DAVID NAYFELD HAS THE ANSWER TO, DAD? WHAT’S FOR DINNER?

Host Nycci Nellis talks with Chef David Nayfield — James Beard semifinalist, founder of Che Fico, and author of Dad, What's for Dinner? — about fatherhood, kitchen intensity, Jewish-Italian cuisine, and the family meals that turn dinner into a team effort.

About the Guest

Chef David Nayfield trained at Aqua, Joel Robuchon, and Eleven Madison Park before returning to San Francisco to build Back Home Hospitality — home to Che Fico, Bubola, and Via Aurelia.

"Don't be a martyr. Don't be the one dying at the stove washing everything, cooking everything yourself. Get everyone involved. Make it a team sport — and you'll connect with the people you love the most."Chef David Nayfield

"What I love about David is that he can talk about Michelin-level precision and a weeknight chicken nugget with the same seriousness. That tells you everything about who he is." - Nycci Nellis

The Book: Dad, What's for Dinner?

Dad, What's for Dinner? is built around real parenting moments — meltdowns, weeknights, celebrations — with a simple philosophy: cook with your kids, not just for them. Nayfield wrote much of it during a custody dispute, turning limited time with his daughter into intentional kitchen rituals.

The book argues that a meal does not have to be perfect to matter. Hand a child a spoon, share a task, and dinner becomes something you make together.

From Picky Eater to World-Class Chef

Nayfield was born in the United States to Jewish refugees from Belarus who traveled through Rome before settling in California. As a kid, he rejected the heavy dishes of his heritage and gravitated toward the food in his friends' homes.

The turning point came when a relative's American boyfriend made fried chicken from scratch. Nayfield realized great food could happen at home, in ordinary life, and still feel revelatory.

"I thought you had to go to a restaurant to eat food that you liked. And then someone made it at home — and I was like, this is incredible. How did that happen?" - Chef David Nayfield

That early curiosity became a career defined by rigor, curiosity, and the search for his own voice.

The Year in Europe

After leaving Eleven Madison Park, Nayfield staged across Europe at Mirazur, with a chocolatier in Paris, in Barcelona, and in Swiss Michelin kitchens. By the end, he realized the food he was making still looked too much like someone else’s.

The breakthrough came when he admitted how consistently he was drawn back to Italian food — and a trip to Rome’s Jewish ghetto clarified why.

Jewish-Italian Cuisine and Che Fico

In Rome’s Jewish ghetto, Nayfield encountered cucina ebraica — artichokes fried in olive oil, dishes shaped by necessity, and flavors woven into everyday Italian cooking.

At Che Fico, he marked dishes with Jewish stars to honor those roots, from carciofi alla giudia to ribollita and suppli al telefono. For him, the point is honesty: show the lineage clearly and respectfully.

On Kitchen Intensity

Nayfield has lived through the worst of kitchen culture, and he separates discipline from abuse. Intensity, urgency, and focus can build excellence; humiliation and harm cannot be excused as part of the job.

"If your ambition is a Michelin star, it is going to take grit that only comes from years in environments where people put the product in front of comfort." - Chef David Nayfield

His argument is simple: ambition and environment have to match, and the choice to enter that world should be conscious.

Via Aurelia: Fine Dining on His Own Terms

Nayfield's newest restaurant, Via Aurelia, is modern Tuscan by design — a framework rooted in Tuscany’s history, coastline, Jewish communities, and ingredient evolution. It offers...