttime of the past eight months
for you?
Remi Attia (30:29):
I think now actually , which is exciting You're right
, this is my first year, so Ihave nothing to compare it to.
But kind of going into Hanukkahand the holidays and also since
it has, you know, been eightmonths, it's starting to spread,
which is really exciting.
So I'm just really happy to seeit in more stores and just like
(30:53):
the fact that it's kind ofgrowing organically now is
really exciting to see.
Nicole Kelly (30:58):
Is it just you, or do you have people that work
with you?
Remi Attia (31:03):
It's just me.
My husband does help with a lotof the packing and shipping
because we actually doeverything out of our basement.
Nicole Kelly (31:11):
Oh, my goodness.
Remi Attia (31:12):
I'm a small business , yeah, so everything is at our
apartment, which a lot of peopledon't realize.
But also exciting when you'resupporting small businesses.
We're really doing everythingourselves, so, but there's so
much more reward.
Nicole Kelly (31:26):
It's like it's a lot of work.
I know, but there's a lot ofreward in that, because I feel
like at some point you turnaround you're like this is how
I'm supporting my life with thisbusiness that I created, and I
remember that, like when wefirst started our company, it
was just me and my husband wouldbe giving two Statue of Liberty
tours a day, which is eighthours, basically, of just
talking and dealing with crowdsand boats.
And I think back to those times, like when we couldn't afford
(31:47):
toilet paper and now I have thislovely life that I'm, you know,
because of our business.
So it's that you built.
Remi Attia (31:53):
Yeah, but when?
Nicole Kelly (31:54):
so when you build it yourself, there's just so
much more reward in that Um,we're not packing anything up.
I feel like I don't have thespace for physical items, and I
know this is this this office isall messy because we have like
a bunch of business stuff here.
It's just a lot of paperworkbut no physical stuff.
So you keep going back tocooking, and you mentioned this
(32:15):
is something that you grew updoing and then you studied that
as well, so you've done allsorts of crazy things that I am
so impressed by.
So you talked a lot aboutcooking with your grandmother.
What are some of the thingsthat you would make for what
holidays?
Remi Attia (32:34):
And then what made you decide to further your
education with the culinary arts?
Yeah, so, oh.
There's so many recipes that mygrandma used to make, but she
really did do kind of a blend ofJewish, Middle Eastern,
California style cooking, whichI think is really cool.
She used to make kibbeh, whichwas delicious, grape leaves,
which my mom now makes today,which are absolutely insanely
(32:55):
delicious, but so much work.
But then she would also make alot of Italian recipes like osso
bucco, a lot of risotto, lotsof pasta and I feel like too,
because she was influenced by somany cultures, it was, it
really was just a blend ofdifferent ingredients, and she
(33:16):
used to grow a lot ofingredients in her backyard.
And myself, my family, we lovegardening, so that's one thing.
Especially being fromCalifornia, we just like learned
so quickly and loved isincluding like fresh herbs,
tomatoes and all of our cooking.
So it really just likebrightens everything up.
Nicole Kelly (33:36):
And then you correct me if I'm wrong.
You studied in Italy.
Yes, yeah, yes, so tell me alittle bit about that.
Remi Attia (33:45):
Yes, so I studied in Italy twice.
So I studied abroad in Italyand took a bunch of culinary
courses while I was in collegeand then, once I graduated, I
went back to Italy and I studieda gelato school program there.
So I learned like the art ofmaking gelato and pastry, which
(34:06):
is really fun and exciting.
So I just love to learn how tocook and Italy is just the place
place to go.
Nicole Kelly (34:12):
I am infamously a terrible cook, so I'm always
impressed when people are ableto do things like that.
No, I'm really bad.
It's impressive when I don'tkill people Like I think the
first time I cooked chicken Ithink I was 27 years old and I
was I literally wrote onFacebook.
Remi Attia (34:29):
Nobody died.
Nicole Kelly (34:29):
So that's my husband's an excellent cook, and
he is prepping for.
Remi Attia (34:33):
Thanksgiving right now, and we got like a fresh.
Nicole Kelly (34:37):
It's a lot and he does it all by himself.
Um, which is I know I help withthe mashed potatoes cause I can
, I can, I can do that.
That's very easy to peel and toto whip them, uh, but he is one
of the few people I know whocan make a turkey that's
actually edible and I'm not ahuge fan of turkey to begin with
.
It's like the only time of theyear I eat turkey.
