Mandarin Oriental, Marrakech welcomes Chef Akrame Benallal’s world-famous Paris restaurant, the Michelin-starred Shirvan Café Métisse, to Marrakech. From 20 December, Chef Akrame took over the resort’s restaurant and transformed it into a Shirvan Café Métisse. Designed by architectural duo Gilles and Boissier as a “modern refuge with Berber and Andalusian Arab influences”, the pop-up restaurant bosts a relaxing atmosphere that pays tribute to Oriental culture and the Tales from the Arabian Nights.
Chef Akrame and his entire team developed a menu where the textures, tastes, and aromas of traditional Moroccan food mix with those of the West and some subtle hints of Asiatic cuisine. Guests can order a small Tartare of Bluefin Tuna, with an unmistakably Far-Eastern character. Or Oysters Chermoullah Style, flavored with a mix of world spices: harissa, ras el hanout (a blend of traditional Moroccan spices), zkhoug (a hot sauce from Yemen) and chimichurri (a sauce from South America). There’s also a Pastilla de Homard (Lobster Tart), the result of a love affair between Moroccan and French gastronomy, and a magnificent Shoulder of Suckling Lamb Confit en Croûte. To accompany these outstanding dishes, Chef Akrame, has some vegetarian fusions like a legendary Tahini-Roasted Cauliflower with orange blossom.
Many of the vegetables come straight from the hotel’s 100% organic kitchen garden. The garden also has a fine collection of herbs, which give the dishes and desserts exotic flavors and aromas.
On New Year’s Eve, the Shirvan will be dressed in light and, for just one evening, become a dreamlike escape from reality. Guests will have a chance to enjoy a special menu steeped in the flavors and perfumes of the Mediterranean, before enjoying the Electro-Oriental music provided by a DJ specially booked for the occasion. The Shirvan will be open from 6pm so guests can admire the sunset against a backdrop of the snow-covered Atlas Mountains.
Article source: Luxexpose
