Foodwriter Clare Hargreaves looks at the Yotam Ottolenghi feast at Hertford College

Inspiring, bold, makes you smile,” is how Jerusalem-born chef Yotam Ottolenghi describes the exuberantly vibrant food in his restaurants and cookbooks.

His Middle Eastern heritage has captivated the nation’s tastebuds and we can’t get enough of his food.

Having started off with one London deli, Ottolenghi now owns four deli-restaurants in London plus the ‘most restauranty’ NOPI.

Happily Ottolenghi’s publishers selected Oxford to be one of the stops on the promotional tour for his latest cookbook.

They invited me, foodwriter Clare Hargreaves, who runs Feast with a Chef, to organise a special feast in Oxford to showcase some of the book’s recipes.

Cooked by Ramael Scully (known as Scully), NOPI’s Malaysian-born head chef, and Ottolenghi’s long-time collaborator, the date agreed is October 10.

Thrilled to be offered the chance to run a feast in Oxford, I scouted for village halls in and around Oxford that could accommodate but found they were either booked up, couldn’t seat enough people, or didn’t have cookers or crockery.”

It wasn’t looking hopeful. Then along came Ben Gibbons, head chef at Hertford College, who heard I was seeking a venue. Ben was a huge fan of Ottolenghi’s cooking, often using his recipes at Hertford, as well as at home.

Hosting a feast cooked by Scully sounded like an opportunity of a lifetime and, after getting the go-ahead from the college, Ben was able to offer Hertford’s imposing dining hall.

Oxford colleges don’t normally host pop-up dinners by celebrity chefs so we realized we were immensely lucky to be offered Hertford.

Its location, bang in the centre of historic Oxford, is perfect. Its dining hall is certainly a bit different from our usual village halls – although guests will still be seated on benches at long tables. I know Scully is very excited about working in Hertford’s kitchens with Ben too.

All the dishes served at the NOPI feast will be from the cookbook, but the four-course menu is a secret until the night. “There will be plenty of intriguing flavours from both Ottolenghi’s Middle Eastern pantry and Scully’s Asian one,” says Clare.

On arrival guests will be greeted with one of NOPI’s famous cocktails prepared by NOPI’s head barman Lukasz Rafacz.

During the evening I will interview Scully, who will reveal some of the secrets behind the dishes. On departure, guests will receive a signed copy of NOPI:The Cookbook so that once home they can relive memories of the Feast by cooking the dishes.

The NOPI Feast will be held in Hertford College on Saturday October 10 at 6.30pm.

Tickets cost £85, including four-course dinner, complimentary NOPI cocktail, tea/coffee & petits fours, and signed copy of NOPI:The Cookbook (worth £28).

Demand for tickets has been huge and the feast is sold out.

To ensure The Oxford Times readers do not miss out, Feast with a Chef has kept back 12 tickets to buy for the first readers who get in touch via feastwithachef.co.uk mentioning The Oxford Times.

Chef regrets that due to the pop-up nature of the event, special dietary requirements cannot be accommodated apart from vegetarians.

Please note that Yotam Ottolenghi will not be attending.