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OK Issues Clarification over New Chocolatte ‘Hechsher’

After losing their OK Hasgacha to alleged Kashrus violations, a new ‘Hechsher’ certificate appeared this morning in the window of Chocolatte, a Crown Heights cafe.

The certificate (see below), issued by R. Braun’s faction of the Crown Heights Beis Din, raised many eyebrows, as it differed from the standard kashrus letter by straying into irrelevant and political issues.

At the end of the ‘kashrus certificate’, the OK is thanked for its “full cooperation” – a statement that the OK leadership called “inappropriate,” and felt compelled to clarify.

In an interview with CrownHeights.info, Rabbi Kalman Weinfeld, coordinator of the Restaurant Kashrus Division of the OK, explained what led to the removal of the OK’s Hashgacha, and to what extent his organization “cooperated with” those who illegitimately use the CHK symbol.

“I am taken aback by those who are slandering and saying that this is over money,” he said.

“The OK was compelled to remove its Hechsher due the following problems: vegetables that were not properly checked, buying and using ingredients that weren’t approved, and the unkept promise that there would always be a person who is Shomer Shabbos in the restaurant. We discovered that there where many times that, for hours at a time, there was no Shomer Shabbos in the establishment.”

“Since we could no longer trust the word of the management, and in a meeting last week we required of them to hire a full-time Mashgiach which the OK trusts. We also told them that we require a one-time escrow payment to guarantee the salary of our Mashgiach. They refused to do this, saying they didn’t have the money.”

“One doesn’t bite the hand that feeds him. If a Mashgiach is concerned that his paycheck will be withheld, he may hesitate to raise the alarm when he sees a problem. Only through the escrow payment can the OK guarantee his salary, and thus be certain that he will blow the whistle if anything is amiss, since without it a Mashgiach may succumb to the pressure of worrying about feeding his family, and may be inclined to overlook certain issues that require his attention.”

“We did not see an alternative solution – we cannot send a Mashgiach to work if we cannot guarantee his salary – so we had no choice but to pull our Hashgacha,” concluded Rabbi Weinfeld.

“It was these issues that I communicated to every single Rov, Shliach and Kashrus Organization that called me, which is what led [Braun] to declare that his certification was ‘with our full cooperation.’ This statement implies that we somehow endorse the new Hashgacha of the establishment, which is not true. I feel therefore that the statement was inappropriate,” Rabbi Weinfeld concluded.

Owner of Chocolatte released the following statement on the new ‘hechsher’:

For our dear community.
I am writing this letter to clarify rumors and embrace understanding before judging.

1.our goal is to serve our community and bring quality without compromising on kosher
2.we did and still doing the best to keep highest kosher standards
3.I have been working for many years as a mashgiach for the ok and other kosher agencys (I will tell you a secret. Everything can happened with the mashgiach in the place)
If somebody really makpid they should find out who the mashgiach is and speak to him directly

4.we did have issues and worked together to fix those mistakes(nobody is perfect)the Ok was very helpful
But remember as an owner I can’t be also a mashgiach
If there is anything I see it will be out in a blink of an eye

5.now one may say you see why we need mashgiach tmidi the answer is no
You need a good mashgiach that even when just nichnas veyotze can find if there is problems
Maybe its time for everybody to start finding out who mashgiach on their food(be ready for surprises)
In one incident I had to call the hashgacha to fire a mashgiach
Another incident customer found a bug after mashgiach checked the lettuce

Unless the owner is not trustworthy person, I can’t be my own witness, But can anybody write with his name otherwise?

6.the ok which is a very trustworthy kosher organization
But is also large operation
Decided at some point that we should have a mashgiach tmidi
Which I agree is the best way to make sure there will be no mistakes
7.but remember this is the easy way just pay 100000 a year for 3 mashgichim (death penalty)
(And I fully understand their position)
We were told that the ok is not making money from us and have no time dealing with small business like ours
especially 24 hours and with our unique products
It takes a lot of work

(And rightfully they should make money for the service they provide)

8.for that reason we decided to get a smaller hashgacha who have more interest in helping us make sure there will be no issues and give them full access to cameras and keys
And have a mashgiach check vegetables and yotze venichnas during the day and night

9.we are unique store as no other  kosher restaurant is opened 24 hours in the whole USA
Therefor we have unique issues

