Yotam Assaf Ottolenghi (born 14 December 1968) is an Israeli-born British chef, restaurateur, and food writer. He is the co-owner of seven delis and restaurants in London and the author of several bestselling cookery books, including ''Ottolenghi: The Cookbook'' (2008), ''Plenty'' (2010), ''Jerusalem'' (2012) and ''Simple'' (2018).

Biography

Yotam Ottolenghi was born to

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

parents in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

and raised in

Ramat Denya Ramat Denya (Hebrew: רמת דניה) (lit. "Denya Heights") is a neighborhood in southwest Jerusalem. It was established in 1970 between Kiryat Hayovel and Bayit Vegan, 780 meters above sea level. Denya was the name of the development company th ...

, the son of Michael Ottolenghi, a chemistry professor at

Hebrew University The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public university, public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein ...

, and Ruth Ottolenghi, a high school principal. He is of Italian Jewish and

German Jewish The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (''circa'' 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish ...

descent, and often spent his childhood summers in Italy. He has an older sister, Tirza Florentin. His younger brother, Yiftach, was killed by

friendly fire In military terminology, friendly fire or fratricide is an attack by belligerent or neutral forces on friendly troops while attempting to attack enemy/hostile targets. Examples include misidentifying the target as hostile, cross-fire while en ...

in 1992 during his military service. Ottolenghi is an Italian name, an Italianised form of

Ettlingen Ettlingen (; South Franconian: ''Eddlinge'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about south of the city of Karlsruhe and approximately from the border with Lauterbourg, in France's Bas-Rhin department. Ettlingen is the second largest tow ...

, a town in

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

from which Jews were expelled in the 15th and 16th centuries; many settled in

Northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative region ...

. Ottolenghi was conscripted into the

Israel Defence Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branch ...

in 1989, serving three years in IDF intelligence headquarters. He then studied at the

Adi Lautman Interdisciplinary Programme for Outstanding Students The Adi Lautman Interdisciplinary Program for Outstanding Students is a Tel Aviv University program for fostering excellence, leading to a Master's degree. Only 15 students are admitted to the program every year. "The highly competitive selection is ...

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...

, where in 1997, he completed a combined bachelor's and master's degree in

comparative literature Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across linguistic, national, geographic, and disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role similar to that of the study ...

; his thesis being on the philosophy of the photographic image. While working on his thesis, Ottolenghi served as a night copy editor for ''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner ...

''. In 1997, Ottolenghi and his then-partner Noam Bar moved to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

, where he edited the Hebrew section of the Dutch-Jewish weekly '' NIW''. He later relocated to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

to study French pastry cooking at

Le Cordon Bleu Le Cordon Bleu (French for " The Blue Ribbon") is an international network of hospitality and culinary schools teaching French ''haute cuisine''. Its educational focuses are hospitality management, culinary arts, and gastronomy. The institutio ...

. Ottolenghi met his partner Karl Allen in 2000; they married in 2012 and live in Camden, London, with their two sons, born in 2013 and 2015. In 2013, Ottolenghi "

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

as a gay father" in a ''Guardian'' essay that detailed the lengthy process of conceiving their first son via

gestational surrogacy Surrogacy is an arrangement, often supported by a legal agreement, whereby a woman agrees to delivery/labour for another person or people, who will become the child's parent(s) after birth. People may seek a surrogacy arrangement when pregnan ...

, an option that he believes should be more widely available to those who cannot conceive naturally.

Culinary career

Ottolenghi served as a

pastry chef A pastry chef or pâtissier (; the French female version of the word is pâtissière ), is a station chef in a professional kitchen, skilled in the making of pastries, desserts, breads and other baked goods. They are employed in large hotels, bi ...

at three London restaurants: the

Michelin-starred The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of ...

Capital Restaurant, Kensington Place, and Launceston Place in Kensington New Town. In 1999, he became head pastry chef at the artisanal pastry shop Baker and Spice, where he met the Palestinian chef

Sami Tamimi Sami Tamimi is a Palestinian chef and author living in London. He is the co-owner of six delis and restaurants in London. Tamimi is also the co-author of several bestselling cookbooks, including ''Ottolenghi'' (2008), ''Jerusalem'' (2012) and '' ...

, who grew up in Jerusalem's

Old City Old City often refers to old town, the historic or original core of a city or town. Old City may refer to several places: Historical cities or regions of cities ''(by country)'' *Old City (Baku), Azerbaijan * Old City (Dhaka), Bangladesh, also ca ...

. Ottolenghi and Tamimi bonded over a shared language—

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

—and a joint "incomprehension of traditional English food". In 2002, the duo (in collaboration with Noam Bar) founded the eponymous

delicatessen Traditionally, a delicatessen or deli is a retail establishment that sells a selection of fine, exotic, or foreign prepared foods. Delicatessen originated in Germany (original: ) during the 18th century and spread to the United States in the m ...

