Sustainable Living Panel
Taylor Cohen
Taylor Cohen is the co-founder and creator of Adashah, a company that produces a plant-based, soy-free and gluten-free protein product. Taylor created Adashah three years ago when she began eliminating animal products from her diet and realized all vegan proteins were either heavily soy or gluten-based, or overly processed and lab-grown. She knew she could create a tasty substitute, so she spent a year experimenting on friends, at food festivals and among family to see if she was on to something. With a B.A. in sociology from Yeshiva University, Taylor combined her passion for understanding individuals through a sociological lens with her love for farming, outdoor education and food justice, and connected that to her Jewish background and the value of Shmirat Ha-Guf,meaning protecting the body or self-care. Adashah is now available in restaurants, hotels, hospitals and meal delivery programs throughout Florida and California.
Adam Gindea
Adam Gindea is the rabbi at Base Miami. After growing up on Long Island and studying at an Orthodox yeshiva day school, Adam continued his Jewish education, receiving a B.A. in Bible from the Jewish Theological Seminary and a B.A. in religion from Columbia University. With a love of and dedication to learning, teaching and experiencing Jewish texts, rituals and life, Adam completed his studies, earning a Certificate of Jewish Education at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem and rabbinic ordination from Yeshivat Pirchei Shoshanimas well as studying safrut(scribal arts). Through his diverse background in all areas of Jewish life, Adam and his wife, Jessie, open their home for others to continue their Jewish journey at Base Miami.
Benjamin Goldman
Benjamin Goldman graduated from Johnson and Wales University in Miami and began his career under the direction of Chef Andrea Curto-Randazzo at her long-standing Talula restaurant. After a stint in the northeast at Clio/Uni restaurants under chef and restaurateur Kenneth Oringer, Goldman returned to Florida to work at a small fine dining concept called The Hunter’s Grill. Starting as a sous chef and later promoted to executive chef for the brand, he most enjoyed creating the restaurant’s seasonal menus. In 2013, he took a position at the soon-to-be-open Shikany restaurant and later joined David Grutman’s team as executive chef of Komodo. In 2018, Goldman brought his plant-based lifestyle to the kitchen as chef de cuisine of Planta South Beach, where he creates dishes using his global influence and passion for food.