Yotam Ottolenghi: About the Award-Winning Chef

James Beard Award–winner Yotam Ottolenghi is an international chef, bestselling food writer, and culinary television personality. Born in Jerusalem, Yotam is of Italian Jewish and German Jewish descent. He completed his studies at Tel Aviv University and later relocated to London to study French pastry cooking at Le Cordon Bleu. Yotam went on to work for several London restaurants.

Together with cofounder Noam Bar, Yotam and Sami Tamimi opened the deli Ottolenghi in 2002 in Notting Hill. The deli gained an avid following thanks to its unique spice combinations and Middle Eastern influence, and it spawned more eateries across London.

Yotam’s cosmopolitan life enables him to create unique recipes. Read on for five fast facts about the acclaimed chef:

1. 1. He calls his food “sunny food”. Yotam, who uses lots of vegetables in his food, connects his cooking to brightness. “My food is sunny food. Wherever the sun shines, that’s where I find my food,” he shares. “It’s the food with big flavors, big colors, and big generous gestures.”
2. 2. He had writing experience before becoming a cookbook author. Ottolenghi was a Comparative Literature major in college and worked as a night copy editor for Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper. In 2006, Yotam started writing a weekly column called “The New Vegetarian” for The Guardian. He went on to author nine cookbooks: Ottolenghi: The Cookbook, Plenty, Jerusalem, Plenty More, NOPI, Sweet: Desserts from London's Ottolenghi, Ottolenghi Simple, Ottolenghi Flavour, and Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love. He collaborated with Sami Tamimi, Ramael Scully, Helen Goh, Ixta Belfrage, and Noor Murad on his books.
3. 3. He identifies as a proud gay father. In 2013, Ottolenghi wrote an essay for The Guardian to discuss his experience conceiving his son Max via gestational surrogacy.
4. 4. He understands that cooking can be mysterious magic. Yotam’s cooking is a fusion of flavor. “There's a bit of alchemy going on. It definitely has to have spice. It needs to have spices and herbs and interesting things going on as you eat them,” Yotam says. “There is something about the Ottolenghi phenomenon, I guess, that has to do with the extension of color, flavor, and beauty all coming together in one plate or one meal.”
5. 5. He wants drama in cooking and eating. Food should be dynamic, sensory, and vibrant. “You need drama in the mouth,” he says. “I want something within a meal, even if it’s a bowl of porridge, which is the most comforting thing in the world. So if I'd spray some dried fruit on it, I don't want it in every single bite. I want once in a while to have a bit of fruit that would remind me that, hold on, there's something in my porridge. It's really good. So those are the kinds of experiences I want. A little bit of drama in the mouth, even in the comforting moment.”

Yotam is inventive with ingredients and has influenced modern Middle Eastern fare. You can expect these five highlights and more from his class on Middle Eastern cooking, available exclusively on MasterClass:

1. 1. Create an abundant mezze spread. Mezze—also known as mazza or meze—is a spread, dip, or small dish often served with bread for scooping. You can eat mezze as an appetizer or as part of a larger meal made up of several spreads. “Mezze is really all about opening up the appetite, starting a meal, [getting] the juice flowing,” Yotam says. “You really want the flavors. You want the intensity. You want the beautiful colors.” Learn how to prepare Yotam’s smoky marinated feta, pea spread, and muhammara recipes.
2. 2. Get practical tips for hosting. Many cooks feel anxious about preparing food for guests. For his part, Yotam advises making something you feel comfortable cooking. “The anxiety . . . with cooking for a dinner party or for a group of friends is normally associated with wanting to reinvent the wheel. And you really don't need to do that,” Yotam says. “You can cook something you've cooked before and you feel confident about, and then you sit down for the meal—you're happy and everybody's happy.”
3. 3. Heighten flavors with simple ingredients. Learn how to make Yotam’s labneh with berries recipe, which is a display of the season’s best produce that can double as a brunch accompaniment or light dessert. You can infuse labneh with many different flavors; Yotam’s take on this classic dip plays with juicy berries and a bit of orange-infused olive oil.
4. 4. Make your own tahini. Tahini is a crucial ingredient in Middle Eastern cuisine. “Tahini is something that runs in the veins of the people in the Middle East. It's like the olive oil of southern Europe,” Yotam says. Learn how to make Yotam’s tahini sauce recipe with toasted hulled sesame seeds.
5. 5. Transform vegetables. Vegetables can transform from a great side dish to the main course that steals the show. Learn how to prepare Yotam’s recipes for roasted cauliflower with harissa chili oil and roasted eggplant salad, a gluten-free and vegetarian dish with flavorful herbs.

To learn more cooking techniques and recipes, consider taking the following classes:

1. 1. Dominique Crenn on modern vegetarian cooking. Dominique Crenn is one of the most celebrated chefs in the world, known for her three-Michelin-starred restaurant, Atelier Crenn. Watch Dominique’s class to learn about sustainable ingredients and various vegetable preparation methods.
2. 2. Gordon Ramsay on cooking. Gordon Ramsay is a Michelin-star chef with restaurants worldwide. Watch Gordon’s class to learn about essential kitchen tools and knife skills, plus how to make pasta dough and scrambled eggs.
3. 3. Wolfgang Puck on cooking. Wolfgang Puck is a James Beard Foundation Award–winning restaurateur and one of the world’s most successful chefs. Take Wolfgang’s class to learn how to develop your palate, prepare recipes, and build a restaurant business.

If you want to prepare a brunch or dinner spread to impress guests, learn how to prepare mezze dishes. Discover Yotam Ottolenghi’s approach to modern Middle Eastern cuisine, preparing vegetables, and how to make colorful dishes like green herb shakshuka and pasta with yogurt sauce.