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Humans of TU Delft: Roy Bendor

Who are the people who study and work at TU Delft? We meet them in Humans of TU Delft where they talk about their work or other activities. Originally from Israel, Dr Roy Bendor, Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Industrial Design, has spent many years abroad searching for the perfect hummus. The process of making his own hummus is an art and a lesson in educating industrial engineers.

Roy Bendor. (Photo: Heather Montague)

“I’m on the hunt for the perfect hummus. For fifteen years in Canada, I was looking for hummus that was the closest to what I used to get at home. It brought me to the point of desperation and I started making my own. You know, in Canada they dip vegetables in hummus, but hummus is not a dip. It’s a big misconception that people have. Hummus is a meal in itself.


This is what I do now. It’s a long, arduous process. You have to have plenty of time and find just the right chickpeas. You have to soak them overnight and then cook them for a few hours. After that you have to shell them one by one, which takes about an hour, and then mash them. A lot of people don’t put enough tahini but that’s what makes it creamy. And cumin is my other secret … a sufficient amount gives it just the right flavor. It’s Zen and the Art of Hummus Making. You have to invest time and patience, otherwise you don’t produce anything good.


I think to approach your craft as art is a good lesson for designers in general. There’s a little bit of contradiction in our faculty because we’re industrial designers, but we don’t want to produce designers industrially. We want our students to go out in the world and treat their craft as if it’s art, as if it’s meaningful and as if it could change the world in significant ways.”


Heather Montague


Also read: Humans of TU Delft: Axel Meeuwissen


Want to make Hummus yourself? This recipe is recommended by Roy Bendor.

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