About Jamal

Imagine food created with Hawaiian sourced ingredients that are approached with the eloquence of Japanese simplicity.  Then accent this with the complex and flavorful spice cabinet of Moroccan / North African seasonings paired with French, and Italian saucing techniques.  Present this in a plating fashion similar to a modern art piece and, for laughs, title this dish something cheeky like "Goat with Goat Milk and Goat Cheese", "Rabbit and Carrots" or “Duck, Duck, Goose”.  This, results in a Jamal Lahiani creation.

Lahiani’s unique approach to flavor stems from his background.  He is Chicago born, Hawaii raised (Pearl City High School) and Midwestern educated (Anthropology at Knox College) and of German and Moroccan descent.  His cooking experience is similar having worked in kitchens in Honolulu, Chicago, Milwaukee, Morocco and Orlando.  Moreover, Lahiani’s creative complexity is a product of his personality: cerebral and cheeky.  Like Your Dapper, his craft is to bring fascination, excitement, and inspiration to something that one typically does everyday two to three times a day*.

Jamal’s food is clearly dapper, and like many young professionals, his personal style is evolving as he goes from post college cook to progressive chef.  With chefs becoming public figures, Lahiani knows the importance of dressing well.  Your Dapper will be helping this up-and-coming chef to parallel his food with a similar path sartorially.  Stay tuned for blog posts about food and style from Chef Jamal Lahiani as he traverses his career and the demanding rigors of cooking in a kitchen, while still being . . . .dapper.

* This refers to getting dressed, not whatever else you were thinking of.