Najat Kanaache

Chef at Nur (Fez, Morocc)

Najat Kaanache has learnt from the best to invert her trajectory and move from haute cuisine to her cultural and gastronomic origins.

Born into a Moroccan family in San Sebastián, she discovered her passion for food at a very early age. Family reminiscences, perhaps, because her family were wheat gatherers in Morocco's Atlas mountains.

She opted for cookery, and served her time in the leading temples of international catering: Noma, The French Laundry, Per Se, Alinea and elBulli. When elBulli closed down, Najat embarked upon a revelation journey around the world which taught her the connection all people have with their origins through food. This adventure earned her the nickname “The Pilgrim Chef”.

It took her a few more years to roll out her own culinary tradition in an extremely personal project in her native land, Morocco. Before Nur, the restaurant that is now home to Kanaache, she opened Souk, a Mediterranean bistrot, in Dallas (USA), and was a partner in Miami's Spanish gastronomy restaurant Piripi. Najat availed herself of all these experiences and sources of knowledge to teach, give talks, and also educate children in gastronomy and eating habits.

Moreover, through Six Ingredients - a solidarity initiative she launched in 2015 - she safeguards and supports the origin of products in terms of agriculture, technology, education, human rights, the environment and foodstuffs, through a combination of the five senses and also a sixth ingredient, care.