Tariq Hanna was Executive Pastry Chef and partner of the

Sucré Sucré (also known as Sucré Dessert Boutique) is a dessert boutique based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The bakery was founded in April 2007 by Joel Dondis. Though most widely known for their macarons, Sucré has expanded its business to offer natio ...

dessert restaurant in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. He was born and raised in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

, and after attending boarding school in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, Hanna moved to the United States to attend

Lawrence Technological University Lawrence Technological University (LTU) (Lawrence Tech) is a private university in Southfield, Michigan. It was founded in 1932 in Highland Park, Michigan, as the Lawrence Institute of Technology (LIT) by Russell E. Lawrence. The university move ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. Hanna enrolled himself in culinary school at

Oakland Community College Oakland Community College (OCC) is a public community college with five campuses in Oakland County, Michigan. Established in 1964, OCC is the largest community college in Michigan, with the state's third-largest undergraduate enrollment. Enroll ...

. His first job in the restaurant industry was working the sandwich board at a deli in Southfield, Michigan named Sol's Deli. While searching for jobs in hot food, Hanna dabbled in pastries on the side. In 1993, Hanna opened his own family-operated pastry and catering shop, The Northville Gourmet, at the age of 24. After six years of self-employment, Hanna was offered a position as the first casino pastry chef in Detroit. In December 1999, MotorCity Casino opened in Detroit. It was here that Hanna immersed himself in pastry, from taking and teaching classes to performing in competitions on a local and national level. During his tenure at MotorCity, Hanna participated in several cooking competitions on the Food Network, including the National Bread and Pastry Championship, Chocolate Fantasy Competition, Cereal Bridges and Gingerbread Mansions Competition. In 2004, he was named the first Central Region Pastry Chef of the Year, and Runner-up National Pastry Chef of the Year by the American Culinary Federation. After seven years at MotorCity Casino, Hanna joined with New Orleans native restaurateur Joel Dondis to develop Dondis' vision of the Sucré restaurant. Hanna was named Pastry Chef of the Year in 2007 by ''New Orleans Magazine''. Hanna was also a finalist for Chef Magazine's 2008 Chef of the Year, and was named best pastry chef in both the 2008 and 2009 ''New Orleans City Business Culinary Connoisseurs'' issues. He also competed on

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an As ...

's '' Ultimate Cake Off'' episode 1 ("Shark Summer") and episode 4 ("Fourth of July"); and the ''

Food Network Challenge ''Food Network Challenge'' is a competitive cooking television series that aired on the Food Network. In each episode, professional chefs vie in a timed competition in their professional specialty. The winner receives a cheque for $10,000 and a gol ...

'' ("Incredible Edible Mansions"). In 2018, Hanna sold his shares of Sucré and left the company. Sucré closed suddenly on June 17, 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanna, Tariq Living people Pastry chefs American chefs American people of Nigerian descent 20th-century Nigerian businesspeople 21st-century Nigerian businesspeople Nigerian chefs Oakland Community College alumni Lawrence Technological University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Nigerian television chefs American male chefs Chefs from New Orleans