Yotam Ottolenghi

Bestselling cook book author, food writer and world-renowned chef Yotam Ottolenghi is the chef-patron of the hugely successful Ottolenghi group. He is a regularly contributor to the New York Times and has been a weekly columnist for the Saturday Guardian for more than 15 years. The food guru is the co-owner of numerous delis and restaurants in London, and has won numerous awards for his critically acclaimed cookbooks, including Ottolenghi SIMPLE, which the New York Times chose as best book of the year. The famous foodie has also hosted three well-received television specials: Ottolenghi’s Mediterranean Feast (voted Fortnum and Mason’s “Television Programme of the Year”) and Ottolenghi’s Mediterranean Island Feast for More 4, and Jerusalem on a Plate for BBC4. He has also appeared as a guest judge on the ninth and eleventh seasons of Masterchef Australia.

Ottolenghi was born in Jerusalem and often spent his childhood summers in Italy. After moving to Amsterdam in 1997 he then relocated to London where he studied French pastry cooking at Le Cordon Bleu. After becoming head pastry chef at Baker and Spice, he met Palestinian chef Sami Tamimi and the pair founded the delicatessen Ottolenghi in the Notting Hill district of London in 2002.

In 2008 Ottolenghi released his debut book Ottolenghi: The Cookbook. His bestselling, award-winning books have proven influential around the globe, with his instructional style and photography now widely copied within the industry.