Yaffa's Savory

Many people dream about doing something different with their lives. Yaffa Hanouna, chef-owner of Yaffa's Savory, actually did it. After fifteen years as the director of two preschools in Aurora, in early 2013 she opened Yaffa's Savory, a Mediterranean cafe and market at 2200 South Monaco Parkway. The jump was not as sudden as it seems, though. Even as an educator, Hanouna ran baking workshops, worked as a personal chef and caterer, and sold products such as marinades and tapenades at farmers' markets in her free -- or not so free -- time. But after years of fielding questions about where her customers could find her food, this Israeli-born chef decided to follow her passion. At first Yaffa’s was a deli that sold her full line of products, including olive tapenades, preserved lemons and baked goods. But after three months and numerous requests, she added tables and an all-day roster of soups, panini, hummus, platters, and a mix of entrees that wander around the Mediterranean. Hanouna, who has more than 4,000 cookbooks in her home collection, calls herself an “explorer,” and the menu reflects this spirit.