Issam Rhachi

Coming Up

Kitchen discipline arrived early in Issam Rhachi’s career, beginning as Demi-Chef de Partie at Le Meridien hotel chain. He then moved through the brigade as Chef de Partie to Second Chef at Barrière Group / Fouquet’s Marrakech (from 2008), a stretch that sharpened the basics that matter in service: timing, control, and consistency under pressure. From 2015, he managed kitchens at Mandarin Oriental, a step that widened the scope of responsibility. He later returned to Fouquet’s Marrakech at Fouquet’s Marrakech (from 2016), a move that underlines the value of continuity in a career built through progression rather than shortcuts. From 2021, he curated Le Douar’s menu at Le Douar in Marrakech, shaping the offer with the same attention to balance that runs through the rest of his work. Today, Issam is Executive Chef of Park Hyatt Marrakech, where leadership, organization, and daily execution sit together. The line through these roles is direct: measured advancement, each post adding range and pressure handling without losing contact with the fundamentals.

Where They Are Now

At Park Hyatt Marrakech, Rhachi works as Executive Chef, where large-kitchen coordination meets the habits of a cook who still thinks in terms of source and memory. His role at Tfaya (Marrakech) extends that approach into another kitchen context. Across both, the work stays connected to lineage without treating it as something fixed. Tradition is handled as a working material — something to be used, adjusted, and kept active. Rhachi puts the method plainly: "In my kitchen, I believe in mixing old traditions with new ideas." He extends that in another line: "I use traditional methods but add a modern twist to make exciting flavors and textures that satisfy." Read together, those statements point to a chef working in contrast — old and new, texture and depth, recognition and surprise — while keeping the dish legible. His ingredient stance is just as direct: "Utilizing locally sourced ingredients as much as possible is crucial to me," which places locality and selection at the center of the craft.

Signature

Issam's signature dishes include Chef Issam’s Moroccan snails recipe. It fits the shape of his cooking: specific, rooted, and firmly tied to Moroccan culinary memory while still carrying his own point of view. It reads less like a statement piece than a condensed expression of method, place, and instinct.

In Their Words “I use traditional methods but add a modern twist to make exciting flavors and textures that satisfy.” “In my kitchen, I believe in mixing old traditions with new ideas.”

Honors

Issam's honors include Disciple Escoffier, Grand Chef of Tomorrow, Silver medal at Trophée Passion, Silver medal at Bocuse d’Or Maroc, Gold medal representing Morocco at the Dubai Hospitality World Cup, and First prize. Taken together, they mark recognition earned across different arenas, reflecting a career built on consistency, ambition, and the ability to keep evolving without losing touch with the roots that formed the work.