Ottolenghi Simple TooBook club questions, food & host guide
A cozy book club night for Ottolenghi Simple Too by Yotam Ottolenghi and Verena Lochmuller with Milli Taylor and Tara Wigley. Includes 8 spoiler-free discussion questions, food and drink pairings, a playlist, and a host guide, ready to print and share.
A club that likes to eat together, swap kitchen stories, and keep the pressure low
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A follow-up collection of Ottolenghi-style cooking built around ease, bold flavor, and weeknight realism, where big taste comes from a short list of good ingredients. It is the rare book club pick where everyone arrives already having something delicious to talk about.
Why it works for clubs
- Everyone can cook one recipe and bring it, so the book becomes the table itself
- The push and pull between simple and ambitious cooking sparks honest, friendly debate
- Ingredient-forward writing invites stories about pantries, substitutions, and family habits
- Short, browsable entries mean nobody feels behind or unprepared
Warm-up questions
- 1 Which recipe did your eyes land on first, and what was the feeling that made you stop on that page?
- 2 What is one ingredient in this book you already keep on hand, and what does having it in the cupboard make you feel capable of?
Digging in
- 1 The book promises simple. When you cooked from it, did simple feel like relief, like permission, or like a small dare? Tell us about the moment you noticed.
- 2 Ottolenghi's cooking leans hard on lemon, herbs, yogurt, and spice. Which of those flavors tastes like comfort to you, and which one still feels like someone else's kitchen?
- 3 Was there a dish here you wanted to make for one specific person? Who, and what were you hoping they would feel when they ate it?
- 4 Think of a page you knew instantly you would never cook. What did you enjoy about reading it anyway?
Going deep
- 1 By the time you closed the book, had your idea of what a weeknight dinner is allowed to be shifted at all? Describe the before and the after without giving away your favorite find.
- 2 This book is a sequel to a book about simplicity, written with a team of collaborators. What did you feel about cooking being shown as something shared rather than solitary, and where in your own life does that ring true?
On the table
To sip
Soft, sunlit, and slightly dusty, like a kitchen radio playing while something roasts
Tap a track to play it. Full songs play when you're signed into Spotify.
Run of show
Host tips
- Ask each guest to claim one recipe in a group chat a week ahead so you get variety without being the only cook.
- Keep a stack of sticky notes on the table so people can flag pages for each other instead of trying to describe them.
- Have takeaway containers ready by the door. Leftovers going home is half the coziness of a cooking book night.
Cook one thing from Ottolenghi Simple Too, however imperfectly, and bring it over. There will be warm bread, mint tea, slow talking, and absolutely no pressure to have finished the book.
Trivia
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1
Yotam Ottolenghi was born in which city?Answer: Jerusalem.
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2
Which capital city is home to the Ottolenghi delis and restaurants?Answer: London.
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3
This book is a follow-up to which earlier Ottolenghi cookbook?Answer: Ottolenghi Simple.
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4
Which two co-authors are credited alongside Ottolenghi and Verena Lochmuller?Answer: Milli Taylor and Tara Wigley.
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5
Ottolenghi's long-running newspaper column appeared in which British paper?Answer: The Guardian.
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6
Which Middle Eastern spice blend, heavy on thyme and sesame, is a staple of Ottolenghi's pantry?Answer: Za'atar.
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7
Which tart, ruby-red fruit syrup is strongly associated with Ottolenghi's flavor signature?Answer: Pomegranate molasses.
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8
Is this book vegetarian-only or does it include meat and fish?Answer: It is not vegetarian-only, it spans vegetables, meat, and fish.
Bookmarks
Rate the book
Print pack
- Question cards on kraft stock, tucked between pages of the book
- Recipe claim sheet for the potluck sign-up, with a column for pan size
- Scorecards sized to fit as actual bookmarks
- Bookmark trio printed three to a page, pre-scored for tearing
- Little tent cards for the food table so guests know which page each dish came from
Get the kit in your inbox
We'll email you this kit now, then a friendly nudge before your meeting so planning never sneaks up on you.
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