Non-Jew Cooking

Is a gentile mother-in-law allowed to cook for her daughter's orthodox family when she comes to visit them in Israel (they live in a observant neighborhood)? I've heard that there was an opinion of Rav Moshe Feinshtein that allows it.

Shalom!

Thank you for your question.

Your question brings up the important issue of “Bishul Akum” – the ban on eating food cooked by a non-Jew.

Bishul Akum is a rabbinic enactment that forbids a Jew from eating many foods that a non-Jew cooked. The reason for the restriction is to prevent intermarriage and to avoid eating non-kosher ingredients that the non-Jew might have unintentionally used. Bishul Akum applies even if all the ingredients of the food are kosher.

There are two primary exceptions to the rules of Bishul Akum and that is for foods that can be eaten raw and foods that are not served at a fancy dinner. As such, it is permitted for a non-Jew to cook up a carrot soup since carrots (and most other vegetables for that matter) are eaten raw). So too, even a food that can’t be eaten raw, but would never be served at a fancy dinner, may be cooked by a non-Jew, as well, In practice, since it is difficult to tell which food falls into such a category, one should not allow a non-Jew to cook any food, either by gas cooking or even by electric means, such as the oven or electric stove, unless you know otherwise.

The opposite of 'Bishul Akum' is 'Bishul Yisrael,' which means 'cooked by a Jew.' In order for food to be considered Bishul Yisrael, it is not necessary for the Jew to cook the food in its entirety. According to Ashkenazi custom, it is sufficient if the Jew simply turns on the fire. According to the Sephardi custom, and some Ashkenazi people are stringent according to this opinion, not only does the Jew have to light the fire, but he also needs to place the pot on the fire—such food will then be considered Bishul Yisrael. (Generally, once the fire is on, the non-Jew may turn it up or down; however, one should pay attention that there are certain fires that, when turned up, switch off and then on again. In such an instance, only a Jew may do so). 

Therefore, to answer your question about a non-Jewish mother-in-law preparing food for a Jewish family, it emerges from here that a Jew would have to be involved in the cooking in the way explained above to permit the food. and it is important to explain this to your mother-in-law at the beginning, so there won't be any misunderstanding. Regarding the issue of Kashrut, since she may not be knowledgeable about Kashrut, one would have to check up every so often on how she is cooking.