Ina Garten and Yotam Ottolenghi Make Sheet Pan Caesar Salad

Ina welcomes internationally renowned chef, restaurateur and bestselling cookbook author Yotam Ottolenghi to her kitchen, arriving directly from his home in London, where many of his legendary delis and restaurants continue to amaze food lovers. However, before he even steps foot inside her home, Ina is already busy preparing a special treat at the request of her very special guest — her iconic Coconut Cupcakes.

While she bakes, she explains how Yotam is “one of the most creative food people I’ve ever met,” which means we’re in store for a rich and flavorful conversation ahead.

As soon as Yotam walks through the door, Ina greets him with a freshly baked cupcake and a cup of hot coffee. Could anything be better? Plus, she made a dozen so he can bring extra home to his two children.

Yotam’s Journey From Student to Renowned Chef

Before his success, Yotam grew up in Israel, the son of a German Jewish mother and an Italian Jewish father. Following military service, he transitioned to life as a student, studying philosophy and literature and working toward earning a combined bachelor’s and master’s degree at Tel Aviv University. “After I finished my master’s, I thought, ‘Enough with the brain,’” Yotam recalled. “I want something for my hands and my soul. And I moved into cooking. Really weird.” After school, Yotam became a journalist before moving to London to study at Le Cordon Bleu and finding work as a pastry chef.

In 2022, Yotam and two partners opened the first Ottolenghi deli in London, which instantly received rave reviews for its groundbreaking dishes, rooted in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean traditions. “I was very lucky because it seemed to have worked from Day 1,” he explained. “We had people around the corner. They loved the freshness of it. Things are kind of displayed in their most glorious ways. I would go out of my way to showcase the food. And this is kind of the equivalent of the marketplace. The better it looks, the more people buy … It was a massive, warm embrace.” Today, Yotam oversees nine delis, three restaurants and a line of products. He has also written 10 bestselling cookbooks, including his latest release, Ottolenghi Simple Too, plus he contributes to The New York Times and The Guardian. Never slowing down, he continues to develop recipes in his test kitchen with his talented team.

A Common Thread

As the two chefs converse, they find they have much more in common, as she humorously confesses, “After a week after I bought Barefoot Contessa, I thought to myself, ‘This is the stupidest thing I have ever done!'” Yotam agrees as he explains his second operation in London’s Islington neighborhood was more challenging as they transitioned into more of a restaurant-like atmosphere: serving customers and making a la carte items — duties they hadn’t had experience doing before.

“That was my moment of crisis,” he admitted.

Ina instantly relates to Yotam’s struggle, adding, “Serving people is a whole other experience. They have opinions about everything.”

Getting deeper about food, Ina asks about how Yotam is able to transform a dish into an “Ottolenghi dish.” He explains how a dish can be transformed by adding just a little something. “I have these things that I call ‘flavorbombs,’” he tells Ina. For example, he may take feta and break it with his hands. Then, he’ll add some lemon zest and sprinkle it over a soup to open it up. Or, he might change the shape of food baking in a tin, from round to square, just to challenge how we view food.

“We both find our peace of mind when we develop new ideas,” he tells Ina, reveling in how much they have in common. “And we get this kind of thrill.”

“And we test ourselves,” she adds.

“I always like to push the envelope a little bit.”

Down to the Nitty-Gritty

As their conversation deepens, Ina asks him, “What keeps you up at night? What do you worry about?” His vulnerability on display, Yotam admits, “When you run restaurants and when you’re serving the public day in and day out, I always think about ‘Is it good enough?’” He also worries about typos and recipes when he works on his cookbooks, which Ina completely understands, and adds that people don’t understand how difficult creating a new recipe is for chefs.

Transitioning to a lighter side, Ina asks what Yotam likes to do when he’s not working. “I find myself always going to work in some way or another,” he confesses. “But I love spending time with my kids.” His ideal Saturday night is watching a comedy on TV with his kids and eating popcorn. “The best thing in the world.”

Yotam also talks about how he travels all over the world, talking to audiences about learning basic techniques in the kitchen and helping them build their confidence through repetition. He also teaches them confidence, which comes from repetition. In order to break the ice, he asks people to send in their most shameful confessions, like how someone forgot to rinse their pot after they washed it, so all the detergent stayed in the pan, causing the meal to taste like soap. Another woman confessed that when her mother was making Peking duck one time, in order to speed-dry it, she attached it to the ceiling fan, which caused a gigantic mess along the walls!

Ottolenghi's Sheet Pan Chicken Caesar Salad

Ina asks Yotam to cook something for her in the kitchen and she proudly takes the role of his sous chef. As a chicken lover, she’s thrilled he’s making Traybake Chicken Caesar Salad, a recipe that can be found in Simple Too.

Once the chicken is in the oven, the pair makes croutons from scratch. “We can break bread together,” jokes Yotam. “People don’t know it’s the easiest thing in the world. It’s just some bread, olive oil, salt and pepper.” And as they make the salad dressing, they both realize they share a love of dill.

Once the chicken is ready, Yotam puts Ina to work by chopping the roasted lemons from the tray to mix into the dressing. “They call this work?” laughs Ina.

Once Yotam puts the salad together and lays the chicken on top, the finished product is so beautiful that Ina takes out her phone to capture a photo. “You can come back and cook for me anytime,” she says, as the two begin to dive into their meal.