Yotam Ottolenghi

So Florence.

Florence is like a Ottolenghi cookbook collector.

She freestyled her.

cooking she was intimidated by new ingredients she's happy to buy an ingredient that she's never tried before and she has a cupboard full of loads of flavorful ingredients from all around the world she cared about provenance she didn't mind paying a bit more for her for cooking ingredients for quality and she was our first customer because she was already looking for miso So we didn't have to really market to her, but we needed to be available.

Because I think it's so ballsy to do that.

Remember when Yotam Ottolenghi came on and he said he's been to people's houses for dinner and they've cooked his recipes from his cookbook.

Yeah, no, I'd never do that.

Which is deranged.

think they're just absolutely charming and it's a really magical experience walking through the woodlands in Formby and spotting that flash of russet fur through the treetops.

and superchef Yotam Ottolenghi is here to give us emergency stockpile recipes, joining Sir Charles Walker and bestseller Kate Mosse as our headliners.

The King's Speech is global news again, after the Prime Minister's latest musings on slavery.

King Charles is on the last leg of his Caribbean tour and will, on Tuesday, at a meeting of Commonwealth leaders, express sincere sorrow for the lasting pain of the transatlantic trade in human beings.

Just toast.

It is toast.

Well, now, here is Yotam Ottolenghi.

Welcome back.

So that quite leads us nicely into Sumac and Sunshine.

It was born out of your interest and the inspiration you got from Yotam Ottolenghi's book, Jerusalem.

So what was it about that particular book that kind of, I mean, it happened in the UK as well.

It was kind of revelationary brief.

He was essentially an influencer long before that was a thing.

And now he, Yotam Ottolenghi, has a new book out called Simple Too.

Welcome, Yotam.

Thank you.

And it really is quite simple.

Anyway, it's not like an original recommendation recommending something from Ottolenghi, is it? Like obviously he's one of the most popular people on the planet, but it's a really nice book.

Anyway, I have got a thumbed to make this week.

Orecchiette.

a tapas feast a middle eastern feast and a vegetarian version as well so I was thinking of maybe actually giving one of those whole feasts a go and creating the whole spread and it saves having to flick through the whole book to come up with enough food for four to five people so it's also something really nice about the book and the photography as well is lovely throughout

When you said you have a book by Ottolenghi, my heart sank for a second because I thought, oh, is that the one? My second pick is also Ottolenghi, but this one, the one that I picked is Flavor.

Oh, lovely.

Yes.

of course but honestly i i love it for how full of flavor everything is and how yes maybe more time consuming or a little bit more complex they are to make but i absolutely love love these combinations i also like the same thing about the the full spreads that there is at the very end of the book so there is a suggestion on how to kind of shape your entire menu if you have people around for different occasions and i just love that i kind of look forward to the moment when i start doing that for for our friends who come over into the new house to have these feasts because it really saves you a lot of time and it they are all designed so that again the flavors really work together really well so I really like that idea and how it's planned and designed so yes that's my second pick

Amazing.

I think I could own all of Ottolenghi's books.

Honestly, I have this one.

Yes, I love cooking.

Big fan of Nigel Lawson, Jamie Oliver, Yotam Ottolenghi, all the British favourites.

All the books are lined up very neatly.

I was just about to

So I'm just gonna keep adding confectioners' sugar, and meanwhile, let me tell you about my fabulous guest.

[upbeat music] Yotam Ottolenghi is an award-winning chef, writer, and restaurateur who grew up in Israel with a German Jewish mother and Italian Jewish father.

After military service, he completed a combined bachelor's and master's degree at Tel Aviv University before becoming a journalist and then moving to London, studying at Le Cordon Bleu cooking school and working as a pastry chef.

In 2002, Yotam and two partners opened the first Ottolenghi deli in London.

Pacific Life Insurance Company, Omaha, Nebraska, and in New York.

Pacific Life & Annuity, Phoenix, Arizona.

I'm here with Yotam Ottolenghi, and I think we have a lot to talk about.

[laughs] I started my career in nuclear energy policy in the White House.[laughs] That's a good way to get into food.

Who's calling?

Yotam Ottolenghi is here to answer your cooking questions about leeks and chicken livers, and he reveals one of his deepest secrets.

I used to think that my kids are gonna be the most adventurous kids in the world, and they'll eat the olives and the pomegranate molasses, and they'll, you know, eat za'atar with a spoon.

And you know what I always say? I say, "If I have a picky child, it's really bad for my brand."

[laughs]

[laughs]

Your Cooking Calls with Yotam Ottolenghi, that's coming up later in the show.

But first, we visit the last place you'd expect to find recipes.