Sami Tamimi, an award-winning Palestinian chef and writer, was born and raised in Jerusalem. Inspired by his late mother, he describes his cooking as “Love Letters to my mother.” Sami began his career as a commis-chef in a Jerusalem hotel and advanced to head chef at Lilith in Tel Aviv during the 1990s. In 1997, he moved to London, becoming head chef at Baker and Spice, where he introduced a Middle Eastern and Mediterranean traiteur section. In 2002, he co-founded Ottolenghi in Notting Hill with Noam Bar and Yotam Ottolenghi. Ottolenghi now has four stores and three restaurants in London: NOPI, Ottolenghi Spitalfields, and ROVI. Alongside Yotam Ottolenghi and Tara Wigley, Sami co-authored three bestselling cookbooks: Ottolenghi: The Cookbook, Jerusalem: A Cookbook, and Falastin: A Cookbook.