Yotam Ottolenghi

“There's nothing more marvelously wintery than orange root veg mash; some butter is all it needs.”

“Plums are a good substitute for gooseberries.”

“Halva works brilliantly in ice-cream.”

“There are tons of wonderful places to eat in London.”

“Conflict is very much a state of mind. If you're not in that state of mind, it doesn't bother you.”

“The most important thing for me is to walk the little alleys of the city, to find the little alcove where someone is cooking something, and just watch them do it. That's my idea of fun.”

“One of the troubles with food is that people take themselves too seriously. This is why I'm very happy for people to change my recipes, alter them, replace one ingredient for another.”

“The teaching thing, the one where I have to impart my knowledge, is probably what comes the least naturally to me because I'm an absorber of things.”

“Speaking as someone who didn't go through the U.K. school system, with all the culinary baggage that entails, I am inordinately fond of custard in any shape or form.”