10.we would like to thank the ok
For helping us until here
And also for advising the new hashgacha with our unique products

11.we fired spanish worker that repeatedly wasn’t listening to hashgacha directions

We are giving rabbi braun access to the cameras without him asking for it
To ensure that there is no compromise in kashrut

For those who have concerns
The coffee is staying as good, with the political conversations even better

And would love to see you all

Sincerely
Levi Harel
And Chocolatte Family

P.s.the issues were solved a week ago and we had 3 mashgichim tmidim for couple days prior certificate removal

braun-in-chocolatte-kitchen
In a photo which circulated on Facebook, R. Braun can be seen inspecting the kitchen at Chocolatte on Tuesday, Oct. 8th at night.

braun-chocolatte-hechsher

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braun-chocolatte-hechsher-high

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75 Comments

  • lol

    what a farce.

    is he saying that the Svie Hecsher is easier to work with? how is it that OK demanded a full time magichim and not Svei?

    something stinks.

    my trust in OK just incresed big time.

  • Sruly Clapman

    I had a large Latte today it was delicious.

    We all drink in Starbucks ( us Crown heightsers ) so how can this possibly be worse.

    The entire Hashgacha industry needs some adjustments, and we only talk about these topics when there is a scandal, I personally worked for a factory making kosher products under the Chof-K for two years, however my paycheck ONLY came from the company, which is standard in the industry, we all know that this is the norm and I suggest maybe this practice should be altered.

    Whatever the problems Chocolatte might have had until now with the OK should be forgotten ( I’m sure Mr. Harel had no bad intentions, and lets all be Dan Lkaf Zchus, moving forward we should let Rabbi Braun and Shvay do their jobs, it’s absolutely not political cause the other Rabbonim never had this cafe to begin with.

    Guys lets all move on and find a new topic of gossip to talk about.
    This coffe chat is getting lame. Izzy

    • It's called a shoulder!

      the dif is Starbucks has their rules which every store must follow. And they do.
      And the local small businesses try to find every small way to save the extra buck.

    • they are both not kosher

      starbucks is wrong for any yirei shamayim full time frum jew and so is this place

    • Chana

      “We all drink in Starbucks” who appointed you speaker of “all”
      I don’t and many I know don’t!

    • YOU SAID IT RIGHT

      That’s right “us Crown Heighters” and not Lubavitchers. That’s why the place doesn’t need or have a Lubavitcher Hashgacha. BTW, “us Crown Heighters” would eat there without any Hashgacha. Also Braun’s Hashgacha has nothing to do with Kashrus. It is given strictly for political reasons so if they serve Chazer it will be with Braun’s Hechsher and his cronies will be happy to eat it. Yechi Mendy Hendel Melech HaMOshiach!

    • Boycott!

      Any place that uses Braun or Shwei should be boycotted due to their adding fuel to the Machlokes we suffered for so many years. How many of our kids are off the Derech due to the ongoing Machlokes? just when things were getting old they had to restart this? I would eat at this place if it had no Hechsher but now this? you are non existent in my eyes!

  • Charlie.

    Anything to make money. Of course they’re going to convince you the place is kosher!!!

    Can someone please teach this guy English? That ‘statement’ was painful reading.

  • tiberias IS open 24

    you guys aren’t the only ones…
    either way kosher is kosher is kosher
    it needs to be kosher no matter how many hours you are opened
    not sure what the connection is….

  • Moishe Sachs

    The O.K. did cooperate in that they pulled their hashgachah when things didn’t go their way.
    Both sides had valid points:
    The restaurateur, that a mashgiach temidi isn’t necessary in a milchig establishment.
    The O.K. because the restaurateur was supposedly “buying and using ingredients that weren’t approved.”
    I don’t understand how the O.K. blames the restaurateur for not properly checking vegetables, a job, I thought, that is supposed to be done by the mashgiach. I guess they meant that veggies were served without first checking for bugs.
    I see nothing wrong with CHK thanking the O.K.; although, perhaps a thank you was a poor choice of phrase.
    I thoroughly enjoyed reading such a nice letter published by Rabbis Braun & Schvei. If I ever get the opportunity to come 2,700 miles East to check-out the place, I look forward to doing so. Sounds like it’s got plenty of hashgachah now. I wish them hatzlochoh rabboh.

