Sivan is coming to London - and we got the inside scoop on 'that' kitchen

It’s 10 years since Israeli-born LA-based food creator Sivan Kobi last set foot in London but next week she is flying over to launch Yonah Inspired Living, a new UK Jewish charity led by Rebbetzen Joanne Dove. Yonah’s grassroots programmes feature Jewish learning, relationship guidance and community initiatives, alongside support through divorce, illness and mental health challenges.

Sivan’s platform, Sivan’s Kitchen, which has more than 2.3 million followers on Instagram, celebrates Jewish cooking, family recipes and traditions. Faith & Flavour will bring her together with Joanne for a live cooking demonstration and conversation about the food, family and connections at the heart of Jewish life.

Sivan and her family moved from Israel to LA when she was four. Her mum and her grandma showed her the ropes of Middle Eastern cooking but she really got to grips with it when she married her husband Avi, whose family are also from Israel.

If you follow Sivan you’ll know her as a spice queen – turmeric, black pepper, curry and paprika with oil are her flavours of choice. When she’s not massaging all those lovely spices into chicken or meat for her own dishes, Sivan enjoys eating out – especially sushi as it’s not something she often makes – or Italian. “But I like Middle Eastern food and if there’s a list of food, I will always navigate towards that. Maybe it’s what my palate is used to.”

Her husband cooks too, especially if she’s had a busy day preparing things that aren’t food to eat for dinner, like desserts. “He’ll quickly whip up something. He’s very good at that, and he’s got a great hand in the kitchen.”

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When it was Sivan’s fourth child’s first birthday, in honour of their cake-maker father who had died the year before, she and her sister made a beautiful cake with fondant icing. Word got around and people started ordering from them. This spearheaded a cake business that Sivan ran for nine years, making showstopping tiered cakes for weddings, bar mitzvahs and birthdays. When covid hit and the orders stopped coming she started making dishes at home and posting them on Instagram. The default now is savoury dishes “as I feel like that’s what my audience likes more” but every now and then she adds in a cake and there are some beautiful sufganiyot recipes coming up for Chanukah. “It’s my pride and joy to share my father’s recipe.”

For me it’s the aesthetic that makes Sivan stand out from other food creators. Everything in her videos – including her – is just so pristine and beautiful. I want to know if every room in Sivan’s home is as tidy as her kitchen. “Yes, maybe even tidier! We like things very clean and very organised in our home. Although when the grandkids come it looks like a tornado hit. My home was never meant to be a museum and I want people to ne inspired by what they see rather than intimidated.”

Her use of gold cookware is certainly inspiring and when she started implementing it in her videos, she noticed that it was drawing a lot of attention. A few days ago she used a new stainless steel lemon squeezer and got bombarded with messages saying “you need to get a gold one”.

Messages are a key part of her success. “My audience and my community are more important to me than anything because if not for them, I’m not here. We message back and forth, like long scripted things, or I’m helping someone make a menu for Shabbat. I think the reason I grew is because I gave my all to my community. In the beginning, when I had just 1,000 followers, I responded to every single comment and message.”

Those messages do not only come from the Jewish community – Catholics, Christians, Hindus and Muslims all reach out to Sivan. “They often tell me that they love that I share my religion – ‘I’m not you, but I still love you’. Of course I’ve had hate, just like all other Jewish influencers, especially since October 7, but for the most part, I get very good feedback and love.”

Sivan, who says she is “observant but not Orthodox” tells me that after October 7 she felt that people were thirsting for connection. “Whether it was suddenly making Shabbat for their children because they never celebrated it before, or lighting the candles with their daughter for the first time, my followers were reaching out and my platform was a place for me to push it all as much as I can.”

Sivan is really happy to be coming to the UK. “I finally get to meet my community there and give them a piece of Sivan’s kitchen and I’m so happy to be working with Yonah. From challah bakes to Jewish learning and family programmes, Yonah is helping people find meaningful ways to connect with Jewish life. It will be an honour to be part of the evening.”

I wonder what she will be making for us. “I love the crispy rice sheet pan with the salmon on top. I love the crispy rice salad. I love a lot of baked dishes. I love my meat roasts on Fridays. I have so many favourites it’s hard to pick and choose.”

That’s exactly how I feel about Sivan’s dishes too.

Faith and Flavour will take place in central London on 17 November at 7.30pm. Book tickets at charityextra.com/faithandflavour