Yotam Ottolenghi, the British-Israeli chef and restaurateur known for his influential cookbooks and Middle Eastern-inspired cuisine, has emphasized the calming and grounding effects of home cooking amid a busy professional life. Despite managing 13 restaurants, delis, and cafes globally, Ottolenghi now spends most of his cooking time at home, preparing meals for his family and friends.
“I do the majority of my cooking at home because at work I don’t cook so much – I’m more like the conductor of an orchestra,” Ottolenghi explained. For him, cooking at home offers a chance to step away from digital devices and be fully present, something he notes is increasingly rare. “I look at my phone more than I should... I check it four times an hour, if I’m lucky,” he admitted.
His newest cookbook, *Simple Too*, co-authored with recipe and product developer Verena Lochmuller, arrives eight years after the original *Simple*. The sequel aims to further reduce complexity in everyday cooking, encouraging people to put aside distractions like phones and focus on the tactile, mindful experience of preparing food. Ottolenghi said cooking connects people to their past and offers comfort by revisiting familiar flavors from childhood.
Recognizing modern life’s pressures, Ottolenghi advocates for practical shortcuts without sacrificing the essence of cooking. He openly admits to using pre-prepared ingredients such as spice blends, pre-cooked rice, and chickpeas to ease meal preparation on busy days. “Using a few helpful shortcuts still counts as cooking,” he said. “Don’t put yourself in a position where you’re not going to cook because you’re going to have to chop forever.”
Vegetables continue to be central to Ottolenghi’s approach, with particular praise for underused ingredients like fennel and kohlrabi. He noted that cooked fennel sheds its raw bitterness to become sweet and tender, while kohlrabi offers a fresh, crisp texture reminiscent of radish and apple and can be served raw or cooked.
Ottolenghi maintains a strong connection to Middle Eastern pantry staples such as pomegranate molasses and rose harissa, ingredients that helped popularize his style of cooking. He highlighted the recent culinary revolution expanding the variety of pantry items available worldwide—including miso, black garlic, diverse soy sauces, tahini, various cheeses, spices, marinades, and fermented products—allowing home cooks unprecedented inspiration and creativity.
Ultimately, Ottolenghi encourages people not to overcomplicate their cooking but to enjoy the process at whatever level suits their lifestyle, saying, “You choose the level of complexity – this is the most important point. Don’t set the bar too high for cooking.”