Mother and son team Inna and Alex Khitrik opened Inna’s Kitchen in 2011 with a mission to preserve their Jewish culinary traditions, while updating them for today's more health conscious customers. The original Newton location had six strong years in business and was sold in 2017 to move to a space that would allow larger production and catering. On December 26, 2018 they returned to Newton to open their Culinaria, a dedicated production kitchen with a small retail storefront.
Family History
The Khitrik family emigrated from the USSR in 1990 and found a home in Boston, while Inna's mother and sister escaped to Israel. Theirs is a story shared by many Jews, and their food honors the diversity of communities and cultures in the Jewish experience.
From its inception, Alex and Inna endeavored to build a socially and environmentally responsible business. They committed to making all dishes from scratch, taking no shortcuts. To this day, Inna’s Kitchen Culinaria uses quality ingredients that complement its home-style cooking, whenever possible locally sourced and seasonal. From the outset, Inna and Alex sought to accommodate customers with allergies and other dietary restrictions, and today the Culinaria today is a dedicated gluten-free, dairy free and nut-free kitchen.
Inna’s Kitchen was one of the local businesses invited to be an inaugural vendor in the Boston Public Market when it opened in July 2015. Inna and Alex saw the Market as an opportunity to further their mission to bring Jewish cuisine to the Boston community in partnership with New England farms and other local producers.
Bios
Inna Khitrik was born in Belarus and first learned to cook from her father. He also taught her to draw the swan that is the inspiration for our logo. She started working in this country at a deli in 1990, then went on to co-found a deli in Brookline, work as a personal chef and serve as head chef for Jewish Community Housing for the Elderly. In 2011 she and Alex opened Inna’s Kitchen in Newton. Inna is currently Kitchen Manager at Women’s Lunch Place in Boston, a non-profit for vulnerable women.
Inspired by Inna, Alex became interested in cooking and baking as a young child. He braided challah at Rosenfeld's Bagel, worked as cook and baker at the non-profit Haley House Bakery Cafe in Roxbury and went on to open Inna’s Kitchen with his mother. He is passionate about growing food, baking and trying new ingredients and methods. He enjoys baking gluten-free items, especially breads, that are better than anything available at stores, and sharing them with family, friends, and now the community.