Which chef opened the Paris Moroccan restaurant Mansouria?

The chef who opened the Paris Moroccan restaurant Mansouria was Fatéma Hal.

Hal opened her first Moroccan restaurant in Paris’s 11th arrondissement in 1984 or 1985. She named it Mansouria after her mother and helped finance the venture through a tontine, a system in which participants contribute money to support members in turn. The restaurant became known for refined Moroccan cooking rooted in traditional recipes.

Born in Oujda, Morocco, in 1952, Hal moved to France in 1970. Before becoming a prominent chef, she studied Arabic literature and anthropology, worked as an Arabic-French interpreter, and supported women through cultural and social organizations. Her background shaped her approach to food as both culinary heritage and cultural memory.

After opening Mansouria, Hal traveled through Morocco for years, recording recipes that had often been transmitted orally by older women. She became an important ambassador for Moroccan cuisine in France and wrote numerous cookbooks. Claudia Roden is a food writer, while Najat Kaanache and Choumicha are different Moroccan culinary figures; neither opened Mansouria.