Beef Season in Guatemala

When a Jewish businessman or tourist visiting Guatemala fancies kosher meat, they have 3 options: Sweet n’ sour Meat balls with spaghetti, hamburger in a roll and roast beef with mashed potatoes.

Call it limited, but in this Central American country which borders Mexico, Glatt Kosher is a hard to come by.

Twice a year, the Chabad Shliach Rabbi Shalom Pelman invites a professional G-d fearing schochet and together they prepare meat that will last a half a year.

Most of the supply is purchased by the local Jewish community which numbers approximately 1,200 Jews, the majority of them residing in the capital Guatemala City.

But Chabad also offers gourmet kosher food and traditional Jewish delicacies for guests of the Crowne Plaza, Radisson, Intercontinental, Westin Camino Real and Princess hotels.

Recently, Rabbi Pelman and the visiting schochet from New York Yehuda Benshimon slaughtered some 80 cows.

They were assisted by the bochurim Simcha Begun and Mendy Begun.