Photos by Robert Muller
Challah as a way to bring people together? Most definitely, says Meghann Hennen.
By Sue Starrett
Who: Meghann Hennen
Where: Boulevard Neighborhood
Business: Challah At Meg
Mission: My mission involves bringing people together in community, with love and comfort, through challah bread. Challah is a Jewish food that fosters
connectivity through women and families.
What I Love About My Work: Challah has helped me so much spiritually and emotionally. I originally made challah for the first Shabbat Zoom with my toddler families from work at the Jewish Community Center during the first week of the pandemic. I fell in love with the process and strived to perfect my craft. I love that I have been able to connect safely with the community and still provide comfort during difficult times.
Now that everything has become more open, I have had the opportunity to meet face-to-face with my customers. I have met so many amazing people and discovered that our lives have overlapped at different points. I love hearing their stories of how and where they ate and shared my challah with their families and friends.
I believe my background is all braided together, and everything I’ve done supports everything I’m doing.
Something else I appreciate about my business is the ability to ship my challah nationwide. In some ways it’s like the sisterhood of the traveling challahs! And I love the social networking. The challah community locally and on Instagram has provided me with endless inspiration and connections. I am grateful to be a part of several online groups and have met such kind and lovely followers.
Personal Background: My background has nothing to do with baking. My experiences range from figure skating and classical ballet training, to being a visual and performance-based artist (represented by HEDGE Gallery at 78th Street Studios), to teaching early childhood and special education. I also love to travel and have performed in Europe, New York, Cleveland, and Florida. I believe my background is all braided together, and everything I’ve done supports everything I’m doing.
As a competitive figure skater, I started my days at 5 am at Thornton Park for ice time before going to school. I quit at age 15 because I was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, which affected my knees and jaw. I continued ballet at Cleveland City Dance, where I assisted the director and learned to teach preschool, pre-ballet, and beginning ballet classes. After graduating from Beachwood High School in 2001, I earned a BFA in painting and drawing from The University of Akron Mary Schiller Myers School of Art. In 2006, I began studies at Parsons School of Design, where I received my MFA in painting and performance art.
I lived in New York City for 10 years, making and exhibiting art and teaching in different synagogues and preschools. Having found that my passion is working with toddler-to-kindergarten-age children, in 2013 I applied for an MA in early childhood education and special education from Teachers College, Columbia University. I believe all children need an advocate who will help them and give them affection. I teach the whole child and work with them where they are developmentally, and I especially love teaching in a play-based environment and allowing children to find and develop their interests. I was told at a young age that I would never amount to anything and I shouldn’t/wouldn’t be able to go to college with my poor grades. However, with two master’s degrees and a small business, I know I am resilient and can overcome anything.
On Working and Living in Shaker Heights: My husband Pat and I relocated from New York City to Shaker Heights in 2015. We both wanted something that was urban, yet suburban. I love our neighborhood and being close to the Lower Shaker Lake, where we take our St. Berdoodle, Luna, for long walks. I run my business from our small apartment, with one oven and a fourfoot countertop. During the pandemic, I made about 25 challahs a week. Now that I am working in-person full-time, I make about 10 a week, and sometimes I am booked out for months at a time. For the past several years I have been in partnership with Suburban Temple, Kol Ami in Beachwood.
Contact:
Email: megschallah@gmail.com
Phone: 646-957-5223
Website: challahatmeg.com