Remi Attia (34:55):
It's hard to make it is.
Nicole Kelly (34:57):
It is, but it's like a whole thing.
He brines it for like a day anda half.
Wow, he goes all and he'sperfected the brine.
No-transcript.
Remi Attia (35:35):
I don't at home because I don't have the proper
machine.
But I helped launch a businessout in Los Angeles which is a
gelato business and I just lovekind of spreading the Italian
culture, learning how to makedifferent types of Italian food.
But whenever I come home, andespecially for Thanksgiving, my
mom and I love cooking togetherand we just kind of whip up
(36:03):
different things all the timeand it's really what grounds me.
So I think wherever I am in mycareer, there's always has to be
some sort of food or cookingaspect, because that's just my
favorite part my daughter, Ithink, is already picking up on
that from my husband really.
Nicole Kelly (36:14):
Yeah, we're getting her one of those like
toddler towers for hanukkah andI bought her their toddler
knives.
But I told my husband I waslike she's getting knives for
hanukkah and he thought I was.
He's like what I said.
Remi Attia (36:25):
No, they're like children yeah, they, they're kid
knife set.
Nicole Kelly (36:27):
Yeah, they're like Montessori knives so she can
like cut vegetables and stuff,because she stands on a
stepladder now, which is notvery safe.
So we want to get her like anactual tower and she can cut
stuff, but she seems interesting.
Remi Attia (36:39):
I don't think they had that when I was growing up.
Nicole Kelly (36:41):
No, no they didn't want children in the kitchen
safely, I guess.
But those like toddler towersare very popular.
Remi Attia (36:48):
I've never seen them .
Yeah, you should go look onAmazon.
Nicole Kelly (36:51):
They're very popular, but my sister even says
she's like I was alwaysinterested when our mom was
cooking and you didn't care, Iwas like correct.
I did not care, I was probablyoff reading some book about
World War II when I was eight,instead of cooking.
That's okay, we all have ourthing.
I mean, look, yeah.
So we talked a lot about thedifferent things that you've
done in career in your career.
Remi Attia (37:17):
What are some of the challenges of being a
multi-hyphenate career woman?
It's tough because I think atthe end of the day, there's more
positives to it than negatives.
I think for a long time I waslike, why am I so interested in
so many different careers or somany different businesses?
And I think just from a youngage I've loved learning.
I was always the kid that lovedgoing to school, did every
(37:40):
extra credit.
I just love learning aboutdifferent people, about
different cultures and thisbusiness also.
I knew nothing about retailgoing into this.
My background is in hospitalityso it really like threw me into
the fire where I got to learnso many different parts of the
business world.
So I just think that's fun andexciting.
(38:02):
I think people don't need tokind of go down one path.
You can really explore so manydifferent careers and so many
different areas of life.
Nicole Kelly (38:11):
I agree.
I think limiting yourself canbe really stifling, and I'm not.
I don't think you are either,but I'm not the kind of person
that can sit at an office andjust that's my whole thing.
I feel like I need to be outthere physically doing stuff,
and it's amazing that you'veturned all these different
passions into something that isbecoming very successful.
Thank, you.
(38:32):
And kind of going along withthat because it is such a new
business.
What are some of the thingsthat you have as far as hopes
for the future, for the tableand your career as well?
Remi Attia (38:43):
Yeah, it's funny.
It's hard to see I'm trying notto like put too much weight
onto what this will turn into.
I'm so excited about it and Ithink the future of it is so
hopeful.
And I think, just at the end ofthe day, just whether it's this
business or just overall in mylife is really focused on kind
(39:03):
of spreading joy around theJewish culture, around the
traditions that I grew up with,and just creating something that
kind of gives people hope and Ithink that's also why I loved
working in hospitality is it'sall about just kind of spreading
(39:24):
joy, creating memorableexperiences for people, and I
think the Nosh table can grow inso many different directions
and I'm really excited about itand the response has been great
so far, so I'm very hopeful.
Nicole Kelly (39:38):
What is your advice to someone who's
interested in starting their ownbrand that sells physical items
?
You know, like retail.
What would be your advice sinceit's all very fresh right now.
Remi Attia (39:58):
Totally.
I think the important thing isto.
It's tough because I think,especially before you start your
own business, whether it'sretail or something else, it's
definitely terrifying.
I think it's impossible not tobe scared because it's very
you're being very vulnerable,you're putting yourself out
there, you're testing the waters, you're kind of like open to
all criticism.
