Chef Najat Kaanache would like you all to know this:
“It is very important to me that you know it was my amazing literary agent (also Phil Romano’s, Arnold Schwartzennegar, Dr Phil and Joel Osteen’s agent) Jan Miller and NOT Stephan Pyles that brought me to Dallas. I just met Stephan while I was having dinner at his restaurant during a visit and he asked me to consult him on 66. Our contract term was negotiated and not “short-lived”, so simple.”
She enjoyed her brief run at Private Social, where she invented the savory version of a cronut, and is happy to live in Dallas.
Ms. Kaanache, also referred to as the Whimsical Pilgrim Chef, is in the kitchen of SOUK, a Moroccan restaurant she is opening with her longtime business partner, Charles Accivatti, and Yaser Khalaf, the genius, behind Baboush, Farnatchi and Ketchup. The opening was scheduled for tonight, but it has been pushed to Friday. (Update: sorry for the insider use of genius here. Najat addresses people as “genius.”)
The 180-seat restaurant boasts:
“dramatic interior décor and Moroccan delicacies straight from the wood-burning oven. Kaanache’s cuisine will embrace her Moroccan heritage, mirroring her passion for rustic cooking with lighter, Mediterranean influences. Guests can enjoy her signature dishes made famous through her worldly gastronomy exhibitions, along with uniquely crafted family recipes that focus on quality ingredients and exotic mouth-watering flavors.”