Ottolenghi in the

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road Ma ...

district of London. The deli quickly gained a cult following due to its inventive dishes, characterised by the foregrounding of vegetables, unorthodox flavour combinations, and the abundance of Middle Eastern ingredients such as

rose water Rose water ( fa, گلاب) is a flavoured water made by steeping rose petals in water. It is the hydrosol portion of the distillate of rose petals, a by-product of the production of rose oil for use in perfume. Rose water is also used to fla ...

za'atar Za'atar ( ; ar, زَعْتَر, ) is a culinary herb or family of herbs. It is also the name of a spice mixture that includes the herb along with toasted sesame seeds, dried sumac, often salt, as well as other spices. As a family of rela ...

, and

pomegranate molasses Pomegranate molasses, also known as Dibs Ar-rumman ( ar, دبس الرمان, rakkaz rimonim he, רכז רימונים, robb-e anâr fa, رب انار, "pomegranate syrup"), and nar ekshisi ( tr, nar ekşisi, "pomegranate sour"), is a Middle Eas ...

.Mishan, Ligaya (26 April 2011)
"A Chef Who Is Vegetarian in Fame if Not in Fact,"

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

. Retrieved on 19 October 2017.Mann, Britt (18 June 2017)
"The ever-growing empire of MasterChef Australia judge Yotam Ottolenghi,"
Stuff.co.nz (Australia). Retrieved on 19 October 2017.Mesure, Susie (13 September 2014)
"Yotam Ottolenghi Interview,"

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

. Retrieved on 19 October 2017. When asked to explain his cooking philosophy, Ottolenghi said, "I want drama in the mouth." The Ottolenghi brand has since expanded to three more delis (in

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ...

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropolitan borough, it ...

and

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

), a formal restaurant in

Spitalfields Spitalfields is a district in the East End of London and within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The area is formed around Commercial Street (on the A1202 London Inner Ring Road) and includes the locale around Brick Lane, Christ Church, ...

, a brasserie named NOPI in

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was deve ...

, and a vegetable-centric restaurant named ROVI which opened in

Fitzrovia Fitzrovia () is a district of central London, England, near the West End. The eastern part of area is in the London Borough of Camden, and the western in the City of Westminster. It has its roots in the Manor of Tottenham Court, and was urban ...

in June 2018. In 2006, Ottolenghi began writing a weekly column for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'' titled "The New Vegetarian," though he himself is not a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetariani ...

and has sometimes noted where a vegetable-centric recipe would pair well with a particular cut of meat. Influenced by the straightforward, culturally-grounded food writing of

Nigella Lawson Nigella Lucy Lawson (born 6 January 1960) is an English food writer and television cook. She attended Godolphin and Latymer School, London. After graduating from the University of Oxford, where she was a member of Lady Margaret Hall, Lawson st ...

and

Claudia Roden Claudia Roden (née Douek; born 1936) is an Egyptian-born British cookbook writer and cultural anthropologist of Sephardi/ Mizrahi descent. She is best known as the author of Middle Eastern cookbooks including ''A Book of Middle Eastern Food'' ...

, Ottolenghi's recipes rarely fit within traditional dietary or cultural categories. He explained that his mission is to "celebrat vegetables or pulses without making them taste like meat, or as complements to meat, but to be what they are. It does no favour to vegetarians, making vegetables second best." His debut cookery book ''Ottolenghi: The Cookbook'' was published in 2008. Eight volumes have followed: the all-vegetable cookery books ''Plenty'' (2010), ''Plenty More'' (2014) and "Ottolenghi Flavour (2020)"; ''Jerusalem'' (2012); ''NOPI'' (2015); the dessert cookery book ''Sweet'' (2017); ''Ottolenghi Simple'' (2018); and most recently a series of Ottolenghi Test Kitchen (OTK) books co-authored with Noor Murad: "OTK: Shelf Love" (2021) and "OTK: Extra Good Things" (2022). Ottolenghi's bestselling cookery books have proven influential, with ''

'' noting that they are "widely knocked-off for their plain-spoken instructions, puffy covers, and photographs hat Ottolenghioversees himself, eschewing a food stylist". In 2014, the ''

London Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' remarked that Ottolenghi had "radically rewritten the way Londoners cook and eat", and ''

Bon Appétit ''Bon Appétit'' is a monthly American food and entertaining magazine, that typically contains recipes, entertaining ideas, restaurant recommendations, and wine reviews. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered at the One World Trade Center i ...

