Najat Kaanache (born 28 November 1980) is the host of AMC Networks' cooking series "Cocina Marroquí" which airs on Canal Cocina in Spain and El Gourmet throughout 20 countries in Latin America. Kaanache was born and raised in

San Sebastián San Sebastian, officially known as Donostia–San Sebastián (names in both local languages: ''Donostia'' () and ''San Sebastián'' ()) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality located in the Basque Country (autonomous community), B ...

of Spain's Basque Country. She gained fame as a lead actress on Spanish daytime television series and then traveled throughout the Middle East and South America working in philanthropy to empower women and street kids. She later attended culinary school and gained fame as "The Pilgrim Chef" by blogging throughout her four years training with the world's top chefs:

Ferran Adrià Ferran Adrià i Acosta (; born 14 May 1962) is a Spanish chef. He was the head chef of the ''El Bulli'' restaurant in Roses on the Costa Brava and is considered one of the best chefs in the world. He has often collaborated with his brother, the ...

René Redzepi René Redzepi (born 16 December 1977) is a Danish chef and co-owner of the three-Michelin star restaurant Noma in the Christianshavn neighborhood of Copenhagen, Denmark. His restaurant was voted the best restaurant in the world by ''Restaurant' ...

Thomas Keller Thomas Aloysius Keller (born October 14, 1955) is an American chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author. He and his landmark Napa Valley restaurant, The French Laundry in Yountville, California, have won multiple awards from the James Beard Founda ...

Grant Achatz Grant Achatz ( ) (born April 25, 1974) is an American chef and restaurateur often recognized for his contributions to molecular gastronomy or progressive cuisine. His Chicago restaurant Alinea has won numerous accolades and Achatz himself has won ...

Heston Blumenthal Heston Marc Blumenthal (; born 27 May 1966) is a British celebrity chef, TV personality and food writer. Blumenthal is regarded as a pioneer of multi-sensory cooking, food pairing and flavour encapsulation. He came to public attention with un ...

and

Martín Berasategui Martín Berasategui Olazábal is a Spanish chef expert in Basque cuisine and owner of an eponymous restaurant in Lasarte-Oria (Gipuzkoa), Spain. Since 2001 it has been awarded three Michelin stars. He holds twelve stars in total, more than any ...

. After spending two years working as an apprentice in the kitchens at Chicago's

Alinea Alinea may refer to: * Alinea (restaurant) in Chicago * In several languages : an indenting or a pilcrow The pilcrow, ¶, is a handwritten or typographical character used to identify a paragraph. It is also called the paragraph ma ...

, Napa's

The French Laundry The French Laundry is a three-Michelin star French and Californian cuisine restaurant located in Yountville, California, in the Napa Valley. Sally Schmitt opened The French Laundry in 1978 and designed her menus around local, seasonal ingredie ...

, New York's

Per Se (restaurant) Per Se is a New American cuisine, New American and French restaurant located at The Shops at Columbus Circle, on the fourth floor of the Deutsche Bank Center at 10 Columbus Circle in Manhattan, New York City, owned by chef Thomas Keller. The Che ...

, and Copenhagen's

Noma Noma, NoMa, or NOMA may refer to: Places * NoMa, the area North of Massachusetts Avenue in Washington, D.C., US ** NoMa–Gallaudet U station, on Washington Metro * Noma, Florida, US * NOMA, Manchester, a redevelopment in England * Noma Distr ...

Kaanache went on to achieve the auspicious Executive and Creative Haute Cuisine Certification after completing her apprenticeship during the final two seasons at Spain's

El Bulli El Bulli () was a restaurant near the town of Roses, Catalonia, Spain, run by chef Ferran Adrià and driven by the culinary ideas of Albert Adrià. The restaurant overlooked Cala Montjoi, a bay on Catalonia's Costa Brava. It held three Michelin st ...

. Ferran Adrià stated to the Maghreb Arabe Presse that "Najat Kaanache represents the soul of

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

through the language of the kitchen. Her passion for creativity and innovation should be a reference for the country." After El Bulli's historic closure, Kaanache traveled extensively to instruct chefs across the globe in the latest gastronomic techniques and taught and lectured alongside White House Executive Pastry Chef,

Bill Yosses William Yosses (born about 1952) is an American chef who is best known as co-author of the book '' Desserts For Dummies'' and for being the White House Executive Pastry Chef from 2007 to 2014. Yosses is now the owner of the pastry company Perfect ...

on the science of cooking at Harvard University (pictured), New York University and at the 2013 World Science Festival in NYC (pictured) and 2013 Beijing Science Festival in China. She was the opening chef partner of Souk Restaurant in Dallas, TX. She was the opening chef partner of Piripi Restaurant in the Village of Merrick Park in Coral Gables, FL; She is the chef and owner of Nur Restaurant, in the

Medina of Fez Fes el Bali ( ar, فاس البالي, lit=Old Fes, ber, ⴼⴰⵙ ⴰⵇⴷⵉⵎ) is the oldest walled part of Fez, Morocco. Fes el Bali was founded as the capital of the Idrisid dynasty between 789 and 808 AD. UNESCO listed Fes el Bali, along ...

, Morocco.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaanache, Najat Spanish television actresses Spanish chefs Moroccan chefs People from San Sebastián Basque women Living people Spanish people of Moroccan descent 1980 births 20th-century Spanish actresses Spanish television chefs Basque-language actors Spanish expatriates in the United States