Art Persists is back with another episode with Palestinian chef, restaurateur and food writer, Sami Tamimi.

We chat to Sami Tamimi about his life growing up in East Jerusalem where he became interested in cooking after working in a hotel at the age of 17. His career took off when he moved first to Tel Aviv before settling permanently in London. Sami talks about the making of his cookbook, Falastin, which explores contemporary Palestinian food and tells the story of the Palestinians he met along the way. We also discuss how he has been coping since the October 7 attacks and subsequent siege on Gaza which at the time of recording has killed more than 20,000 people. Sami tells us about his relationship with social media and how he deals with negative comments.

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Catch up on previous episodes of Art Persists.

About

Sami Tamimi is a Palestinian chef, restaurateur and food writer. His cooking career began at 17 working in a hotel in Jerusalem.

In 2002, Sami partnered with Yotam Ottolenghi (whom he met and worked with at Baker & Spice), and Noam Bar in opening the first Ottolenghi deli in Notting Hill. The company has since expanded to more locations in London, including five delis and two restaurants: NOPI and ROVI.

Sami and Yotam have written two critically acclaimed cookbooks, Ottolenghi and Jerusalem, the latter winning many awards, including the International Book Award from the James Beard Foundation in 2013.

Sami’s third cookbook Falastin is co-authored with Tara Wigly is a winner of the Fortnum & Mason Cookery Book of the Year 2021, James Beard Award Nominee 2022, IACP Award winner and Longlisted for The Art Of Eating Prize 2021

Nowadays, Sami divide his time between London and Umbria in Italy.

Learn more about his work: https://www.sami-tamimi.com/

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