Yotam Ottolenghi on the most important ingredient in any kitchen: diversity

As Covid and Brexit push many restaurants to the brink, the Israel-born chef celebrates the multiculturalism that has made British food great

• Plus a portrait of Britain in 15 restaurants run by immigrants

It has always been a great strength that there are so many international influences in the hospitality sector in this country: they enrich it, they make it interesting, they make it fun. But now, the perfect storm of the pandemic and Brexit is severely affecting that diversity.

In my restaurants, we have seen a substantial number of people leave and go back to Europe over the past year and a half, and not enough people are coming to fill the places of those who have left; it’s really crippling the industry.