THE VIEW FROM FEZ: Changing the Chefs ~ Chefs in Residence at Restaurant Numero 7 in Fez

Sunday, November 09, 2014

Changing the Chefs ~ Chefs in Residence at Restaurant Numero 7 in Fez

The re-opening of Resto 7 back in May saw the introduction of an innovative Chefs in Residence programme. Right from the beginning with chef-in-residence Jerome Waag of Chez Panisse in California, through to Australian chef, Analiese Gregory, over the last few months, the programme has been a success. Now it is time for a change and the new team of Harry Cummins (UK) and Laura Vidal (Canada) will re-open the restaurant on Saturday 15th November and be resident in Fez until the end of January 2015

Laura and Harry arrived in the Fez Medina this week and are exploring the local markets and farms.

“Moroccan markets filled with bright colours, spices, fresh herbs and fragrant teas have always appealed to me,” says Harry. “It's a chef’s playground and I can’t wait to get my hands on all these wonderful ingredients to inspire some fantastic dishes.”

Laura meanwhile is excited to get to grips with Moroccan wines. “But also the herbs and spices that I could use to make vermouth, teas and infusions for original pairings,” she adds.

The duo are veteran pop-up restauranteurs who have worked in a heap of places from Frenchie in Paris to El Celler de Can Roca in Spain, with innumerable countries in between.

Harry Cummins has been in the kitchen since he was 15 years old, working in London at Jamie Oliver's Fifteen for three years before joining teams at several Michelin-starred restaurants including Zafferano, Wild Honey and Arbutus. He moved to Paris when an old pal from Fifteen, Greg Marchand, invited him to come help set his new Frenchie Wine Bar where he met Laura.

Laura’s love of wine started at Quebecois restaurant in Montreal where weekly wine tastings were organised for everyone from dishwasher to head chef to spread the love of wine. She was hooked and moved to Paris in search of fine vintages and adventure, and coincidentally also ended up at Frenchie where she spent the next three years travelling around European vineyards sourcing great wines for the new wine bar. So began their beautiful love affair and a shared passion for food and wine that they were destined to share with the world.

In 2012, they founded the Paris Pop-Up staging one-day, food and wine events. It proved so successful they took it on a round-the-world tour travelling to Canada, the US, Japan and South-East Asia in order to learn about each country’s culinary heritage and share their unique interpretation of it.

When they returned to Europe at the start of 2014 the pair immediately headed for El Celler de Can Roca (voted best restaurant in the world in 2013) where Laura worked as Sommelier and Harry in the pastry kitchen.