    • Hashgocha

      Moishe, you obviously don’t understand, the OK trusted the owner to take care of that, that is how they let him be his own mashgiach!

      Once they could no longer trust him they said enough, now we want a full time mashgiach of our own in your store.

  • Lost my business

    The minute they started using profanity on the facebook thread they lost my business. There is absolutely no excuse for profanity, especially on a public forum. It shows their true colors.

    • sholom

      it wasnt the owner or an official representative it was a relative of the owner i dont think you can hold him responsible for his little sister or cousin

  • to the owner

    I WOULD EAT FROM YOUR PLACE WITHOUT ANY HASHGOCHO BUT I WILL NOT STEP INTO A PLACE THAT HAS THE HASHGOCHO OF BRAUN AND CO

    GET RID OF IT ASAP

    • double like

      double like – except I wouldn’t eat anywhere without a reliable hashgacha without any hashgacha.
      I want the OK back!
      Oh where oh where has the OK gone
      Oh where oh where can it be?
      Now I can’t grab coffee off the 3
      now, that’s real sad for me!

    • Mendy Cohen

      That comment will definitely earn you Gehinom. The punishment for Zilzul Talmidei Chachomim is petrifying.

  • same issue

    So basically what the ok is saying is that their expensive hechsher does not cover the cost of their mashgiach! Hmm, that sounds strange. So why are they charging so much for the hechsher?? if they want someone to pay extra for a mashgiach, charge less for the hechsher. Give the store a break! I can see why chocolatte could not afford that price.
    I think the issue here is that the ok should not be charging such high prices for hashgocha if they need extra money for mashgichim. A high price per month for a hechsher should cover everything! And to ask for money in escrow for the mashgiach is also ridiculous. Why? you mean to say the ok cannot pay their mashgiach? if the mashgiach is not yiras shomayim and would be afraid to raise the alarm, as they said, then can you really trust that mashgiach any more than a store owner???

    • Hashgocha

      You obviously do not know how the hasgocha industry works… The OK only charges the fee to set up the hechsher, the store owner is the one required to pay the mashgiachs salary.

      The OK requires that you keep one paycheck by them in case the mashgiach were to rais an issue that the owners would not like and therefore fire him.

      All that other rubbish you mention I have no idea where it is coming from!

  • this is NOT ok

    What i realize is if the mashgiach will only do his job properly if there is money sitting in an escrow….how on earth does that make him reliable??? and how does that make the OK a reliable hechsher??? I would not want to know that a mashgiach needs money in an escrow account to do his job well!!!

    • OK

      So Mashgichim are expected to be angles doing their work for free? And the rent is supposed to be paid how?

    • Milhouse

      A mashgiach that knows if he gets into a fight with the owner he’ll be fired, and won’t be able to feed his family, is less likely to make waves. If he sees something wrong he’s likely to think twice or ten times before sounding the alarm.

      This is the reason I wouldn’t eat at Le Marais after what happened to Rabbi Bitton. Not that I necessarily believe things were as bad as he reported, or that they haven’t been improved, but I know that if I were the new mashgiach I’d be very careful before making any trouble for the owner, and that doesn’t give me confidence.

  • declasse' intelelctual

    As I said, Kosherus is a dirty business. All the charges made by Rabbi Weinfeld are vaild and basis for removing certification. As far as I am concerned, the place of business cannot be trusted until proved otherwise by the OK and Rabbi Braun’s approval is a disgrace, an insult to the people who work to ensure that everything is kosher and on line for the customer.
    Buy the way, every requirement that Rabbi Weinfeld mentioned is standard and has been accepted without question by everyone except by those who do not want to follow the rules in the belief that they can gain something extra.

  • Anonymous

    What i realize is if the mashgiach will only do his job properly if there is money sitting in an escrow….how on earth does that make him reliable??? and how does that make the OK a reliable hechsher??? I would not want to know that a mashgiach needs money in an escrow account to do his job well!!!

  • There are other 24 Kosher establishments with Mashgiach Temidi

    Tiberias on 34th St. in Manhattan is one of them.

    • Eli

      Exactly! Not only can’t this guy write a coherent sentence in the English language, he can’t even get his facts straight! That alone makes me trust him less!

