Hanukkah has officially arrived at the Happiest Place on Earth.
The eight-night Jewish festival, which hits the halfway mark at sundown on Wednesday, is featured in the annual Epcot International Festival of the Holidays in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. — including the debut of a “holiday kitchen” featuring Jewish deli-inspired foods.
The L’Chaim! food booth offers a selection of New York-style eats, including pastrami on rye, a potato knish, chicken and matzo ball soup and a black and white cookie. Egg creams, Brooklyn Brewery Brooklyn Lager and a “blue Cosmo cocktail” are all on the menu as well.
(Not featured: latkes, the fried potato pancakes that are a staple of Hanukkah for Jewish families. And as some Twitter users have pointed out, the food is not kosher.)
Beyond the food offerings — L’Chaim! is one of several holiday kitchens located around Epcot’s World Showcase, including a “Feast of the Three Kings” booth featuring tres leches rice pudding — Hanukkah makes several other appearances at the resort.
A performer recounts the Hanukkah tale, which commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, and shares Hanukkah traditions from around the world.
Perhaps the biggest surprise is the inclusion of “Hevenu Shalom Alechem” (“Peace to You”) sung entirely in Hebrew by the Liberty Singers at The American Adventure. The a cappella group has been performing a Hanukkah medley for years along with a wide range of Christmas songs.
The Epcot International Festival of the Holidays runs through December 30.
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