Heavy, brown, unhealthy, and out of season: these are the epithets hurled at eastern and central European Jewish cuisine, whether it be the brisket and kugel of the Passover seder or the pastrami and matzo ball soup of the Jewish deli. A deep dive into history, as well as the kitchen, tells a completely different story. In this lecture, Jeffrey Yoskowitz will explore why many American Jews perceive their own food tradition so negatively and how the food tradition transformed in the New World, while debunking the major myths about the Old World origins of this particular food culture.

Jeffrey Yoskowitz is a pickler, entrepreneur, and thought leader in the world of Jewish food. He co-founded The Gefilteria, a culinary venture that reimagines Ashkenazi Jewish cooking, and co-authored the award-winning cookbook The Gefilte Manifesto. He teaches, cooks, and lectures on food history to communities across the globe and previously taught “The Anthropology of Jewish Food” in the CCNY Jewish Studies Program.