Portrait of Chef Najat Kaanach

Born in San Sebastian, Spain to Moroccan parents, Najat Kaanache has enjoyed successful careers as a television actress and as a professional chef in 3-star Michelin restaurants across three countries. She was the first (and only) Moroccan chef to work at famed Spanish restaurant, El Bulli, where Ferran Adria extolled her virtues as a chef, stating “Najat Kaanache represents the soul of Morocco through the language of the kitchen. Her passion for creativity & innovation should be a reference for the country”. Kaanache is the host of AMC Network’s highest-rated new cooking series throughout Spain and 20 other Latin countries, "Cocina Marroqui”. She has been prominently featured as CNN’s Woman of the Week and in publications such as Vogue Magazine, NY Times, Wall Street Journal, London Times, Milenio, El Universal, Maghreb Arabe Presse, The Guardian, Huffington Post and LA Weekly. A tireless advocate for women’s rights, Kaanache strives to inspire women of all ages to achieve their dreams. She is the founder of Six Ingredients, a global solutions-based organization centered in the philosophy that every challenge can be overcome by utilising six main ingredients: the five chemical senses plus mindfulness. Six Ingredients unites community members through organising dining summits that generate awareness and empower attendees to become guardians of their community. In 2013, Najat was featured in the celebrated cookbook “Share: The Cookbook that Celebrates Our Common Humanity”, with 100 per cent profits donated to Women for Women International, a non-profit helping women in war-torn countries to rebuild their lives. In 2016 she presented a TED Talk in Marrakesh on “Coexistence of No Existence: The Uniting Power of Food”. In 2016 Najat opened Nur Restaurant in Fez to shine a light on Moroccan gastronomy, serving local ingredients with her artistic touch. Each year since 2017, Nur has been named World’s Best Moroccan Restaurant and awarded global honors for Best Moroccan Cuisine at the World Luxury Restaurant Awards. Nur has been featured as one of the world’s most beautifully designed restaurants by Wall Street Journal, NY Times, and Bloomberg Business. Kaanache's first (eponymous) cookbook was published in Holland in 2019 and was immediately named a finalist for the prestigious national Golden Cookbook Award.