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SHY and softly-spoken El Fallagui Wahid is keeping more tight-lipped than usual ... for he has concocted a secret recipe he hopes will bring the kingdom international culinary fame.
In the six months of its opening, the talented chef has helped the Maya La Chocolaterie in Seef Mall become a household name amongst chocolate lovers on the island.
The 44-year-old Moroccan-born confectionary master is now preparing to take the chocolate bar, and Bahrain as well, to an international podium when he will attend a major competition, Europain 2008, held in Paris for pastry chefs in March.
Scores of internationally-renowned chefs will compete but only six will be short-listed and only one will receive the accolade of the 'Best Pastry Chef in the World".
At the contest he will have to prepare one dessert - a unique and brand new dish. "I am ready for the competition. I have been preparing a secret recipe for over a year and I am very hopeful."
Chef Wahid's most outstanding innovation, to date, has been a chocolate mousse for diabetics - a first in the Middle East.
He has helped in building a specific palate for the GCC taste buds and customers are growing to love the products.
The chef has always been one to grace the kitchen ... even as a child. "My mother Fatima, 56, who is a doctor, used to go out for work daily, often for long hours," he explained. "If I had to eat something, I had to cook. That's where I started.
"However, my mother never liked the idea of me becoming a chef as it was a profession that, in her view, was not respectable. After all these years she still doesn't completely approve!"
Despite family pressure he pursued his dream and now has 35 years experience in the profession.
Chef Wahid, is married to Elham, 28, a chef who specialises in Arabic cuisine and hopes their seven-year-old son Naseralddin will follow in their footsteps to cooking glory. They live in Hoora.
Having worked with major hospitality giants like Le Notre and Chateaux De La Roc, he has been able to cook for a range of celebrities and famous personalities including King Hassan II of Morocco.
While employed with the Le Notre, he was also awarded the group's 'Best Executive Chef' accolade.
Maya La Chocolaterie is the island's first international franchise opened by Living Concepts. The Seef Mall chocolate bar is one of the first to produce its own chocolate for customers.
The brand is planning to open a factory early this year to facilitate producing chocolate to meet growing demands.
It is also planning to open franchises across the Middle East, in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar.
Chef Wahid shares an easy recipe to prepare your own cookie at home - the special, but simple Maya way. See above.
