Keeping kosher

Kosher rules and the deviation from them were a source of illicit excitement for Yotam in his teens. Though the Ottolenghi household was always blatantly non-kosher, the vast majority of Jews in Jerusalem felt, and still feel, inclined to observe at least some of the Jewish dietary laws; very un-cool in a teenager’s eyes. Yotam felt particularly proud that his mother would buy pork ‘under the counter’ from a local butcher and prepare ham sandwiches for his lunchbox, a fact that he was sworn to keep ‘discreet’. It all felt terribly special and brave.