Alain Bennouna of Zitoune

Chef/owner Alain Bennouna filled a void by starting a pair of restaurants named Zitoune to introduce Moroccan food to Manhattan and Westchester County.

Bennouna was raised in Morocco - his family had four boys and five girls. Finding a place to do homework assignments was a nightly challenge until he noticed that the kitchen wasn't used for studying by his eight siblings. He began doing schoolwork on the kitchen table and at the same time, he watched his mother prepare dinner for the 11 family members. After a while he helped and learned how to cook.

Following graduation from law school, Bennouna entered military service at a rank equivalent to second lieutenant. Discharged 15 months later, he enrolled at The Hague Academy of International Law in The Netherlands and received four and one-half months of additional legal training. He then entered government service and worked for a short time at the health ministry.

Having saved some money, he headed for America, arriving in March 1980 and planning to spend a year seeing the country. He knew in order to practice in Morocco he had to apprentice for two years at a law firm. So after the year was up he returned home in 1981 and secured a position at a Marrakech law firm. But he quit after three months to seek his fortune in the U.S.A.

Back to America

"I had no idea what I would do once I arrived in America," he recalls, "but I knew I didn't want to be a lawyer." By luck, the only fluent-French speaking employee at a midtown travel agency had just quit. Bennouna filled the vacancy. In 1984, he started his own travel agency specializing in packaged vacation trips to Morocco.

He enjoyed cooking for acquaintances and in 1996 he and a friend became restaurant partners. They devoted a year to renovating an empty storefront, hired a French chef and in May, 1997 were ready to open Le Gan.

Unfortunately New York City officials had other ideas. Le Gan's location in the meat-packing district was not zoned for food service. It took two years to get permits. Bennouna's travel agency prospered during this time and he survived the long delay. Two years after the restaurant opened, Bennouna bought his partner's share of the business and reinvented it as Zitoune (Moroccan for olive).

Finding a qualified chef to join him in the kitchen and cook authentic Moroccan dishes posed a problem. The most promising candidate had no experience with Moroccan food. Bennouna sent him to Marrakech for two weeks of intensive training by his family.

Bennouna's travel business had expanded by 2001 to four offices - located in Manhattan, Astoria, San Francisco and Morocco. But  the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11 terminated vacation travel  to Morocco and all three U.S.A. branches of the agency closed. Zitoune too shut its doors for two months.

After reopening, it received a glowing review on November 28, 2001 in the New York Times from respected critic William Grimes, whose only complaint was that the waiters were too informal. In December 2004, Bennouna turned daily operation of the restaurant over to a management group but retained ownership.

Zitoune opens in Mamaroneck

A resident of New Rochelle, Bennouna realized that Westchester County didn't have a Moroccan restaurant so he bought an empty restaurant in Mamaroneck in May 2006 and began renovation. He travelled to Morocco to buy ottomans, lamps, rugs, decorations, tile, fabric for chair backs and a fireplace. He imported copper for refinishing the table surfaces.  Zitoune opened five months later.

Spices play a major role in the preparation of Moroccan food, says Bennouna. Commonly used spices at Zitoune include ginger, olive oil, garlic, cumin, saffron, paprika and cilantro. Tapenade is sometimes used for salads and charmoula for seafood.

Appetizers include shrimp cigars ($8.50), duck B'Steeya, served in a crisp phyllo casing with almond, cinnamon, saffron and powered sugar ($12), and a  Moroccan seafood stew that includes mussels, calarmari, shrimp and clams ($14).

Popular main courses include couscous El Fassi with onions, raisins and chickpeas ($16.50), grilled chicken ($17.50), red snapper tagine ($22),  lamb shank ($26) and whole baby lamb Mechoui intended for at least eight people - needs to be ordered five days in advance ($250).

Zitoune is located at 1127 W. Boston Post Road, Mamaroneck, NY 10543. It is open for lunch Tuesday through Saturday (11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.), dinner Sunday, Tuesday through Thursday (5 p.m. to 10 p.m.), Friday and Saturday (5 p.m. to midnight) and brunch Sunday (11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.). 914-835-8350. www.zitounerestaurant.com.