So just trying to kind ofcreate like a shield around
(40:21):
yourself of protection I thinkis so important, and just kind
of knowing that like it's allabout trial and error.
I think the whole business is alearning business.
There are some products thatyou will love and you'll be like
this is going to sell in asecond and it won't, and then
(40:42):
there's some that are surprisingto you, that you're going to
have to reorder.
So I think just like notputting too much pressure on
yourself of having you know tomake everything perfect, which
is hard, but just kind of beingopen to being receptive on what
people like and just kind ofgoing with the flow of your
business, I think is reallyimportant.
Nicole Kelly (41:03):
So, jumping back to you personally, you got
married last year.
Back to you personally, you gotmarried last year.
So what were some of theItalian or Jewish traditions
that you incorporated in yourwedding and in the celebration
in general?
Remi Attia (41:19):
Yeah, so I met my husband in college.
So I've known him for 12-ishyears, which is crazy.
But one of the things that Iwas immediately drawn to of him
is he also comes from a reallyinteresting background.
So his family was originallyfrom Syria, then moved to Panama
(41:40):
and then he still has cousinsin Panama, but most live in New
York.
So he kind of has a veryinteresting Sephardic and
Ashkenazi background.
So for our wedding we reallyjust incorporated all the Jewish
traditions that we love.
We weren't super strict on.
We had to follow certain things, but especially the food.
(42:02):
We incorporated a lot of reallydelicious Italian food and then
we incorporated, like hisgrandfather's, tallit for our
cuppa, which was really nice,and we really just tried to kind
of blend our families and blendall of our traditions, which I
thought was really beautiful.
Nicole Kelly (42:22):
So, jumping to something a little more serious
you kind of hinted at this thishas been an extremely difficult
almost year and a month, really,I think, for I feel like it's
been 15 years.
Remi Attia (42:35):
I feel like I've aged that much.
Nicole Kelly (42:37):
For anybody who's Jewish, who's visibly Jewish
online or in person.
A lot of my guests and myselfhave dealt with anti-Semitism on
social media.
Is this something that you'vehad to deal with, and what would
be your advice to somebodywho's having trouble with this,
if you have any?
Remi Attia (42:56):
Yeah, yeah, I think it's definitely really tough.
I think from when I was little,my grandparents always warned me
that anti-Semitism was reallybad and it's really important to
be proud of being Jewish andkind of spread positivity around
that.
And I don't think I fullyunderstood that until this year.
(43:19):
I think it's really been a teston all of us and I wanted to
start this brand before, and Iwanted to start this brand
before really, you know, for awhile, for a couple years now,
so it was before October 7th,before the extreme uptick in
anti-Semitism, and then, kind ofgoing into this year, I had a
(43:42):
lot of hesitation and kind offear of my family, about
security and all of that.
But I think one thing that'sreally been helpful is meeting
other Jewish business owners andkind of leaning on each other,
looking out for each other andchecking in, and it's really
brought people together evenmore, which I think is really
(44:05):
beautiful to see.
So yeah, I think at the end ofthe day, it's just really
important to be there for eachother and kind of protect, you
know, the people that are aroundyou and support one another for
sure.
Nicole Kelly (44:20):
I definitely agree .
I think that in a weird way,it's made a lot of people more
Jewish.
People who were passivelyJewish are becoming more proud
of who they are.
I think a lot of people arebecoming more religious or
finding communities.
So, at least there's somethingsmall in a pot, something
positive, a small positive thingthat has come out of this.
Remi Attia (44:41):
I think, so we're dealing with a lot.
Nicole Kelly (44:42):
It's just very stressful and you know I totally
living in New York, especiallywhere a lot of the protests are
happening.
It's really it's really easy tofeel overwhelmed and alone, but
it's amazing that you've beenable to connect especially with
business owners on on that levelabout that.
So this last portion is modeledafter the actor studio.
(45:03):
These are short form answers soyou don't need to give me a
full answer unless you want to.
The first question is what isyour favorite yiddish word?
Remi Attia (45:11):
and I'm gonna add italian word as well oh, I feel
like I have to say nosh.
It's my favorite, of course, Ido it every day.
Nicole Kelly (45:23):
No, definitely nosh and what about an italian
word?
Do you have a favorite italianword?
Remi Attia (45:28):
And what about an Italian word?
Do you have a favorite Italianword?
That's hard.
There are so many beautifulItalian words.
