The recent issue of The New Yorker Magazine dedicated 11 page spread to Yotam Ottolenghi, a London based chef.  Print and electronic media outlets on both sides of the Atlantic praise Ottolenghi, for what The Guardian penned as “serving a joyous riff on the Levantine way of eating: exuberant, sunny flavors, simple but inventive combinations, and a sense of abundance and generosity.”

Levant are countries bordering the Mediterranean from the east, which are Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, and Egypt. Ottolenghi introduced Levantine cuisines through many creations available in his restaurants, books, newspaper columns and television shows.

By using an abundance of fresh produce and an outrageous attitude to cooking, Ottolenghi, as promoted on its facebook page  , offers a unique culinary experience: original food and pastries, all made daily on site and displayed generously within a beautifully designed setting.

Currently Ottolenghi has outlets in Notting Hill, Islington, Kensington and Belgravia. The Notting Hill shop was the first one opened and sells mainly food and pastries to take-out. Islington is a restaurant that can seat 50 people with communal tables while the one in Kensington is a tiny counter for pastries and salads. The Belgravia outlet also provides take away food and has a communal table.

In addition to the  Ottolenghi Restaurant in Islington and the 3 gourmet delis, Yotam co-owns NOPI, a restaurant on  Warwick Street serving Middle Eastern and Asian Food.

Terzi Niode of Omar Niode Foundation has visited the Notting Hill outlet several times for some take away foods.  In all Ottolenghi shops, he said, one can see colorful foods displayed by the window. The presentation style attracted customers to enter the shops an try some delicacies.

Recently Terzi stopped by the Belgravia shop on Motcomb Street, not too far from Harrods. In this posh area, most patrons are sophisticated clients in their thirties. Terzi rarely saw teens when he visited Ottolenghi shops.

Upon entering, one can see right away that Ottolenghi is a takeaway shop, but with more class than just an ordinary one.   Very friendly and helpful staff usually greet guests and suggest Ottolenghi’s favorites.

When guests eat in, they do not stay for long, but staffs will not forget to ask  questions about how the food was, or if anything else is needed.

In the New Yorker’s article, Jane Kramer wrote that Ottolenghi serves and writes foods with the colors, textures and tastes of the Mediterranean Middle East, the place where Yotam Ottolenghi grew up. Yotam, who abandoned his philosophy degree and academic life does not do ethnic cooking neither fusion cooking, or suburban hybrids. Ottolenghi’s signature dishes consist of fish and meat and produce that the British eat but mix them with tastes to his liking for a practical meal.

Ottolenghi and his partners’ celebrity status come with numerous products that open more communications and create more fans. Since 2006 Ottolenghi has been a contributing author of the weekly New Vegetarian column in the Guardian’s Weekend Saturday magazine. He eventually wrote bestseller cook books:  Ottolenghi: The Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi ;Plenty: Vibrant Recipes from London's Ottolenghi by Yotam Ottolenghi and Jonathan Lovekin; and Jerusalem: A Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi.

A new online store  that just opened carries Ottolenghi’s products and ingredients such as amaretti and cranberry biscuits, pecan snowballs, vanilla halva, the cook’s hamper, Lebanese za’atar,and the Ottolenghi hamper - a festive selection of its own products, with a bottle of great Prosecco.

At the Belgravia shop, Terzi Niode looked at a printed daily customer menu that read: Salad selections: i) Small – selection of three salads £11.00 ii) Normal – selection of four salads £13.50. Main course and salads: i) small – two salads with main £13.70 ii) normal three salads with main £16.20.

Sitting at the communal table Terzi ordered three salads with main, drink and dessert. Main was the “Home­salted fish brandade cakes with saffron and lemon yoghurt”. He selected unfamiliar salads:  1) Roasted root vegetables and mushrooms with chestnuts, radicchio trevisano and celery seeds. 2) Char­grilled broccoli with chili and garlic. 3) Mixed green and edamame beans with lime, spring onion, chili and mixed herbs.

The freshness and different flavors of each food were scrumptious, Terzi said. His favorite was the mixed green and edamame beans. He  finished a rare perfect eating experience by drinking raspberry lemonade and devouring an Ottolenghi’s classic: the passion fruit meringue tart.

Ottolenghi travels the southern and eastern Mediterranean to introduce the cuisine of these places into the UK's audiences through a television show: Ottolenghi Mediterranean Feast on Channel 4 in London. Unfortunately due to rights agreements the 4oD service is only available in the UK and the Republic of Ireland,  

Confessing that he is a control freak, Ottolenghi has no plan to open an international outlet. Through his cookbooks and The Guardian column, however, Yotam Ottolenghi makes his creation available for international audience.  Worth trying are Alternative Christmas Feast Recipes for the Guardian readers: sweet-spiced duck breast, fancy coleslaw and poached quince for a family Christmas lunch.

-----------------------------

Images: Ottolenghi , Boris Stroujko/Shutterstock, Omar Niode Foundation.