Israeli bakers come to London to make good dough. But they were raised in a city that knows its loaves says Xanthe Clay
What connects Ottolenghi, Gail’s Bakery and Baker & Spice, three of the most respected names in the London bakery scene?
The answer, which may surprise you as much as it surprised me, is Israel, or more specifically, Tel Aviv. Yotam Ottolenghi, founder of the café chain and author of the best selling cookbook, and Ran Avidan, co-owner of Gail’s Artisan Bakery, both hail from Tel Aviv.
When he arrived in London from Israel, Ottolenghi worked for Baker & Spice and its sister company, The Bread Factory. Avidan worked as a consultant for The Bread Factory, before setting up Gail’s with his business partner Tom Molnar.
They aren’t alone either. According to Avidan, “almost all the top bakeries in London have an Israeli in the kitchen.” For us customers, the giveaway is the distinctively punchy flavours and the brightly coloured, often soft-textured salads that are sold alongside. It’s their addictive sweet-sour-spice palate that has made Ottolenghi’s book a cult bestseller.
Eager to know what makes this city such a hotbed of grea bakery, I headed to Tel Aviv to find out, taking a cab from the airport to the leafy suburb where Avidan lives with his art consultant wife Keren and their four children.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/8523123/Gails-bakeries-Israel-comes-to-London.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/8523123/Gails-bakeries-Israel-comes-to-London.html
