Touria Laalioui Mbarek wins pastry competition by blending Moroccan and French flavors

Touria Laalioui Mbarek, a nursing assistant in the Paris region, has built a culinary career by combining her Moroccan heritage with French pastry traditions.

She grew up in France after moving from Morocco at age two and learned the trade from her father, who served as a chef at a Moroccan restaurant in Saint-Michel. She now uses these dual cultural influences to create recipes that she shares with a large online audience and in professional competitions.

Mbarek began sharing her creations on social media five years ago, leading to the growth of her Instagram account. In 2024, she competed in a television program on M6, where she reached the regional final for Île-de-France. During the competition, she presented a fish and seafood pastilla to showcase Moroccan cuisine beyond its most famous dishes. She later entered a competition for the Paris-Brest, a traditional French pastry.

She won first prize on November 1, 2026, in a contest judged by pastry chef Pierre Hermé. Her winning entry combined French pastry techniques with Moroccan ingredients like amlou and argan oil. Mbarek is currently pursuing a professional pastry certificate at the École de Paris des métiers de la table and preparing to publish a book featuring 90 recipes.