# Why I Left Ottolenghi After 20 Years: Sami Tamimi on Palestinian Cooking & Going Solo

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-recipe-7544191/why-i-left-ottolenghi-after-20-years-sami-tamimi-on-palestinian-cooking-going-solo
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-recipe-7544191/why-i-left-ottolenghi-after-20-years-sami-tamimi-on-palestinian-cooking-going-solo.md
Podcast: [The Recipe](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-recipe-7544191)
Published: 2026-05-01T09:48:00+00:00
Episode link: https://episode.flightcast.com/01KQDPJRAH2VX6XC06TQAEHHXJ.mp3
Audio file: https://episode.flightcast.com/01KQDPJRAH2VX6XC06TQAEHHXJ.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-recipe-7544191/episodes/why-i-left-ottolenghi-after-20-years-sami-tamimi-on-palestinian-cooking-going-solo
Duration seconds: 1570

## Resource

In this episode, Theo is joined by the brilliant Sami Tamimi, a chef whose food is a powerful celebration of Palestinian heritage and one of the most influential voices in Middle Eastern cuisine. From growing up in the old city of Jerusalem in the Muslim quarter to building a remarkable career in London and co-creating the Ottolenghi empire, Sami's journey is a testament to the transformative power of following your passion, embracing your roots, and cooking with purpose. After spending two decades as head chef and partner at Ottolenghi, Sami stepped away to focus on his own voice, documenting the vibrant, vegetable-forward cooking of his childhood through his stunning cookbook Bostani, which means garden in Arabic. Sami prepares his beloved Couscous Fritters with Preserved Lemon Yogurt, a deeply personal dish that takes him straight back to his childhood sitting on the floor with his siblings, spooning up bowls of his mother's simple couscous with tomato and onion. Using caramelised onions for sweetness, vibrant red pepper paste made from sun-dried fermented peppers, sweet carrots, fluffy couscous cooked like a pilaf, and a punchy yogurt dressing with preserved lemon, capers, and fresh mint, this recipe beautifully encapsulates Sami's cooking philosophy of taking humble, traditional Palestinian flavours and making them accessible, colourful, and bursting with bold taste whilst staying rooted in the soul of home cooking. Throughout the episode, Sami shares his remarkable journey from being kicked out of his mother's kitchen as a young boy to starting his cooking career at 17 washing dishes in a Jerusalem hotel, being promoted to running breakfast service after just three months because he learned so quickly, and why he was a rebellious kid who wanted to be an artist bu…

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