Soho Studios likes to recognize the excitement Miami has to offer, even outside of our venue. Last month, Chef Danny Serfer invited the entire Miami community, no matter their religious background, to join him on a scavenger hunt to find hidden matzo balls. The 2016 Blue Collar Matzo Chase consisted of the chef placing cardboard matzo balls around town for everyone to find in celebration of the story behind the Jewish holiday Passover. Those who found the faux soup dumplings won cash prizes. Traditionally, in Jewish households, matzo balls are hidden, and the children win a few bucks for finding them. Serfer’s extreme version allowed participants to walk away with prizes such as a Heroes of the Torah commemorative glass, a T-shirt or a $50-gift card to Danny’s Blue Collar Restaurant.

Passover began Friday, April 22, 2016 with Jewish families all over the world gathering for festivities, referred to as Seder by the community. Families substituted bread for matzo, which is symbolic of the Israelites and what they ate as they left Egypt. A traditional Seder consists of the retelling of the story of Exodus, but hiding three centers of matzos under a special plate makes the holiday interesting to children. In Danny’s version, participants were to locate 2-by-2-foot large matzos, but it’s still based on tradition. To make the hunt fair, Danny was the only one to know where they were hidden. Danny primarily stuck with his restaurant’s neighborhood, MiMo, and a little bit north and south of that area.

The contest started on the morning of Monday, April 25, 2016. The entire contest was conducted through Twitter. It began with a tweet from Blue Collar with a photo and a riddle regarding the location of the three matzo balls. Participants waited for the tweet and followed the instructions. Anyone who found a matzo ball had to reply to @BlueCollarMiami via Twitter. On the cardboard cuisine, participants found a hashtag to tweet along with a photo of themselves with the matzo ball.

What a great way to involve and bring some excitement into the community!