I liked latkes but my assignment was grating the potatoes and onions. my mother would not make them unless I did the grating. Yes latkes were featured at Hanukkah parties, children loved them. The basic recipe is grate potato and onion. Squeeze out all the water, Add a bit of flour, salt and pepper. And fry them up! Potato to onions in a 4 to 1 ratio.
They were fried in chicken fat aka schmaltz so were more letrhal back then but nobody knew this so we survived.
I’m betting that schmaltz beats vegetable oil (trans fats) any day.