Sami Tamimi

Sami Tamimiis a Palestinian chef and author living in London. He is the co-owner of six delis and restaurants in London. Tamimi is also the co-author of several bestselling cookbooks, including Ottolenghi (2008), Jerusalem (2012) and Falastin (2020). His first solo cookbook, Boustany, was published in 2025.

Career

Collaboration with Yotam Ottolenghi

In 1999 while Tamimi was running Baker & Spice, Yotam Ottolenghi visited the store. “It was completely magical,” Ottolenghi said. “I saw all these walls and counters covered with a marvelous mix of food. There were Middle Eastern salads, Italian Caprese salads, rotisserie chickens, even char-grilled broccoli.” Soon afterwards, Ottolenghi started working there. Tamimi was in charge of the savories and Ottolenghi was in charge of the pastries. The two became friends and talked about going into business together. In 2002 Tamimi became partners with Noam Bar and Yotam Ottolenghi in the deli Ottolenghi in Notting Hill. They have expanded to more locations and now this group runs the restaurants Rovi and Nopi.

Tamimi and Ottolenghi have written two critically acclaimed cookbooks, Ottolenghi and Jerusalem. The latter has won many awards, including the International Book Award from the James Beard Foundation in 2013, and it has been credited with starting many cookbook clubs.

Other works

Tamimi and Tara Wigley coauthored the cookbook Falastin, published in 2020. Tamimi's first cookbook written alone, Boustany, was published in 2025. The cookbook's name means "my garden" in Arabic, and is largely centered around vegetarian dishes and Levantine food preservation. Tamimi described the book as showing both Palestinian and non-Palestinian readers a way to understand Palestinian heritage and history, especially surrounding its cuisine and culture.