My friend gave me the award winning cookbook “Plenty” this year for my birthday. It’s gorgeous, breathtaking, yet very, very simple delicious and fragrant recipes. I’ve loved cooking from the book so much, I gave it to all of my favorite girlfriends for Christmas. I didn’t know the story behind the book and was so inspired I wanted to share it – and my favorite recipe (so far!) from the book!
Sami Tamimi and Yotem Ottolenghi met in 2002 while they were working in a deli in London. They had both immigrated from Jerusalem. Sami is Palestinian and Yotem is Israeli. They cooked up the idea to go into a business together and merge the flavors of Palestine and Israel into one deli celebrating both cultures in Jerusalem. They didn’t plan to make a political statement, but they sure have, reminding the world that it’s the things we have in common that bind us, not the things that tear us apart. In this case, that was their shared love of food. It’s been a wild success and now includes two restaurants, three delis and three internationally acclaimed best-selling cookbooks.
Here’s their story, a tour of their empire and a little inspiration to remind you to focus on the things you love and the things you share in common with those you work, live and cook with!
CREDITS: Original story written by The Times Of Israel. Original video found here.
