Some folks say that cooking is a genuine art form and creative endeavor. That’s especially true for Tova Weissler Chansky, a ceramic artist, art therapist and art teacher.
Interestingly, Chansky uses a (clean) potter’s wheel to create the perfectly round falafel balls she sells every Tuesday afternoon from May to December at the Pikesville Farmers Market. Tovavi Falafel is a longtime staple at the market, held in the parking lot of Pomona Square shopping center, and Chansky’s product is vegan and gluten-free (and nut and preservative-free). It is also certified kosher by the Vaad HaRabanim of Greater Washington.
Jmore recently spoke with Chansky, an Israeli-born Olney resident, about Tovavi Falafel, the business she started in 2016 with her youngest son, Avi.
Jmore: What led you to start Tovavi Falafel?
Chansky: After I left teaching [after 25 years], I decided to start my own business. I had a friend and she always told me, ‘Toby, you got to start the falafel business. You make such good falafel.’
So I decided I’m going to give it a shot. We have a farmers market here in Olney on Sundays and I went to register for the market. And the first Sunday I did, it was a fast day because I wanted to make sure none of my friends would be there to see how I make it. I brought a case of pitas — 60 in a case — and I sold all of them. The next week, I brought two cases and sold all of them. So I figured I do have something here.
What’s your secret?
First of all, we use very high-quality ingredients. We use only four ingredients — chickpeas, cilantro, onion and garlic. And to make it kosher, we need to check the cilantro very carefully to make sure there’s no bugs in it. It’s an extremely tedious job, but you really need to have a lot of cilantro.
(Provided photo)
I think a lot of kosher places don’t want to deal with that. We do it because it’s really effective.
What’s it like working with your son?
Avi is my baby. And when I started that day in the market, his two brothers [already moved out of] the house. He was the only one at home. And I thought it would be so nice that on the weekends, we’ll have mother-son bonding and go together to the market and sell our falafel.
He was 14, and because he’s Avi and I’m Tova, together it’s Tovavi Falafel. But I didn’t think about how when you’re 14, the last thing you want to do is spend your weekends with your mother in the market. So he came with me for about two years. Then he said, ‘Mom, you know, I think I know [the business] so well, I think I should have my own booth.’
So I let him take over the location in the farmers market in Olney. Every Sunday he would go by himself, put up a tent and sell the falafel. He’s very good about saving his money.
When he graduated high school, he went to Israel to study for a year in a yeshiva, and with the money he saved [from the falafel booth], he paid for his ticket and all his expenses besides tuition.
My son David helps me a lot now, and my husband [Steven] also helps.
How has the business changed since the pandemic?
Before COVID, I worked so hard. I was in so many farmers markets, I was selling to restaurants. And then COVID came, and all the work went away. I almost closed.
I was ready to close and one of my [regular] customers, a really nice man, placed an order and I told him, ‘Listen, this is going to be the last time because I’m going to close the business because I cannot afford to keep the kitchen. I don’t have enough income coming in.’ And he said, ‘I cannot have you close your kitchen because we really want your falafel. You can use my kitchen after hours for no cost.’
He really saved my business. Now, I use a kitchen in Beth Sholom Congregation [and Talmud Torah] in Potomac.
Do you still do ceramics?
I don’t. But one of the things I learned [during my studies] was industrial ceramics. We had to make the prototype and then multiply it to make the mold, and to cast it and improve it. So that’s how I make my falafel. I made a special mold for the balls, and I use a potter’s wheel that turns around. I have a scraper that presses the falafel mix into the holes in the mold.
And in two minutes, I can make 49 balls.
(Provided photo)
Besides the Pikesville Farmers Market, where else is your falafel available?
We do events. Yesterday, we were at the Taste of Northwest in Pikesville. We do Israel Day on campuses like the University of Maryland and George Washington, [and] events for Montgomery County.
Next month, somebody hired me to do a wedding. I said, ‘Really? You want [falafel for a] wedding? I know my falafel is amazing, but I don’t think it’s for a wedding.’ And they insisted. They said, ‘No, we want something very, very simple.’ And they called me in January to book me for September.
For information about Tovavi Falafel, visit tovavi.com. For information about the Pikesville Farmers Market, visit greaterbaltimorechamber.org/farmers-market.
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