Therein lies an Ottolenghi axiom: Food tastes best when freshly made on the premises and immediately served. Refrigeration destroys flavor. Other rules suggest that food must be unfussy, unadulterated, unadorned, and fun.
“Fresh food tends to taste better,’’ writes Yotam Ottolenghi in an e-mail after my visit. “However, what really matters is that with simple food you get to taste the individual ingredients and appreciate them. Complicated dishes tend to mask the ingredients and often aren’t well-balanced.’’
Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, both 41, co-own the popular Ottolenghi business in four London neighborhoods. There is a restaurant in Islington, and three shops: in Belgravia, Kensington, and Notting Hill, the flagship that opened in 2002. The decor at each is minimal with whitewashed walls and white furniture.
Tamimi, a Palestinian, and Ottolenghi, an Israeli, were raised in Jerusalem in families who valued cooking. The men met in 1997, when they were employed at Baker & Spice, a food retail shop in London. These entrepreneurs have been fussed over in the press as representatives of conflicted cultures working together successfully. “It is remarkable to outsiders,’’ Ottolenghi acknowledges, “but we are just ourselves and our backgrounds aren’t very relevant to us.’’
Which is partly true. The shops are heavily tinged with Middle Eastern sensibilities. Like the food displays. “This is something that has evolved over time but that I now realize has a lot to do with food displays in the Arab souq [market],’’ Ottolenghi writes. As such, dishes at Ottolenghi suggest an exotic flair, yet appear to have been relatively easily prepared. “Simple doesn’t mean ‘not exciting,’ ’’ he says. “You can create wonderful things - pungent, delicious, and vibrant - in a short time and with very few stages.’’
