Moroccan globetrotter chef Khawla Aissane’s passion does not just stop at food but expands to discovering the world. What has made her work oh-so-wow is that she has journeyed to over 600 islands around the world getting a taste of the different cuisines and making the Moroccan savor known.
“I took it upon myself to show the cultural face of Morocco to the world through spreading the heritage of the Moroccan kitchen,” she said. “I organize training sessions for students in hotels and serve their staff in the countries I visit, and I do this as part of my social responsibility.”
Aissane’s passion for cooking started as a child by experimenting with the different components of traditional Morocccan cuisine. Having lost her mother at a very young age, she was bound to cook for the family being the only female in the household.
However Aissane is not all ladylike. She has belts both in Taekwondo and American boxing and believes that a warrior does not let go before winning the fight. She was also trained as a documentary reporter in Egypt for three years and participated in several reports broadcast by National Geographic.
The Moroccan chef’s appetite for the culinary arts was endorsed by various professional training courses in Moroccan and international gastronomy both in Morocco and abroad.
Her strong presence on social media has allowed her to share her experiences and knowledge of different flavors from around world.
Aissane, whose love for travel began at a young age, believes hiking around the world has direct benefits and widens knowledge for human beings. “It enriches their character and personality, bringing love between people through exchanging knowledge about the culture and civilization of others.”
She started her trips by visiting outlying areas in the south and south east of the Moroccan Kingdom. She gathered a number of old and forgotten recipes from these sojourns, adding extra richness and variety to the Moroccan kitchen.
Aissane has covered most islands in the Indian Ocean including Mauritius, Seychelles, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Comoros, Madagascar, Zanzibar, the Kenyan islands and many more. She also travelled to countries of North Africa and focused on areas with a large Amazigh presence to show the similarities they shared with the Moroccan cuisine.
The traveling chef reveals her plans for the seventh phase of her trips that will cover the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia. She said she starts her preparations early through coordinating with official sponsors of her trips that include international airline companies, hotels and tourism bodies in these countries.