I mean this is more of a phrase, but I've always lived by the
phrase like la vita bella Lifeis beautiful.
(45:50):
I think it's such a beautifulphrase and something that I just
grew up hearing all the timefrom my family, and especially
whenever times get really hard,I always remind myself of that.
So I think it's a phrase that'sprobably my favorite and the
most beautiful.
Nicole Kelly (46:05):
So if you were to have a bat mitzvah today, what
would the theme be?
And you can't say legallyblonde, because you already said
that, oh, this is so hard now.
Remi Attia (46:12):
Okay, Well, I guess this is kind of similar to my
wedding, but I would do a pastatheme because at my wedding
every table was a differentpasta shape.
We're a little obsessed withpasta in my family.
My dog's name is Ravioli.
My parents' dog's name isTortellini.
Nicole Kelly (46:33):
I am also a pasta fan, so I there is no judgment
coming from me about the love ofpasta.
It is one of God's greatcreations.
Uh, I agree.
Um, what profession other thanyour own would you want to
attempt?
Remi Attia (46:53):
I would love to open a hotel one day, whether it's
my own brands or I just thinkthat would be so cool.
That's like been on my bucketlist forever and a girl can
dream.
So maybe one day.
Nicole Kelly (47:05):
If heaven is real and God is there to welcome you,
what would you like to hear himsay?
Remi Attia (47:12):
Oh, I feel like if I were to imagine it, I kind of
go back to thinking about mygrandparents, especially because
I lost them when I was incollege and I, I would hope they
would just be happy that youknow, I'm continuing a lot of my
(47:34):
Jewish family traditions andcreating new ones.
I think that they would bereally happy to see kind of the
light that we're all kind ofspreading together.
Nicole Kelly (47:46):
I'm sure they would.
There's so much inspirationfrom them in everything that
you've done in your career, soI'm sure they would.
There's so much inspirationfrom them in everything that
you've done in your career, soI'm sure they'd be super proud
of what you've accomplished.
Remi Attia (47:54):
Thank you.
Nicole Kelly (47:55):
So we're participating in a giveaway with
a couple of other brands andwhat we're going to be giving
away from the Nosh table is aset of aperitivo glasses.
Can we talk a little bit aboutthe inspiration behind those?
Because they are gorgeous andwhen I was looking at your items
I was like, oh my God, theseare amazing and I think people
would die for these, so theyhave to be included in the
giveaway.
(48:15):
So talk to me a little bitabout the glasses and the
inspiration behind that, so ifpeople, when someone wins,
they'll know what theinspiration was when they get it
in the mail.
Remi Attia (48:30):
Oh, thank you.
Well, aperitivo is one of myfavorite traditions in Italy.
Every time we go to Italy withmy family, we always enjoy
aperitivo, so it's basicallylike having Italian nosh with a
spritzy drink.
So it can be Aperol spritz,prosecco, really anything but
it's really a ritual wherepeople gather before dinner and
(48:52):
unplug, take things slow andjust kind of enjoy the end of
the day.
So I wanted to create aglassware that really
encompasses that, where you canenjoy it with an Aperol spritz
or with wine or really anybeverage.
And saw them.
I saw them and thoughtchampagne.
I thought.
Nicole Kelly (49:11):
I saw them and thought champagne immediately.
I was like champagne and mysister's getting them for that
retro feel and my sister'sgetting them for hanukkah, so
hopefully she doesn't listenthis episode before she gets it
because I saw them I was likebecause she does not necessarily
like an aperitivo drinker, butshe likes champagne.
So I was like Because she doesnot necessarily like an
aperitivo drinker, but she likeschampagne, so I was like yes,
yeah perfect.
So we're going to be giving awaythe aperitivo glasses, a Monica
(49:35):
drip like a menorah drip trayfrom Ariel's Orger, as well as
some challahs and a tote fromthe challah back girls, and you
can check out my Instagram andfor or anybody who's
participating their Instagramfor information on this and if
you have any questions about it,you can send me a DM on
(49:56):
Instagram.
Remi Attia (49:57):
Stay tuned.
There's a lot of fun Nosh TableHanukkah items coming out and
it's going to be really excitingnext year.
I'm ready for 2025.
Nicole Kelly (50:09):
It can only be up from here, hopefully.
Yes, I think so.
So thank you so much forjoining me, Remi.
This is so lovely and it's beenso great getting to talk to you
and get to know you.
This is Nicole Kelly, and thishas been Shebrew in the City.
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