voices in food.
Sarit Packer makes me think of fruit. Sitting opposite her I want to eat ripe watermelons and juicy tomatoes, the sort of ingredients – vibrant, almost alive – that she loves. Half of the duo who are affectionately known in the London food world as ‘the Honeys’, Sarit – together with her husband Itamar Srulovich – opened a tiny restaurant that went on to be very big.
Honey & Co, just off Tottenham Court Road, opened 10 years ago. The place was kitted out with what looked to be garden furniture (at least I always wobbled a bit on the slatted chairs) and Sarit and Itamar cooked Middle Eastern ‘home’ food that was simple and intensely flavoured. Syrup-drenched pastries and spice-scented breads were always on display, seducing passers-by. Inside, it felt like eating in the kitchen of friends; there was such a sense of affability, casualness and greedy anticipation. Some dishes, like the honey, feta and kadaif cheesecake, had a cult following.