  • the visionary

    braun strikes again ,shwei is still trying to figure out what is happening, such nice people.g-d help us all.

  • Shlomie

    You people already pulled your certificate and now you are publicly bashing the place. Talking about trusting the management etc.. Do you have any Shame?

  • CHLEAKS.COM

    How the world turns.

    G-d almighty does not remain a Ba’al Chov (Debtor).

    FLASHBACK: 2010

    Chaim Fogelman, director of marketing and education at the OK interviews and indorses the unknown Braun before elections for third “rov” of the Crown Heights “Beth Din”.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=yha49Z_NeIk
    (thank you http://1bigcholent.wordpress.com/ for the tip)

    OK management endorsed Braun because they were afraid that with Rabbi Bogomilsky the CHK would rise and would become a powerful Hashkocha.

    Three years later, they get a kick from the “Rov” they endorsed.
    You baked the cake, now eat it!!!!

  • to #12

    So the store owner has to pay so much money each month just to have the OK symbol? and then he also has to pay separately the mashgichim?? Does it sound fair to you? who cares how kashrus “works”. Is that how it SHOULD be working?? maybe it is time to change the system! If all that monthly payment does not allow OK to pay their mashgichim themselves, then it is really strange. Actually, not all hashgochas operate that way. there are plenty that charge a fee per month and it includes the mashgichim. If extra work is needed, such as checking vegetables, the price may be higher. but otherwise it is a flat fee.

    • lubavitcher

      Yes dummy. You pay for the brand and then you pay the salary of the guy who’s doing the work. That’s how business works.

  • @chocolate

    there are too many contradictions between your statements yesterday and today. not to mention the fact that the first was in english and the second is in gibberish. we all knew your hang out was too good to be true.

  • MODERN LUBAVITCH is the PROBLEM

    BRaun & Schvei giving a hashgocha out of desperation to a modern lubavitch institution??

    What happened to Kraus and his fake chumros?

    A 24-hr hangout for der Moderner?

    Get these jokers out of the Rebbe’s neighborhood.

    • wow

      Yes that’s exactly how the Rebbe would handle it…kicking Jews out of a Jewish neighborhood…your sick you need help and you are clearly not chabad!

  • new chk

    Rabbi Shwei is a name appended to the “the new chk letters” by braun, but basically doen’t have anything to do with the business. Braun is controlled by his businessmen that pay his salary.

  • Milhouse

    we are unique store as no other kosher restaurant is opened 24 hours in the whole USA

    That’s not true.

  • Braun hechscher??!!

    never. If he is behind anything to do with Kashrus it is because he thrives on machloykes. What a fraud! I will not step into those 2 “establishments” that carry his “hechscher”. As far as I’m concerned they are treif.

  • Milhouse

    They should definitely have given this to a native English speaker to translate into English.

  • toshveu hashchunah

    WHO would you trust to understand ingredients of products, Schwei or lets say Lazer Teitelbaum from the OK????

    I rest my case.

  • toshveu hashchunah

    This is Brauns second store for hasgocha.

    Do you think if he found ten violations he would remove his hashgocho?

    Its now his life. If he found fried frogs in a sandwich
    he would give them one more chance.

  • Still Won't Eat There Anymore

    Anybody that has ever had a hechsher from the ok (including myself), and has run his kashrus properly, will only say good things about the ok.

    Others I know in the business all say the same thing. The OK goes out of their way to make it easier for restaurants that are hurting.

    They have never, and would never, say an establishment lost its hechsher for kashrus reasons when the real issue was money.

    That accusation, to anyone who knows, is completely absurd.

  • i will never go back in

    Go to other reliable places when he and his brother owned qcumber they also lost their hescher it is not a question of why Braun ran to grab it we all know why hebia desperate but for anyone who is a yirwi shmayaim he should not eat there. Besides the fact he was caught many times cheating the OK which he hired and signed he would abode by their rules and within a couple of months he runs and brakes all rules.

    Go back to israel u can keep it open all night long and shabbas too u will not have hatzlochah when u cause us to eat and drink things that have shalos of kashrus.

    Mark my words he will not last long he is loosing money every day he stays open

  • Shochad

    “If a Mashgiach is concerned that his paycheck will be withheld, he may hesitate to raise the alarm when he sees a problem”

    And by extension:

    If a Rov is concerned that his paycheck from the business will be affected, he may – do things to get or ensure that check.

