The Chef
Hatim Abid
From Casablanca to the kitchens of Ducasse and Jean-Georges, now cooking privately between Manhattan and the East End.
A brief history
Hatim grew up in Casablanca, in a family where every celebration began around the table. His earliest lessons came from his mother and grandmother — preserved lemon, saffron, olive oil, charcoal, patience, and the ritual of feeding people well.
After culinary training in Morocco, Hatim built his career in some of New York's most demanding kitchens and luxury hotels, refining his craft under chefs Alain Ducasse and Jean-Georges Vongerichten. His experience spans Mediterranean cuisine, modern Asian cooking, fine dining, and private hospitality — shaped by both precision and warmth.
Today, Hatim cooks privately between Manhattan and the East End, creating intimate dinners inspired by Morocco, the Mediterranean, and the seasons of New York. His menus move from slow-braised tagines and hand-rolled couscous to charcoal-grilled seafood, market vegetables, and candlelit tables designed for gathering.
Each dinner is written for the people around it — thoughtful food, quiet luxury, and hospitality that feels both elegant and deeply personal.
Philosophy
Seasonal
Every menu is rewritten for your date. If the fig is in season, the fig is on the table.
Considered
A single dinner is prepared for a single table. There is no pass, no rotation, no compromise.
Whole-hearted
Hatim cooks, plates, and serves each course himself. Service with an assistant where the number asks.
Signature dishes
Slow-braised lamb shoulder with apricot, almond, and saffron
Falls from the bone, sweet-savory, served family style — the centerpiece of the Sunset Mezze.
Chicken tagine with preserved lemon and olives
Bone-in chicken cooked under the conical lid, fragrant with lemon — the classic, done right.
Charcoal-grilled branzino with chermoula
Whole-grilled over open coals, North African cilantro chermoula, charred lemon.
Mint tea, poured from height
Three times into small gold glasses — the bitterness of life, the strength of love, the sweetness of death.