Yotam Ottolenghi is an Israeli-born British chef, restaurateur, television personality, and food writer. He is predominantly known for his cookbooks, and the chef is usually associated with Israeli and Middle Eastern cuisine. Although the chef has enjoyed a long and successful career, there are many facts about Yotam Ottolenghi that people do not know. Here are some Yotam Ottolenghi facts you might find interesting to learn.
Yotam Ottolenghi Facts: His Personal Life
Where Was Yotam Ottolenghi Born?
Yotam Ottolenghi was born in Ramat Denya in Jerusalem on 14th December 1968. His parents worked in education, as his mother was a high school principal and his father a chemistry professor.
When Did Yotam Ottolenghi Move to the UK?
Ottolenghi moved to the UK in 1998 to begin his culinary training.
Is Yotam Ottolenghi Married?
Yotam Ottolenghi is married to Karl Allen. The couple met in 2000 and married in 2013.
Does Yotam Ottolenghi Have Children?
Ottolenghi and his husband have two sons. Their first son, Max, was born in 2013, a year after they married. Flynn, their second son, was born in 2015. The couple used a gestational surrogate to have their children, and Ottolenghi says he thinks it is an option that should become more widely available for couples who cannot naturally conceive.
Where Does Yotam Ottolenghi Live?
Yotam Ottolenghi lives in the Camden area of London with his husband and their two sons. The location of their home means it is convenient for Ottolenghi to manage his restaurants and delis.
Ottolenghi’s Culinary Career
Where Did Yotam Ottolenghi Train as a Chef?
Ottolenghi trained at Le Cordon Bleu school of cooking in London after moving there in 1998, says The Caterer.
Ottolenghi Began His Career as a Pastry Chef
Although he is now usually associated with Middle Eastern cuisine and vegetarian food, Yotam Ottolenghi began his career as a pastry chef. He got his first job as a pastry chef at a restaurant called Capital in Knightsbridge and Kensington Place. The chef then became the head chef at the Baker and Spice Shop in Chelsea. It was while working at Baker and Spice Shop that he met Sami Tamimi, a Palestinian chef. They bonded as they both spoke Hebrew and could not understand traditional English cuisine.
When Did Ottolenghi Open His First Deli?
Yotam Ottolenghi opened his first deli, Ottolenghi, in 2002 with Sami Tamimi in collaboration with Ottolenghi’s former partner Noam Bar. It was in the Notting Hill district of London. He still owns the deli.
How Many Restaurants and Delis does Ottolenghi Own?
Currently, Yotam Ottolenghi owns four delis, all in the London area, a brasserie in Soho called NOPI, the Spitalfields restaurant, and ROVI, which is a vegetable-centric restaurant in Fitzrovia.
How Many Cookbooks Has Ottolenghi Authored?
Yotam Ottolenghi has written nine cookbooks. His first, Ottolenghi: The Cookbook, was published in 2008. The most recent is the 2022 cookbook Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Extra Good Things, which is a follow-on book from Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love, released the previous year. Ottolenghi has also regularly written a vegetable-centric column for The Guardian newspaper.
Facts About Yotam Ottolenghi’s Television Career
He Is Selective About His Television Appearances
Yotam Ottolenghi has avoided appearing on television too often and has turned down many offers to appear as a guest judge in cooking competitions as he does not like the competitive element of the series. However, he made an exception for MasterChef Australia, as he believes the series is more about the personal development of the contestants. Ottolenghi appeared in seasons nine and eleven as a guest judge alongside regular judges Matt Preston, Gary Mehigan, and George Calombaris and the series mentor Shannon Bennett.
Ottolenghi First Appeared on Television in 2011
Yotam Ottolenghi has starred in three cooking television specials. The first was Jerusalem on a Plate, which aired on BBC4 in 2011. The following year, he filmed Ottolenghi’s Mediterranean Feast, followed by Ottolenghi’s Mediterranean Island Feast in 2013.
Other Yotam Ottolenghi Facts
He Was in the Military for Three Years
One of the Yotam Ottolenghi facts that many people do not know is that he was in the military. Ottolenghi was conscripted to the Israel Defence Forces in 1989, and he served for the IDF intelligence headquarters for three years.
Has Yotam Ottolenghi Won Any Awards?
The celebrity chef has won multiple awards throughout his career, most of which have been for his cookbooks. He first won awards in 2012, when he won two awards in the same year. Most recently, he won the James Beard Award for Cooking from a Professional Point of View in 2016 for NOPI, the Cookbook.
Ottolenghi Has a Degree in Comparative Literature
After Leaving the military, Yotam Ottolenghi studied at the Adi Lautman Interdisciplinary Programme for Outstanding Students at Tel Aviv University. In 1997, he completed a combined bachelor’s and master’s degree in comparative literature.
Ottolenghi Previously Worked in Publishing
While writing his thesis, Ottolenghi worked as the night copy editor at Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper. He continued to work in publishing when he moved to Amsterdam with his then partner, Noam Bar, as he edited a section in NIW, a Dutch-Jewish weekly.
We hope you enjoyed reading our facts about Yotam Ottolenghi and that you now know more about the talented Israeli-born British chef.