    Therefore, only those Rabbis that do NOT benefit IN ANY WAY should be the ones giving Hashgochos. It should be for the benefit of the community, and yes for FREE.

    They should only charge for the Mashgiach’s actual salary.

    Everyone else should recuse themselves and/or their organizations.

    Otherwise it is like bribery and bribery blinds the eyes of the wise (Shochad yaavor einei chachamim)

    And who cares how it “works” now?

    This has turned into a huge money making business – it’s a Chilul HaShem and it should be fixed!

  • Terrible Coffee, even worse pastries

    Did anyone notice the remark “we are the only 24 hour kosher restaurant in the US”? There are many with proper mashgichim taking the necessary steps. If you can not do it then let someone else take over that can make it happen.

  • Eli

    If the ok backed out why did they not go to chk?

    Too many questions.

    Only Braun and partner jumbed in
    Because ain’t the question now.
    Now it’s grab what you can.

    Kashrut he will worry about to
    Tomorrow.

    Ain’t that the real truth?

  • The political slant

    People raised eyebrows at Brauns thanking the OK for their ‘help’ but the reason is quite obvious.

    A few years ago the OK’s Rabbi Levy and Rabbi Osdoba penned fierce letters against each other,and those letters were distributed to all homes , shuls in the neighborhood.

    Those issues were never resolved they merely simmered down.

    So now, Braun is taking a jab at the OK’s nemesis, R Osdoba by pretending that he gets along well with the OK and how wonderful they are.

    Similar to the enemy of my friend is also my enemy.

    It was purely political rhetoric and childish at that, something unheard of in any formal letter of kashrus certification.

    But then again Braun doesnt have much experience in kashrus or in letters of certification and his current job post didn’t bring him any maturity or finesse.

    • Correction

      At the time that Rabbi Osdoba wrote his inflammatory letters the OK never responded to those letters so as not to continue the machlokes.

  • SoCal Shliach

    This stuff, the letter, the new hechsher, is just hilarious!!
    You can’t even make this up!
    This must be some kind of joke or setup to generate comments.
    It’s not real. Right?

  • mark my words

    If rabbi levy thinks rabbi didn’t like he should only know how much braun has degraded him with this switcheroo and the letter … I hope u now understand not to invite Braun to your Kinus u make during the Kinus Hashluchim that u stuck him on the front row….

    Rabbi Chaim fogelman fought very hard for brain to be the rov and the saviour of our neighborhood dear rabbi levy what do say now to all ur friends who warned u!!!!!

  • to #38

    have you ever learned a sicha? come learn with me and I can show you numerous instances…

    Moshiach Now!!

  • TRUST THE OK

    THEY ARE UPRIGHT AND G-D FEARING.
    SOMETHING DOES NOT SMELL GOOD FROM THE OWNER’S ABOVE STATEMENT. LOOK. SEE. SMELL.

  • Anonymous

    סיפור לשבת.
    מעשה שהייה בבית המדרש של בעלז בבורא פרק יושב יהודי עם עשרה בנים וכולם יושבים בדרך ארץ ומתפללים אבל אחד הילדים משתולל ומפריע לכולם להתפלל, פונים המתפללים לאבא היתכן כל הילדים שלך יושבים בדרך ארץ ורק הבן הזה משתולל ?
    נו
    עונה האבא כולם לומדים בבעלז והוא לומד בת”ת חב”ד ..,,,,,אז מה הקשר ? מסתובב פה בשכונה אחד בשם בראון שהחליט בעזרת כמה ארחי פרחי שהוא נבחר פה לרב .אם כל הסיפור של הבחירות והשקרים.
    אין מצב שבחור אצל הרבישא .משום חסידות שיתנו לבחור ללמוד בחב”ד שהעולם יתהפך וזה לא יקרה,
    אבל שהבחור דפוק בראש כמובן שמכל מקום סילקו אותו ובצדק, אז יש מגנט .ששואב משוגעים ישר לחב”ד וכשרואים פרצוף כזה אז מיד שישו בני מעי, וכשהסרטן מתפרץ אז מדי מאוחר,
    והיום ששואלים את בני משפחתו איך גדל אצלם כזה בעל מחלוקת ודובר שקר .
    איפה הסמיכה שלו ? אז מה עונה אחד האחים הוא יוצא מן הכלל כי הוא קיבל חינוך חב”די ולמד בישבות חב”ד עובדה אנחנו שאר האחים לא כאלה,
    הבנתם תושבי השכונה עוד הרבה חרה נואכל ממנו,

  • seriously?

