Mourad Lahlou

As chef/owner of Aziza in San Francisco, he has been recognized as one the most dynamic and individual chefs in the Bay Area. His strikingly modern reinventions of traditional Moroccan dishes are all about showcasing the great flavors of his native cuisine in ways that harmonize with the fresh, local, artisanal ingredients of Northern California.

moourad's cooking is both cerebral and sensual - a rare blend of stunning presentation and meticulous attention to detail with soulful and often surprising flavor combinations. Mourad opened his first restaurant, Kasbah, in San Rafael, California in 1996, and was recognized as a Rising Star Chef by the San Francisco Chronicle in 1998. In 2001, looking to take his cooking in a more modern and sophisticated direction, he closed Kasbah and opened Aziza in San Francisco's Richmond district. Within a year, the restaurant was awarded three stars by Chronicle restaurant critic Michael Bauer, and has since been included in the newspaper's annual Top 100 Bay Area Restaurants list ever since Mourad opened his first