Yaffa's Savory has been a real education for Yaffa Hanouna

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 February she opened Yaffa's Savory, a Mediterranean cafe and market at 2200 South Monaco Parkway. See also: Photos of...

By Gretchen Kurtz

August 20, 2013

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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 February she opened Yaffa's Savory, a Mediterranean cafe and market at 2200 South Monaco Parkway. See also: Photos of Cafe Byblos Mediterranean Grill, now open

The jump was not as sudden as it seems. Even as an educator, she 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.

Find out more about what the transition to full-time restaurateur for this explorer was like when my review of Yaffa's Savory is posted on westword.com tomorrow.

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Gretchen Kurtz has worked as a writer for 25 years; during that time she's stomped grapes in Napa, eaten b'stilla in Fez, and baked with Buddy Valastro, aka the Cake Boss. Her work has appeared in publications including Boulevard (Paris), Diversion, the New York Times and Westword. Our restaurant critic since 2012, she loves helping you decide where to eat and drink tonight.

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