    Seems to me that anything the new rav can put his name on he’ll be more then willing to regardless of the circumstances. Wake up people, This just makes me laugh.

  • Fresser Rebbe

    BH

    Ha Ha Ha
    Who cares
    We started last week in the three p’rakim rambam the halachos of N’zikin, in the first mishna of bava kama it says that all the Mazikim have one thing in common, they are all Darkom Lehazik
    No matter which Beis Din or Hechsher company (i hve worked with all of them) they are all up to no good, some worse then others

  • toshveu hashchunah

    he will he will don’t worry.

    now its time to get clients by hook or by crook.

  • OK, Best PR. Chocollatte, not so much

    I have no horse in this race but we should all acknowledge a couple of things:

    1) Rabbis Braun/Svei thanking the OK in working with them is nothing wrong. No where does that imply that the OK is “endorsing” this new hasgochoh at all. it is acknowledging that the OK acted like grown ups and had a conversation with the new hashgochoh instead of stonewalling them.

    2) It is quite clear from the Ok’s concluding statement that other issues were resolvable but not the escrow pmt: “We did not see an alternative solution – we cannot send a Mashgiach to work if we cannot guarantee his salary – so we had no choice but to pull our Hashgacha,” concluded Rabbi Weinfeld.”” Mr. Harel corrabrates this by saying that all other issues were resolved a week before he lost the OK certification (he has to be a moron to lie about something so easily verifiable – then again, there are many morons out there). The OK’s sole mission is to further kashrus so any violiation of its policies is by extension a Kashrus violation (and the OK Rabbi explained this quite nicely with his escrow comments. A bounced check or signs of a store owner being a botlin or a ganev would also be a kashrus violation since the OK needs to trust the store owners to some extent or build in further controls to gain that trust)

    3) the OK was the hashgochoh to jump in when Raskin’s lost the CHK hashgochoh. This was many years back (pre R’ Svei & Braun) when CHK was the exclusive hashgochoh in CH. It is ironic to me that the OK’s platform today is that another hashgochoh should never jump in therby undermining the last hashgochoh that pulled its certification.

    4) The OK has done a lot for Klal Yisroal. I believe it is the second of the top hasgochoh’s right after the OU. It has made kosher food that much more accessable to Yidden across the US and beyond. It has also to some extent broken a virtual monopoly the OU had without reducing kashrus standards which is a great thing for everyone (well maybe not for the OU). We should all be gratefull to yhr OK for that.

    It is beyond me why the OK even gives hashgochos in CH. It’s small fry for them and they get messed up everytime (e.g. the massive chillul hashem with the Basil article and camara’s).

    In conclusion: The OK has very good PR, Mr. Harell not so much (just read his letter).

    • Raskin's FIsh

      Correction. The OK gave hechsherim in Crown Heights with Rabbi Dvorkin’s permission before anyone thought of the CHK. They certified Shabbos Fish. Check this out with Itzik Skoblo.

      The OK along with Rabbi Gruber certified Raskin’s Fish together with CHK. The CHK removed their hechsher for a dubious reason. The OK and Rabbi Gruber saw no reason to remove their hechsher.

      At that time Rabbi Shwei added his hechsher as CHK.

      So your statement concerning the OK “jumping in” is unfounded.

  • Mendy Cohen

    Everyone,

    Stop the Loshon Horoh.

    The one ones allowed to voice their opinion, which is Daas Torah, is the (Zablo) Beis Din.

    Hold yourself back and reap the rewards (including avoiding disappointment in the next world).

  • cma

    The letter written by the owner, is the one thing that convinces me not to eat there any more.

  • OK

    The truth of the matter is that the owner wanted to also have the Badatz hechsher, when the OK saw that, they understood that they are on the way out because
    no one needs two hechasherin and no one will be stupid to pay for two hechsherim. So (without blaming the OK) they decided better to dump than to be dumped. The rest is politics.