#Najat Kaanache
My blogs
Blogs I follow
| Gender | Female |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Chef EL BULLI |
| Location | NY, New York , United States |
| Links | Audio Clip |
| Introduction | Name: Najat Kaanache Amghiraf Home Town/Country: San Sebastian, Basque region, Spain Position currently held: 14-month-stage at EL BULLI, Spain Career Highlights: Working in the world’s top restaurants, such as Alinea (Grant Achatz’s Chicago restaurant), Noma (René Redzepi’s restaurant in Copenhagen, Denmark), Thomas Keller’s Yountville, California restaurant The French Laundry, his New York City venture Per Se, and Ferràn Adrià’s El Bulli at Spain’s Costa Brava coast. ”I have worked in other restaurants but these are the most important ones in my career. Working at El Bulli next to chef Ferràn Adrià was a dream for me: I was determined to speak to this man, see his hands in action, and feel in my heart his passion for what he does. And yes! I made it. |
| Interests | Kaanache's love of food began in her home town of San Sebastian, Spain, where she grew up learning the value of simple ingredients from her Moroccan parents, who were farmers. As a young adult, Kaanache left Spain to study drama in London. She left behind a career as a Spanish soap opera actress, after she decided to pursue a career she truly loved: cooking. Kaanache went to culinary school in Holland and began a catering company in 2006. Looking to improve her culinary skills, she took a job at Francois Geurds' Ivy Restaurant in Holland and, after a year as the Chef de Partie (line cook), left to begin this next phase of her life. We recently chatted with Najat Kaanache to find out how she decided to apprentice with the world's best chefs. Squid Ink: How is it you decided to quit all your jobs and become a full-time apprentice? Najat Kaanache: I wanted to learn. I was trying to connect to chefs that felt like I did about food. Who had respect for the ingredients. If you're so passionate and have respect for food you can deliver beautiful food. After working for Heston Blumenthal's former sous chef [Geurds] for almost a year, and saving everything I earned, I left. On my last day I went home and wrote a letter to 49 of the top 50 restaurants--asking them for a chance to become a great chef. In three days I got 27 answers. The first chef I work for was Chef Grant [Achatz]. |
| Favorite Books | On Food and Cooking |
What reason do you have to believe the earth is flat?
:)