Sami Tamimi: Food, Memory & Culinary Identity | Sumud Podcast

Update: 2025-11-06

Description

This week on the Sumud Podcast, we sit down with Sami Tamimi, award-winning chef, author, and co-founder of Ottolenghi, to explore how heritage, hard work, and heart have shaped his life from Jerusalem to London’s kitchens.

Sami Tamimi is a British-Palestinian chef and author whose cooking is deeply rooted in the flavors of his homeland. In his first solo cookbook, Boustany: A Celebration of Vegetables from My Palestine, he embarks on a vibrant journey through Palestinian culinary traditions, celebrating simple, colorful dishes centered around vegetables and grains. This exploration builds on his earlier work as co-founder of the Ottolenghi restaurants and co-author of bestselling cookbooks: "Falastin" and "Jerusalem: A Cookbook". "Boustany" is Sami’s homage to the food and culture of Palestine.

In this deeply personal conversation, he reflects on his early life under occupation, his rebellious path from a truck company to the kitchen, and the struggle of navigating Israeli kitchens as a Palestinian chef. Sami opens up about cultural appropriation in “Israeli cuisine,” the politics of food, and the creation of his newest book, "Boustany", a love letter to Palestinian memory, land, and flavor.

With humor and grace, Sami reminds us that every dish carries a story of land, family, and survival.

🔑 In this conversation, we explore:

➡ Growing up in Jerusalem under occupation

➡ Becoming a chef against all odds

➡ Culinary appropriation and “Israeli cuisine”

➡ Food as political resistance and storytelling

➡ Writing Boustany: memory, land, and resilience

➡ Reclaiming Palestinian cuisine for future generations

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📌 Chapters:

00:00 – Introduction & Opening Reflections

01:15 – Early Life in JerusaleQm

05:29 – Rebellion, Art, and the Birth of a Chef

07:36 – Navigating Israeli Kitchens as a Palestinian

11:41 – What is ‘Israeli Food’?

13:36 – The Politics of Cooking & Food as Protest

18:13 – Founding Ottolenghi & Collaboration in ExileQ

21:11 – Boustany: Memory, Land & Palestinian Resilience

28:23 – October 7th, Speaking Out & Finding Voice

32:55 – Health, Balance & Using His Platform for Good

38:42 – Closing Reflections: Work hard, Follow the Heart