'' wrote that he had "made the world love vegetables".Muhlke, Christine (4 August 2014)
"What Yotam Ottolenghi Cooks at Home (Yes, There Is Eggplant),"

. Retrieved on 20 October 2017. Ottolenghi has hosted three television specials: ''Jerusalem on a Plate'' (

BBC4 BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002

, 2011); ''Ottolenghi's Mediterranean Feast'' (

More4 More4 is a British free-to-air television channel, owned by Channel Four Television Corporation. The channel launched on 10 October 2005. Its programming mainly focuses on lifestyle and documentaries, as well as foreign dramas. Content When ...

, 2012); and ''Ottolenghi's Mediterranean Island Feast'' (More4, 2013). In 2017, he served as a guest judge on the ninth and eleventh season of the cooking

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, ...

Masterchef Australia ''MasterChef Australia'' is an Australian competitive cooking reality show based on the original British '' MasterChef''. It is produced by Endemol Shine Australia and screens on Network 10. Restaurateur and chef Gary Mehigan, chef George Ca ...

''. He had declined numerous guest-judge offers in the past and agreed to appear on ''Masterchef Australia'' "because it's quite humane and positive....It's about the personal development of the contestants more than the competition."

Published works

* ''Ottolenghi: The Cookbook'' (2008) (with Sami Tamimi) * ''Plenty'' (2010) * ''Jerusalem'' (2012) (with Sami Tamimi) * ''Plenty More'' (2014) * ''NOPI'' (2015) (with Ramael Scully) * ''Sweet: Desserts from London's Ottolenghi'' (2017) (with Helen Goh) * ''Ottolenghi Simple'' (2018) * ''Ottolenghi Flavour'' (2020) (with Ixta Belfrage) * ''Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love'' (2021) (with Noor Murad)

Awards and recognition

*2010 Galaxy National Book Awards "Food and Drink Book of the Year" for ''Plenty'' *2010 ''

Observer Food Monthly ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

''s "Best Cookbooks Ever", ''Plenty'' ranked number 40 *2011 ''

Condé Nast Traveler ''Condé Nast Traveler'' is a luxury and lifestyle travel magazine published by Condé Nast. The magazine has won 25 National Magazine Awards. The Condé Nast unit of Advance Publications purchased ''Signature'', a magazine for Diners Club mem ...

'' "Innovation and Design Awards", NOPI, winner of the Gourmet award *2011 ''

''s "Best Cookbook Award" winner for ''Plenty'' *2012 Restaurant and Bar Design Awards, "Identity" category for the restaurant Nopi *2012 Guild of Food Writers Awards, " Kate Whiteman Award for Work on Food and Travel" for ''Jerusalem on a Plate'' (BBC4) *2013

James Beard Award The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media awa ...

"International Cookbook" for ''Jerusalem'' *2013 Guild of Food Writers Awards, "Cookery Book Award" for ''Jerusalem'' *2013 Guild of Food Writers Awards, "Evelyn Rose Award for Cookery Journalist" for journalism in ''The Guardian'' *2013

Gourmand World Cookbook Awards A gourmand is a person who takes great pleasure and interest in consuming good food and drink. ''Gourmand'' originally referred to a person who was "a glutton for food and drink", a person who eats and drinks excessively; this usage is now rare. ...

, the Dun Gifford Award winner for ''Jerusalem'' *2013

International Association of Culinary Professionals The International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) is a United States-based not-for-profit professional association whose members work in culinary education, communication, or the preparation of food and beverage. History The organizati ...

Awards, winner of the International award and the Best Cookbook award for ''Jerusalem'' *2013

Fortnum and Mason Fortnum & Mason (colloquially often shortened to just Fortnum's) is an upmarket department store in Piccadilly, London, with additional stores at The Royal Exchange, St Pancras railway station, Heathrow Airport in London and K11 Musea In Hong ...

Food and Drink Awards, "Television Programme of the Year" for ''Ottolenghi's Mediterranean Feast'' (Keo Films) *2013 German Gastronomic Academy Silver Medal for ''Jerusalem'' *2013

"Best Cookbook Award" for ''Jerusalem'' *2014 Specsavers National Book Awards "Food and Drink Book of the Year" for ''Plenty More'' * 2015 Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , p ...

* 2016

"Cooking from a Professional Point of View" for ''NOPI, the Cookbook''

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ottolenghi, Yotam 1968 births Living people 20th-century Israeli Jews 21st-century Israeli Jews Alumni of Le Cordon Bleu LGBT Jews LGBT people from Israel Cookbook writers Gay writers Israeli chefs Israeli emigrants to the United Kingdom People from Jerusalem Businesspeople from London British Jewish writers Jewish Israeli writers Israeli people of German-Jewish descent Israeli people of Italian-Jewish descent James Beard Foundation Award winners Adi Lautman Interdisciplinary Program for Outstanding Students alumni International Association of Culinary Professionals award winners LGBT chefs