Israeli brings Mideast flavors to Britain
Chef, restaurateur and food-writer Yotam Ottolenghi successfully runs four top London restaurants. Stimulating senses, feeding imaginations and tantalizing taste buds
Arriving in the UK 13 years ago, Yotam now successfully runs four top London restaurants, where the heaped piles of differently colored and flavored meringues in the windows are well known for causing the passing public to rubberneck and peer past the confections to catch a glimpse of the dining commotion within.
Furthermore, he also has a well-read weekly food column in one of the UK's best read newspapers and after a very successful first book of recipes, is now releasing a second book of recipes titled: "Plenty".
Food, although having been a childhood passion, had not always been his main ambition.
Before arriving in the UK in 1997 to study at the world famous chef school Cordon Bleu,Yotam had been studying philosophy and literature while also being a sub-editor for Haaretz. When, on deciding to take a year off from his studies and hectic schedule, an extended stay in Amsterdam turned the year-out into two.
While he was there he had discovered that the calm and pleasure that he found in making food, as well as the enjoyment of eating and entertaining with it, had ignited his imagination and so London, the new emerging food capital, beckoned like the index figure of a maître d' to a hungry diner eager to be seated.
Celebration of all that is fresh (Photo: Keiko Oikawa)
Then in 1999, after training as a pastry chef and learning the trade on the inside, from various establishments, Yotam found himself at the famous Baker and Spice shop in Chelsea. There he met Sami Tamimi, also a native of Jerusalem, and after a brief chat they realized that although they were originally from west and east Jerusalem respectively, they had both arrived at that current moment in time through incredibly similar dynamics.
Yotam's passion for food was evident at a young age and his father's Italian-Jewish family and his maternal German-Jewish family were great sources of inspiration and indulgence for his young, healthy appetite. Sami grew up in an Arab family in Jerusalem's old city where food was ever-present as a part of the bustling street life, as well as being the focal point in his household. There in the kitchen, he would sit with his mother and grandmother as they spiced, folded, rolled and twisted all manner of dishes to the family table.
Whilst talking with Yotam, I reflected on my own culinary experiences of Jerusalem; the Mahane Yehuda, with is vibrant range of produce, the heaped and towering Halva stalls, the trays of freshly baked Rogelach from Marzipan and the locally renown Kubbeh at Morduch, the list goes on and on. There is however a sense of the commonplace that the UK doesn't have. In the UK, chefs are celebrities and can almost be viewed like pop stars to many households.
"Food is appreciated much more in the UK as a separate part of the culture, in a way that it isn't in Israel" reflected Yotam, "In Israel, there are food markets, outdoors dining, outdoors produce and it forms the daily fabric of life in a way that it doesn’t in the UK. Israeli society sees people defined by food which in turn expresses family, ethnicity, culture - all of which have food as the unspoken bedrock of identity"
We both discussed the obvious example of the sheer variety of seder meals between the different Jewish communities of Israeli society being just one example of this. Spread that over the whole demographic map of the society and there are a lot of different recipes and raw ingredients to draw on even before one step outside and walks around the bustling markets, restaurants and cafes.
New set of flavors
Yotam and Sami together wrote the very successful "Ottolenghi: The Cookbook", where their inventive, yet simple dishes celebrated fresh ingredients with a lateral take on Mediterranean cooking. The innovative fusion of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dishes served with a Californian sophistication have made Ottolenghi a byword for all that is healthy, tasty and fresh. The first book included Meat and fish alongside the wide range of vegetarian dishes and all of them were in working practice on the menus of their London restaurants.
Now, Yotam is releasing a second book called "Plenty". This brings together all the various recipes from his weekly food column.
" I wanted to bring together in one compilation, all the recipes that I had published in my weekly New Vegetarian column." Yotam goes on to include a new set of flavors. "Some of my recent travels have had me travelling through Asia and these new culinary experiences have drawn in more flavors and combinations".
It is a book for Vegetarian and non-vegetarians alike and features both brand-new recipes and dishes first devised for the column.
As ever, Yotam's food inspiration draws heavily on his background and his unapologetic love of ingredients. Although not a vegetarian himself, these recipes are a celebration of all that is fresh and are based on strong flavors and stunning, fresh combinations. Plenty is a must-have for meat-eaters and vegetarians alike.
If you are ever in London, why not try the full on experience and visit one of the four restaurants. Dotted around the centre of the capital they aren't difficult to find but they are like a hidden treasure once your taste buds have discovered them.
Buon Appetito!
