Abdelilah Ighiri

At La Villa des Orangers, the kitchen sits under Abdelilah Ighiri’s direction, and the role gives his cooking its daily shape. The work reads as measured rather than heavy-handed, with each ingredient given room to do its part. That kind of discipline is what defines the line of the kitchen: produce handled with care, seasoning kept clear, and composition used to carry flavor without clutter.

As chef at La Villa des Orangers, Abdelilah Ighiri presents a signature centered on gambas wrapped in kunafa leaf, set with grapefruit and fennel. The plate depends on contrast: seafood for delicacy, the wrapper for crunch, and citrus and fennel for lift and detail. His own description of the dish follows the same logic — "The recipe calls for sea bass, coriander leaves, salt, pepper, parsley, grapefruit juice, olive oil, and lemon." — a list that shows a kitchen speaking in essentials.

Signature dishes include Gambas. In that single designation, Abdelilah Ighiri’s kitchen language becomes readable: concise, direct, and built on proportion rather than decoration. The dish functions as a marker of style, with enough definition to stand in for the broader way he cooks.

The named recognition attached to his work is the signature Gambas en feuille de kunafa at La Villa des Orangers. It points to a dish that identifies Abdelilah Ighiri’s presence in the kitchen through technique and balance, and to a style that reads clearly in Marrakech without needing extra framing.