Chef David Nayfeld highlights the Jewish roots of Roman food

Photo: Douglas Friedman

Chef David Nayfeld is a terrific chef. His restaurant is called Che Fico, in San Francisco, and it’s an Italian restaurant with a focus on the food of the Roman ghetto. He was recently in New York to be named one of Bon Appétit magazine’s best new restaurants of the year. While he was in town, he was kind enough to drop by Francis Lam's home to show him how his family makes stuffed potato pancakes. While cooking, they talked about the Jewish roots of Roman food. Listen to their conversation using the audio player above, and check out Nayfeld's irresistible recipe for Draniki.

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Francis Lam

Francis Lam is the host of The Splendid Table. He is the former Eat columnist for The New York Times Magazine and is Vice President and Editor-in-Chief at Clarkson Potter. He graduated first in his class at the Culinary Institute of America and has written for numerous publications. Lam lives with his family in New York City.