inspired by instagram
YOTAM Ottolenghi, an IsraeliBritish chef, restaurant owner and celebrity cookbook author, says that he gets inspiration from an unlikely source: many of his followers on Instagram.
“All the time, I get inspiration,” he says about Instagram.
Ottolenghi says he recently received some useful advice from an Instagram user after he had trouble making a cake for his son’s birthday.
“I was struggling a bit, shaping fondant into Lego blocks,” he says. The cake worked out fine in the end – his six-year-old was happy at least – but the Lego blocks weren’t perfect.
After Ottolenghi posted a picture on Instagram, a follower gave him a handy tip: “Someone said on Instagram: You should put the silicon mould into the freezer and then push [the Lego blocks] out, and it works wonders.”
Next time, Ottolenghi says, he’ll know better.
Ottolenghi says his two sons have shaped some of his cooking. “They do influence the way I look at food,” he says.
“Their young palates are very sensitive, and kids of that age are very clear about what they like and what they don’t like. They don’t like certain things that are too intense.”
He says having children has given him a new perspective on intense tastes in general, and he now thinks perhaps food doesn’t always need to be so strong in taste.
Ottolenghi grew up in Jerusalem and now lives in London, where he runs his restaurants. – dpa