I left Northern Ireland in 1999 to complete my MBA at the Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School in Dublin and then moved to London in 2000. I fell in love with Marrakesh in 1999 when UTV invited a group of guests to Morocco on a day trip; that was my first experience and it was love at first sight.
Moroccans are very positive towards Irish people – many are surprisingly obsessed by Riverdance and there are a lot of similarities between our folk music and theirs. Our support for Palestinian people enduring war in Gaza has also been widely recognised locally. My husband, Fred, had a traditional riad guest house when we met and he has a background in the hotel business in Paris. We both like to eat well and I think there is nothing like having your own eggs and vegetables and salads in the kitchen. My mother is from Roscommon and we come from a farming background, so it must be in the DNA.
It has been great to have support from people from home including Belfast chef and restaurateur Niall McKenna and music producer David Holmes, who have been giving us great support on the restaurant and music side.