Aziz Krouch has been a chef in La Mamounia in Marrakesh (recently featured in Netflix's show Inventing Anna), La Medina in New York, and now he is the head chef of Marrakesh By Mindo on Capel Street in Dublin. As a child, he harvested cumin and made warqa pastry with his grandmother in the Atlas mountains. He has worked in Paris and has a pash for boeuf bourguignon. 

From shopping in souks, tagines, and bisteeya, to almond ghriba and honey chebakia pastries at Ramadan, Aziz takes us through a tour of his rich and storied life and his understanding of Moroccan food. Why are certain fruits paired with certain meats? Why is the number 7 considered lucky in Morocco and how does that figure into the seven spices of ras el-hanout and the vegetables of couscous? How do dishes differ if they are from Tangier, Fez, or Casablanca?

We chat about chefs like Spanish-born Najat Kaanache and Moha Fedal, who are reviving the best way to cook Moroccan, which is long and slow. 

Also, we talk about tea, a staple in Morocco, and which, according to Aziz, just like Moroccan food, requires patience.

Mentioned in this episode:

Marrakesh by Mindo https://www.marrakesh.ie/

La Mamounia https://mamounia.com/en/

Chebakia pastry https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chebakia

Najat Kannache https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Najat_Kaanache

Moha Fedal: https://darmoha.ma/index.php/en/chef-moha.html 

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