CHEFS AT HOME

Couple dishes on favourites

Built on a foundation of the familiar, home cooking carries a comforting repetition.

The dishes we turn to over and over again form a snug repertoire, recipes we rely on simply because we find them so satisfying.

They might not be the most elaborate, impressive or time-consuming — they’re usually none of these things — but they still resonate all the same.

There’s something about them, often unarticulated, that warms us to the very core.

Finding joy in the heartening effect of cooking, whether for themselves or for others, is at the belly of Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich’s latest cookbook, Honey & Co.: At Home (Pavilion, 2019).

Writing it came at a hectic time for the London, U.k.-based couple.

They had recently opened Honey & Smoke — a Middle Eastern grill — and the deli Honey & Spice, and simultaneously moved apartments.

As such, the new book represents a welcome shift, a return to cooking in the comfort of their own home.

“We wanted to write about our life — about what we do outside of work — and to try to remember what we do outside of work more, and to enjoy it more,” says Packer.

“Just to spend some time cooking for ourselves and cooking for friends and inviting them over again. All of these things that we lost track of in a crazy year of opening everything.”

After moving to London in late 2004, the award-winning Israeli chefs headed up Yotam Ottolenghi’s kitchens, among others.

Since founding their first restaurant, Honey & Co., in 2012, they’ve built a mini-empire on their inviting interpretation of food from the Middle East.

In contrast to At Home, their first two books — Honey & Co.: The Cookbook (Little, Brown and Company, 2015) and Golden (Little, Brown and Company, 2016) — focused on recipes from their restaurants.

“In our restaurants now we have a nice routine; things come back when the season is back and people are excited, and we’re still excited about them. But at home, you think more about who’s going to eat dinner,” Packer says with a laugh.

Crafting meals with the eaters’ pleasure in mind is at the heart of Packer and Srulovich’s approach.

“And sometimes it’s just the two of us, and then that’s a whole different thing altogether,” adds Srulovich.

“We want something quick but super tasty and indulgent.” Recipes excerpted from

Honey & Co: At Home —

Middle Eastern recipes from our kitchen by Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich, published by Pavilion Books.