Yotam Ottolenghi surprises cooking club meet-up in north London
A gathering of amateur cooks doing recipes by the Israeli chef did not know he was making a visit
Louisa Walters is Features Editor at the Jewish News and specialises in food and travel writing
If you ever wondered what celebrity chefs do on their day off, popping in to a flat in north London to hang out with amateur cooks was probably not on your list of options.
And yet that’s exactly what Yotam Ottolenghi did yesterday. You may recall I wrote recently about the new North London Ottolenghi Cooking Club, which had its inaugural meet-up late last year. After seeing the article in Jewish News Yotam decided to come along to the next one as a surprise.
Twenty keen followers of the man, his brand and his recipe books each contributed a dish to a lunch gathering that took place in a home in north London on Sunday afternoon.
Among them were aubergine dumplings from Flavour; raw beets and herb salad, and squash with chilli yogurt and coriander sauce from Plenty More; butter beans with preserved lemon, chilli and herb oil from OTK Shelf Love; apricot and almond cake with cinnamon topping from Sweet; puttanesca-style salmon traybake and Dutch apple pie from Comfort; gigli pasta with chickpeas and spinach, and sweet ‘n’ salty feta cheesecake from Simple; sweet and sour fish from Jerusalem; and vegetable paella from Plenty.
Yotam stayed for more than two hours, eating and chatting, and was challenged to name the dishes and the books they came from. He did so with good humour and surprisingly good recall.
London-based Israeli Doron Bar-Gil, who founded the club, had been working behind the scenes to arrange the visit. “Seeing Yotam Ottolenghi trying dishes made from his very own recipes was such an incredible experience. He was candid and happy to share personal stories which made the entire experience very unique and very real. This is a reminder that food is a language of its own and connects us all.
“Watching Yotam eat the aubergine dumplings dish I made felt like I’d been given access to the culinary red carpet and my humble creation had taken on a whole new gravity.
“I cannot wait for our next gathering but in truth it can’t get any better than this!”
Sharon said “He is such a lovely easy-going person, very interested in everyone’s stories. I was so chuffed when he walked up to the table and took his phone out to photograph my foccacia which was made in his honour, And he said it was really good! I’m in heaven.”
A self-confessed Ottolenghi obsessive, I’ve met Yotam several times, most recently at the book signing for Comfort at his Hampstead store, where he calmly and patiently inscribed the eight books I bought with a personal message for each recipient. On chatting yesterday I reminded him of the demo I attended a where he made the rolled pavlova, which is now, as I told him, my go-to dessert, and he remembered that at the demo he auctioned it for charity and it was my friend who bought it (for several hundred pounds – it was that good!).
Nadia, who hosted yesterday’s event, said: “When I opened the door to him it felt as if I was greeting an old friend rather than meeting him for the first time. He was warm friendly and sincere. I think he enjoyed all the food because he cleaned his plate – always a good sign!”
The group featured a young couple on their second date, two grandmothers and “everyone in between,” said Nadia. “A really cosmopolitan group, which embodies London living. The common thread? Yotam Ottolenghi, of course.”
Carmen asked him to critique her sweet and sour fish dish as she felt it needed more ooomph. He graciously told her that the cod was too thick and that it needed more vinegar and sugar to create the sweet/sour – “even though I followed his recipe”, she said. “I felt an extreme sense of joy when he showed up, like a kid getting their much wanted present at Chanukah.”
When asked what chefs he admires, Yotam said he loves Nigella and he recommended Noor Murad’s new book.
“The best thing about the afternoon was that while I was eating all these delicious Ottolenghi dishes I looked up and there he was at the buffet table, helping himself to them, as well!” said Kiran.
When asked how he stays so slim, Yotam laughed and patted his loose shirt, saying “You don’t know what’s hiding under here,” but revealed that he goes for a run most days and rarely has an evening meal as he spends all day eating. However he let slip that he was going to his good friends Sarit and Itamar (of Honey & Co) for dinner. He shared that he doesn’t cook his elaborate dishes for his children (aged 12 and 9) as they like simpler food.
Yotam posted about the visit on his Instagram, saying “Everything was delicious.”
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