The Bloom’s Story, 1920–2010 Noshtalgia

This book tells the ninety-year history of Blooms, both its internationally renowned restaurants and its factory, which initially supplied traditional kosher butchers and delicatessens across the capital and later stocked supermarket shelves up and down the country with kosher products. The book captures the iconic atmosphere of Bloom’ s Aldgate restaurant, the self-styled ‘ Most Famous Kosher Restaurant in Great Britain,’ and reveals the inner workings of one of the country’ s foremost manufacturers of kosher meat products, still in demand today. The book charts the chronological evolution of Blooms from its beginnings in 1920 in Brick Lane, to the eventual closure of the Golders Green restaurant in 2010. It also explores the different aspects of the Bloom’ s enterprise: its staff, including the legendary waiters who have a chapter of their own, the customers and the food, and sheds light on the fascinating dynamics of a family-run business. The rich history of the firm unfolds against the backdrop of social, economic and technological changes. The book concludes with a detailed analysis of Bloom’ s historical significance – the part it played in supporting assimilation, the reasons for the rise and demise of the firm, why it was a very British phenomenon – before examining Bloom’ s many legacies and the future of heimische food, for which Bloom’ s flew the flag for so many years.

Pam Fox is a full-time author specialising in Jewish history. Several of her books published in the last ten years have been based largely on oral history interviews that have produced rich and engaging narratives, including her highly successful book Jews by the Seaside:?The Jewish Hotels and Guesthouses of Bournemouth,