The Sages prohibited eating food that was cooked or baked by a gentile, even if all of its basic ingredients are kosher. There are two reasons for this prohibition: First, to prevent excessive socializing between Jews and gentiles, which might encourage intermarriage. Second, there is a concern that eating kosher items in a gentile’s house could lead one to eat other foods there that are not kosher.

This decree of the Sages applies to foods prepared by gentiles by means of cooking, frying, or roasting. It is permitted to eat kosher food that has been prepared by a gentile by salting, smoking, or pickling.

Bread that was baked by a gentile is not included in this decree, but rather it is covered by the prohibition of a “bread of a gentile,” which was discussed on p. 547. The same is true of wine whose production involved a gentile, and its halakhot are also detailed in the same section.

When one employs a gentile cook, a Jew must be the one to light the fire or turn on the electric cooker. Even so, Sephardim do not rely on this leniency and insist that the Jew must be the one to put the food onto the heat source. It is important to know that when a gentile cooks without the supervision and involvement of a Jew, even the utensils that he uses are rendered unkosher, and it is prohibited to use them for further cooking until they have been properly rendered kosher.

If one travels abroad, to a place where there is a Jewish community, but he does not know further details about the local kashrut arrangements, he should contact the community rabbi to obtain necessary information and guidance. In many locales around the world, one can contact the Lubavitch (Chabad) representative of that place.

In especially remote locations, where there is neither a Jewish community nor a Chabad House, one must either bring food along or make his own food from raw materials he can obtain there. Unprocessed fruits and vegetables may be eaten anywhere without hesitation. There is likewise no problem with plain, unflavored tea or coffee.