Minds meat

Born in Jerusalem in 1968, Yotam served in the Israel Defence Forces, before studying philosophy at Tel Aviv University. When he arrived in London in the late 90s, instead of enrolling at journalism college he signed up for a Cordon Bleu cookery course. He then landed a job as a pastry chef in Knightsbridge.

“I decided to go into cooking because an academic career didn’t give me the immediate satisfaction that cooking did,” he says. “I know I may sound superficial but it’s just the way it is. There is something about watching someone eat your food and getting great pleasure from it the beats anything else.”

Now the proud owner of four delis and two hot-to-trot restaurants, Yotam is in massive demand worldwide. His book Plenty sold out globally and you’ll frequently find him on TV and at festivals such as Harvest, where he’ll be working in the Outdoor Kitchen Theatre alongside the likes of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

“Yes, I’m looking forward to meeting all the chefs I hear about and read of but never actually meet,” he says. “Events like this are great opportunities for all us busy people to get to know each other a little. I hardly leave London usually and yet I am surrounded with lots of great chefs from all over the world every day and I always learn new things from them. In that respect, I am the luckiest.”

Yotam is worlds apart from the other ‘celebrity’ chefs because he’s not trying to prove anything, convert you, preach or be your best friend. He just loves food and his answers are simple but considered.

“Perhaps I just have the advantage of being an outsider,” he muses, “But how do you measure fame?”

He’s plugged a massive gap in the market with his Middle Eastern and largely vegetarian offerings, again coincidental rather than a calculated move.

It’s his Middle Eastern background that gave him a headstart over his contemporaries, and London was ready for him. “London was, and still is, a food magnet for cooks and diners alike. It’s also a very creative place with lots of people around to inspire you. But I have always been very interested in food, but more in the act of eating than that of cooking.

“My parents exposed me to this world and so did the general environment in Israel and Palestine, where food is celebrated and is so much a part of outdoor life.”

As a result, he succeeded where so many others failed, by making vegetarian food appealing. “Vegetarianism has suffered from years of bad press, which is partly to blame on people’s narrow-mindedness on both sides of the veg divide. Either you’re a veggie or you’re not – nothing in between. Vegetarians hate meat eaters and vice versa. As a result, both sides lose,” he says.

Not that it’s just the punters to blame. “‘Serious’ chefs don’t put any effort into vegetarian food, while ‘religious’ vegetarians angrily turn their nose away from anything with a slight whiff of animal protein.

“But I don’t see things this way. As a non-vegetarian who enjoys vegetables, pulses and grains immensely, I don’t think this dichotomy is necessary at all. Everybody benefits, particularly vegetarians, from the insights of people from the other camp.”

So is this solely a British form of food snobbery? “I am not sure it is only the British,” Yotam muses. “Western food in general is heavily based on meat and fish. The cuisines of the Middle-East, Southern Asia, and some parts of South America, are much more reliant on legumes. As people travel so much these days and expose themselves to more food cultures, particularly through food show on the telly, they realise there is so much more around to enjoy than your Sunday roast or fish in batter.”

A non-vegetarian vegetarian champion, now that’s clever. And Yotam smiles again. “I prefer to be seen as someone that champions all the delicious things that our world has to offer – vegetarian or not.”