Ottolenghi on his new book…and the next one

The NY Times recently spent a busy morning with Yotam Ottolenghi, cookbook author extraordinaire, to discuss his latest cookbook, among other topics. As you might expect, the exuberant chef is seldom still. Being a restaurateur is no easy task in itself, but he’s also a father to two young boys and still finds time to write a newspaper column and, of course, cookbooks. His most recent is Nopi: The Cookbook, which is out in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand (US fans have to wait two more weeks for theirs). Nopi features recipes that are more complicated than those in Ottolenghi’s previous cookbooks.

As the Times reporter follows the chef on a busy day in his development kitchen, we learn about some of his favorite things. Not surprisingly, he is partial to several kitchen tools, like the Tamahagane Gyuto Knife and Williams-Sonoma Chef’n Citrus Juicer. Non cooking-related favorites include Sharp & Dapper Shirt Stays and Baby Bjorn Baby Carrier Original. Of the latter he says it “is a design classic. I love being out and about with my Bjorn (and my baby), feeling both his little heavy weight on my chest while staying footloose and arms free.”

Even though he is now promoting his new cookbook, Ottolenghi has already identified the subject of his next book – desserts. “I think we’re going to call it ‘Sweets,’ but we don’t know yet,” he says. “We might not have the last ‘s’ there. We might have an exclamation point.” What he didn’t tell, however, is when that book is due to be published, so fans will have to content themselves with Nopi for now.

Photo of Corn cakes with beetroot and apple salad from Nopi: The Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Ramael Scully