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San Francisco food writer Leslie Jonath knows all about feeding a crowd. Every year, her family hosts what has come to be known as The Vodka and Latke Party. It started out small — just immediate family — but soon grew into a huge event, a tradition that the Jonath family and 80 friends look forward to each year for their yearly dose of piping hot latkes, well-chilled vodka, briny pickles and utter conviviality.
Now, with a new book out — “Feed Your People: Big-Batch, Big-Hearted Cooking and Recipes to Gather Around” (Powerhouse Books, $40), produced in tandem with the city’s 18 Reasons culinary community and dishes from a who’s who of the Bay Area gastronomy scene, from Alice Waters to Tanya Holland and Preeti Mistry — Jonath sat down to chat about feasts, fests and latkes.
Q: What inspired “Feed Your People”?
A: Throwing the Vodka and Latke party year after year has taught me a few tricks about cooking for a crowd. The number one rule is “don’t go at it alone.” Find your team and turn the preparation into a party. In the case of the latke party, my team has been my mother, who makes the latkes, my friend Anya (Fernald), who makes all the brisket, and my dad, who leads the vodka shots with pickle chasers. It is a delicious gathering, but as much as everyone loves the food, the act of coming together around the food is what makes it special.
This led me to wonder more deeply about foods that bring people together. All over the world, people gather together around different foods for all kinds of reasons, from soup swaps, dumpling dinners, backyard barbecues, seafood boils to ice cream socials. People cook for each other for Sunday suppers, birthdays, holidays, memorials, fundraisers and so much more. I have always loved big, festive, inclusive gatherings and the big-hearted chefs who cook to bring community together.
As a cookbook editor, I searched for a book that provided recipes and strategies to cook for a crowd with recipes for show-stoppers and go-to dishes that could feed a crowd. Then I reached out to my network of wonderful generous chefs who kindly offered their recipes. I partnered with 18 Reasons, a beloved Bay Area nonprofit cooking school that hosts community dinners and Cooking Matters classes for low-income families. We tested the recipes at Feed your People dinners and fed our community.
Q: How do you feed your people?
A: The vodka and latke ritual is our main yearly event. I love to help others cook and gather wherever I am. It doesn’t always have to be a big event, either. One essential way I love to feed my people is by cooking an extra batch to bring to people who need extra comfort. Often, I will make a big batch of soup — most often chicken soup or seasonal minestrone — to bring to friends who might feel under the weather or need a little extra care.
Q: We’re obsessed with your Latke and Vodka party. How did it start?
A: My father had a Russian friend in graduate school who taught him and my mother how to do vodka shots with pickle chasers. I was too young at the time to appreciate this ritual, but as an adult, I began integrating this ritual into our Hanukkah celebration, along with latkes. Then my mother figured out how to make the latkes ahead of time in batches and freeze (them). Making the latkes ahead of time and baking them off allowed her to make enough to feed a crowd: Also, no frying smell, and she could enjoy the party! Then I met Anya — who started the Eat Real Festival and is now CEO of Belcampo — and she made the meat, usually brisket. Then other friends brought cookies and more vodka, and the party grew into a bash.
Q: How does the party generally run?
A: First, you need to chill the vodka and gather an assortment of pickles — we love dill and cornichons. Chill the pickles, too. My dad leads the first few shots.
We usually put out the spread of main dish meats, so people can start noshing before the latkes come out. This includes some sort of meat like brisket — we did beef cheeks one year — and a salad with a crunchy lettuce, like Little Gems with a tarragon dressing.
My mom and dad bring the latkes in a cooler. My mom packages them in resealable bags and then lets them defrost on cookies sheets for 15 minutes before baking them in a 450-degree oven until they are hot and crispy.
For latke toppings, we have applesauce and sour cream. We aren’t kosher, but we do have meat, so people need to be mindful about what choices they make. We also put out smoked salmon and salmon roe for non-meateaters.
For dessert, I love Claudia Roden’s famous Orange Almond Cake, which is in the book and so easy to make! Or friends will bring cookies.
Q: Wait a sec, there’s a vodka shot technique?
A: My father greets people at the door and leads the first shots to teach people how to do it the Russian way: First you exhale. Then take the shot. Then inhale while eating the pickle. The combined vapors of the vodka and the pickle will start your year off right!
We sometimes toast before, but mostly we exclaim after. Something like WOW! Or “That’s what I’m talking about!”
Q: Any other tips so we can host a Vodka & Latke party, too?
A: Gather your team. Make the party planning and prep fun with two to three good friends who love to cook. Chose recipes that you delegate or make ahead. Make a big-batch of one central dish. And have your friends bring the drinks or desserts.
