Chef Issam Rhachi, Morocco

Restaurant Hotel Park Hyatt, Marrakech, Golden Chef and Great Chef of Tomorrow Gault&Millau Morocco

In the narrow allies of the old Medina in Marrakesh, Issam Rhachi’s passion for Moroccan cuisine was born, and his first teacher was his mother. In early 2000s he started to study biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Marrakesh. After finishing a culinary school which he attended at the same time, he found a job with the Le Meridien group.

He gained his first experience in the kitchens of their luxurious hotels in Agadir and Marrakesh, and moving to Barrière group brought him to French cities – from Deauville and Toulouse to Cannes. Chef Rhachi was listed among top 10 best chefs in Morocco in 2012. Later he became the chef of Mandarin Oriental hotel in Marrakesh, and the public got to know him in 2014 as a judge in the regional MasterChef TV show. Two years later he was guest at the Taste the Mediterranean Festival in Šibenik, where he held a masterclass, a cooking show and prepared an exclusive dinner with a touch of Morocco. He also participated in international competitions such as Bocus d’Or, Top Chef and Food In Sud.

Recently he was named the executive chef of Park Hyatt hotel, where he puts his technical skills shaped by French cuisine in the service of Moroccan gastronomy.