Ellie’s Table By Ellie Bouhadana

Ellie's Table is a recipe book rich with storytelling, exploring chef Ellie Bouhadana’s mixed Jewish background through food – from Morocco to the Mediterranean. 
 
In her debut cookbook, Ellie shares recipes picked up through her travels through Italy as well as ones that have been handed down from generation to generation. Part recipe book, part journal, Ellie’s Table is an extension of Ellie’s food ethos and includes all the recipes close to her heart. We find her in her safta’s kitchen sharing their family’s rugelach recipe, we travel to Italy and Ellie tells us the secret to the perfect fried zucchini – a recipe with roots deep in Rome’s Jewish community – and Ellie recounts cooking Moroccan dishes as a child with her doda (aunt) Melani and her dad. There’s a whole chapter on her infamous focaccia and all the accompanying butters.

The chapters are structured in the same way that Ellie would serve her guests at a dinner party and invites her readers to do the same. We start with cold plates, then snacks, then the breads and whipped butters, followed by big plates, vegetables, pasta and finish with sweets. 

This beautifully illustrated cookbook is intended to have a place on the kitchen bench or coffee table, and celebrates eating well, eating seasonally and eating together. 

About the author
Ellie Bouhadana is an acclaimed self-taught chef who honed her skills in events and restaurants in Melbourne. She gained popularity during the city’s two and a half years of lockdown by creating packages of fresh focaccia and handmade pasta, delivering them to 200 customers weekly. Ellie's success led her to host summer pop-up events and become the head chef at Hope St Radio, a wine bar and radio station named by Timeout Magazine as the ‘third coolest bar in the world’. Inspired by her Moroccan and Eastern European Jewish heritage and her love of Mediterranean cuisine, her menu reflects her roots, passions and family traditions. Notably, Hope St Radio received acclaim from the Good Food Guide who awarded them an impressive 4/5 stars, and The Age Good Food Guide honoured them with a coveted Chef’s Hat, solidifying its reputation as a culinary destination and celebrating the unique and vibrant experience Ellie has created for her guests.