Called Akub, the modern Palestinian restaurant will ‘share the rich diversity of ingredients and culinary techniques from the region’ when it opens on Uxbridge Street, as first reported by Eater London.
According to the website, the menu will comprise dishes such as ‘hot bright salads of the Gaza coastline, deep stews from the rolling hills of Ramallah and foraged akub’ alongside the locally sourced British ingredients.
The restaurant takes its name for the Arabic word for cardoon, which is said to be Kattan’s favourite vegetable.
Kattan is an authority on modern Palestinian cuisine. He grew up in Bethlehem where he inherited his love of food from his two grandmothers. In 2015 he opened Fawda restaurant in Bethlehem.
He also pioneered the region’s first food tours, where visitors could explore the markets of Bethlehem, meet farmers and artisans, and taste unusual herbs, raw cheese and fresh taboun bread.
Next month he will be cooking at Carousel in London for a week-long residency where he will cook food that celebrates six Palestine’s cities and their culinary identities. The menu will include his make your own houmous from Jerusalem; dandelion salad from Jericho; prawn tomato stew from Gaza; stuffed artichoke hearts from Nablus; lamb and freekeh from Bethlehem; and a dessert of orange givree with mistaka pistachio ice cream.