What it must feel like to be Yotam Ottolenghi. Author of two likeable, innovative cook books; Owner of a string of likeable, innovative takeaway/café/restaurants, and the custodian of a weekly vegetarian column in Guardian. And women just love his food. There is something extremely likeable about the brand Yotam has created for himself. It’s like everything you imagined organic food – healthy, delicious and expensive – to be. There are four Ottolenghis’ dotted around London, and quite a startling 15 years or so it has been for the native Israeli philosophy major. In 1998, he who had come to Cordon Bleu in London to study food before going on to solidify his pastry experience in The Capital, The Kensington Place group (with Rowley Leigh) and then become head pastry man at Baker and Spice (which I believe is somehow tied to the origin of Gail’s). Eventually in 2002, he opened his first Ottolenghi and the rest is history, as they say. It has been a poster-child kind of success story, therefore the recent opening of his latest venture, Nopi (for North of Picaddily (circus)) is expected to be a high profile – amongst the obsessive gluttons – production that should have industry onlookers salivating with undulated respect. On the surface, Nopi looks like the latest and greatest Soho-based, egalitarian and super hip all-day diner, though this could not be further
We are in the middle of the coldest snap known to mankind. It has decidedly grounded many of us – including the restaurant going republic, in fear that the tipple monster might never lead us home again. Thank the goodens for the dude who invented the neighbourhood cafe, because this means we can venture on nature’s locomotion to fill our tummies without resorting to the perils of mechanical transport
Trend is a funny thing. It is exhilarating riding the hype waves and it had driven me to try Yalla Yalla, especially after reading about it on World Foodie Guide and on Metro. It was a toss up between Tayyabs and this, for a five person feasting on a Saturday night and I chose to go with the new kid on the block
So the story goes… While in college, two friends decided to pass on the usual fat & furious delights and wanted do healthy. So they wandered into a ‘specialist’ food shop, picked up hummus, olive oil and pitta bread. One of them said “I could eat a meal like that everyday”. The other one stopped talking, an idea lit between the two heads and Hummus Bros was born. So this is how it works: Choose a hummus topping (plain, veggie, mushroom, guacamole, chicken, beef) Choose a pitta (white,brown) Tear, dip, eat Repeat step 1 to
Happy Chinese New Year folks, it is the year of the majestic fire breathing dragon. If you’re...
Yay, I visited the world’s very first 3 Michelin starred Chinese restaurant. First things...
… I write to you as I lie on the blackened brown beach in Brunei. It overlooks the oil rigs...
This is the only time you’ll see the food menu, because these three items are quite literally...
AKA …where Kang spent most of his moolah this year. The time has come to reflect on...
Who comes up with all this fiction just for a restaurant? This is the persuasive language...
My food writing invariably boils down to a caricature of self-indulgent cliched hyperbole or...
Damn it, he’s done it again. (He being the elusive blurryman with the fire red scarf, and...
