Iconic New York Jewish Food with June Hersh, Niki Russ Federman, Rozanne Gold

To celebrate the publication of June Hersh's delicious new book Iconic New York Jewish Food (The History Press, 2023), celebrated foodies Niki Russ Federman (co-owner of Russ & Daughters) and this program's moderator Rozanne Gold (four-time James Beard award-winning chef and author) join June in sharing their unique and personal New York food stories in a meaningful conversation about the city’s culinary legacy.
With recipes and remembrances galore, the discussion focuses on New York’s remarkable Jewish food history, what it means to be part of it, and how best to nourish the city we all love.
June Hersh is the beloved cartographer of the collective memory of Jewish food. A decade after her award-winning book "Recipes Remembered: A Celebration of Survival" comes "Iconic New York Jewish Food," celebrating the moxie of the ingenious immigrants who helped shape the city's culinary streetscape. Food, an undisputedly sacred dimension of the Jewish experience, comes to life as Ms. Hersh brings her superlative skills to storytelling. With historic photos and alluring anecdotes, this is the culinary memoir of a city, as filling and satisfying as a hot potato knish (recipe included). -- R. Gold
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About our Speakers:
June Hersh is a food writer, cookbook author, and culinary historian with a focus on Jewish food. Her first book, Recipes Remembered, a Celebration of Survival is a compendium of recipes and stories she gathered from interviewing over 150 Holocaust survivors. It was written in association with and to benefit the Museum of Jewish Heritage. Subsequent to that she wrote The Kosher Carnivore and edited Still Here, Inspiration from Survivors and Liberators of the Holocaust and Yoghurt a Global History. Her latest book, Iconic New York Jewish Food, a History and Guide with Recipes, explores the crave-worthy, binge-able bites that define the culinary imprint of Jewish immigrants in New York City. Her mantra is "Eat Well-Do Good" and to that end, her books are written with a charitable flavor. Her new release benefits the Met Council, the largest kosher food pantry in the country. June is a freelance writer for Westchester Magazine, contributes to a number of online food blogs, and enjoys giving book talks and demos related to her work. junehersh.com
Niki Russ Federman is the fourth-generation co-owner of Russ & Daughters, the iconic appetizing shop founded in 1914 on the Lower East Side of Manhattan by her great-grandfather, Joel Russ. Known globally for its bagels, lox, babkas, and other Ashkenazi Jewish food delicacies, Russ & Daughters has been venerated by devoted fans from Martha Stewart to Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The shop got its distinctive moniker when Joel Russ decided to include his daughters Anne Russ Federman (1921-2018), Hattie Gold (1913-2014), and Ida Schwartz (1915-2001) in the business’s name in the 1930s. By maintaining its reputation for culinary excellence for over a century in business, Russ & Daughters continues to be beloved by fans of Jewish food and feminists alike and has now expanded into four locations in New York City, including the original store on Houston Street. russanddaughters.com
Rozanne Gold, award-winning chef, food writer, and cookbook author, has been a fixture on New York's food scene since 1978 as first chef to Mayor Ed Koch. A four-time winner of the James Beard Award, she was consulting chef to the Rainbow Room, Windows on the World, and three of New York’s three-star restaurants. Considered “Israeli food’s original influencer” by Tablet Magazine, and “one of the most important innovators in the modern food world,” by Julia Child biographer, Bob Spitz, she has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bon Appetit, and Gourmet, among others. Known for her philanthropy, Gold was one of four Women Chefs for Peace on a mission to Israel and established a pop-up kitchen in Brooklyn after Hurricane Sandy. Gold is an end-of-life doula and co-founder of the “Death + Living Project.” She is also a poet. Her chapbook Mother Sauce was recently published by Dancing Girl Press. rozannegold.com