MoroCoco Cafe brings a taste of Morocco to South Korea. Chef and owner, Wahid Naciri, experienced a rough start, with some South Koreans asking what type of ingredient “Morocco” was, but after a proper introduction, the cuisine has been well-accepted. Whether customers sit down in their cafe or order catering for an important event, they know they’ll receive authentic, hearty dishes loaded with flavorful spices.
What inspired you to get into foodservice?
“My father owned a restaurant for taxi drivers in Rabat, Morocco, and I used to work there during school breaks.
Taxi drivers would show up with bags full of ingredients that we would use to cook their meals, some of which were really wild! Thinking about it now, it was like a daily cooking challenge and was really fun.”
What do you love about your business?
“I love meeting new people and making new connections. One day, some regulars who would often stop by for a quick lunch pulled up in SUVs wearing suits. They asked me to cater for one of their parties, and at that moment I found out we were catering for the U.S. embassy in Seoul. Experiences like this are always so insightful and interesting to me.”
What's the oddest thing to happen to your business?
“Ten years ago, we were selling sandwiches out of a stand at a department store. Our banner said ‘Moroccan sandwiches’, and people were looking for this ingredient called ‘Morocco’ in their sandwiches, some of them even asked for extra ‘Morocco.’
This was at a time when Morocco was not known here in Korea but fortunately, things have changed a lot, especially after the last World Cup.”
What was the biggest business challenge you overcame?
“As a chef and owner, the biggest business challenge I have overcome was stepping away from the operational side and spending more time marketing and building our catering business.”
What Cambro products help make your business work?
“I prefer the Cam GoBox top loader for sandwiches and salad bowls, but my absolute favorite is the Cam GoBox front-loading pan carrier for full-service catering.
We once catered an event on Jeju Island, so we transported all our ingredients from Seoul via airplane and that was only possible with the help of Cambro.”
About MoroCoco Cafe
Location: Seoul, South Korea
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