I recently saw a claim by jews that they invented the famous American/British dish ‘Hunter’s Chicken’; (1) they provided no particular basis for this claim but rather just claimed that jews created it. This is odd precisely because jews have long considered hunting a goyische – i.e., very non-jewish – thing to do. (2)
The truth is that I can find absolutely no connection between jews and the history of ‘Hunter’s Chicken’ whose historical origins – as one food blogger simply summarizes them – are that:
‘Legend has it that ‘Chicken Cacciatore’ [catch-ah-toh-ree], or chicken in the style of the hunter, originated somewhere in Central Italy in the Renaissance period (ca. 1450-1600).’ (3)
The original name isn’t ‘Chicken Cacciatore’ either but rather this is an Anglicization and simplification of the dish’s original Italian name: ‘Pollo Alla Cacciatora’. This then became the popular French dish ‘Poulet Chasseur’ (aka ‘Chicken Chasseur’). (4)
Indeed, Elana Horwich writing for the ‘Jewish Journal’ seems unaware of any jewish connections whatsoever and labels the dish as Italian in origin. (5)
So therefore we can see that ‘Hunter’s Chicken’ is most certainly not a ‘jewish invention’ but rather a late medieval Italian one!
References
(1) https://www.reddit.com/r/Jewish/comments/18q24ls/what_are_some_things_that_were_invented_by_jews/
(2) Cf. Richard Schwartz, 2001, ‘Judaism and Vegetarianism’, 2nd Edition, Lantern Books: New York; also see: https://www.thetorah.com/article/hunting-how-it-became-un-jewish
(3) https://thehungrybelgian.com/2014/05/01/hunters-chicken/; supported by https://smokedfinefood.co.uk/pollo-alla-cacciatora-chicken-cacciatora-or-hunters-chicken/ and https://www.zabeliciouslife.com/all-stories/chicken-cacciatore
(4) https://blue-kitchen.com/2019/03/06/chicken-chasseur/
(5) https://jewishjournal.com/commentary/blogs/126185/pollo-alla-cacciatora-the-hunters-wifes-chicken-recipe/