Welcome to our Summer SIAL Special bonus episodes of The Food Professor podcast, presented by our friends at Caddle! In this episode, meet Souriya Otmani, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco to Canada, SIAL's 2024 Country of Honour. We learn all about this fantastic country at the crossroads of many cultures and traditions, its unique and diverse food offerings, and a little bit about the tradecraft of food diplomacy.
Welcome to our Summer SIAL Special bonus episodes of The Food Professor podcast, presented by our friends at Caddle! In this episode, meet Souriya Otmani, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco to Canada, SIAL's 2024 Country of Honour. We learn all about this fantastic country at the crossroads of many cultures and traditions, its unique and diverse food offerings, and a little bit about the tradecraft of food diplomacy.
Michael LeBlanc 00:04
Welcome to our summer SIAL special bonus episodes of The Food Professor podcast, presented by Caddle.
Michael LeBlanc 00:13
As the official podcast for the SIAL Food Innovation show this year in Montreal. Sylvain and I had the opportunity to interview the leading thought leaders, brands and makers in the food industry. As the saying goes, these are their stories.
Sylvain Charlebois 00:27
Stay tuned for season 5 of The Food Professor podcast debuting August 29. We'll be back on the mic together live with our particular brand of truth, insight, interviews, custom research from our friends at Caddle and yes, a little bit of fun.
Michael LeBlanc 00:47
On this episode, Souriya Otmani, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco to Canada.
Michael LeBlanc 00:54
Welcome Ambassador to The Food Professor podcast. How are you doing?
Souriya Otmani 00:57
I'm fine. Thank you very much. I mean, that's for sure that I feel good. I feel fine. When I see this kind of exhibition. With the Kingdom of Morocco, my country, the country I'm very proud to represent here in Canada being the guest of honor of this wonderful and very prestigious fair, you know, the SIAL, who is very well known not only in Canada, but all around the world.
Michael LeBlanc 01:26
Yeah, fantastic.
Souriya Otmani 01:27
So, I'm very proud to be here and I'm very proud to see the Moroccan colors, to see the Moroccan exhibitors, you know, and I think it's a very good opportunity for our people. For the people working in the-, in the sector of agro food, to have this opportunity to exhibit their products to make them known, and also to interact with so many other exhibitors from all around the world.
Michael LeBlanc 01:58
Yeah, that's a big part of the show, right? I mean, I know what you say about the food because they've been-, they've been cooking some food while we're trying to record episodes, and it's very distracting. It smells so good.
Souriya Otmani 01:58
Yeah.
Michael LeBlanc 01:59
We're right beside the booth and so congratulations on being the country of honor. Let's talk about you for a little bit. You're ambassador, where are you, are you based in Ottawa, or are you based in Montreal, where are you based?
Souriya Otmani 02:22
I am Ambassador but in Ottawa, I mean, our embassy is in Ottawa like all others.
Michael LeBlanc 02:28
My hometown. Yeah, in Ottawa. Very good.
Souriya Otmani 02:31
Great City.
Michael LeBlanc 02:33
Wonderful city to grow up in.
Souriya Otmani 02:34
Wonderful city. I mean, cultural city. Very welcoming city.
Michael LeBlanc 02:39
Yeah.
Souriya Otmani 02:39
We appreciate the nature I mean, and all the-, the-, the perfect environment and safe environment that Ottawa offers to all ambassadors and embassies and diplomats.
Michael LeBlanc 02:53
How long have you been in Ottawa?
Souriya Otmani 02:55
Six years now.
Michael LeBlanc 02:56
So, you've experienced some auto a winter though it's not so perfect in the Ottawa-, in the Ottawa winter.
Souriya Otmani 03:01
The last winter was not so-, so-
Michael LeBlanc 03:04
It wasn't a winter. Yeah, it wasn't a winter. Yeah, not so bad.
Souriya Otmani 03:07
So, we enjoyed it very much, when it is.
Michael LeBlanc 03:10
I can't guarantee it's gonna be like that. I'm not sure it's good either, by the way, I wish the canal was frozen. Well, how long have you been serving the country, the kingdom, how long have you been a diplomat?
Souriya Otmani 03:22
I mean, you mean my overall diplomatic experience? Such a long time, I mean, like, I have more than 35 years of diplomaties.
Michael LeBlanc 03:32
Six years in Canada. So, you've had a couple of postings around the world, fantastic.
Souriya Otmani 03:36
Before that I was in Prague and Czech Republic, a wonderful capital also.
Michael LeBlanc 03:41
Yeah.
Souriya Otmani 03:41
I mean, the culture there also is fantastic. Before that, I was in Montreal, because I was the Consul General there.
Michael LeBlanc 03:49
Okay.
Souriya Otmani 03:49
So now I'm experiencing like 13 years in total in Canada. So, I got the opportunity to travel all around the-, the territory of Canada. I have been to-, I visited almost all the provinces and before that before Montreal, I was in Stockholm, Sweden and before that in Vienna, Austria.
Michael LeBlanc 04:16
Great postings, you've got great posting.
Souriya Otmani 04:18
Oh yes, I'm so happy and you know, being a diplomat, I also got the opportunity to travel in so many countries around the world. You know, this is-, what is very good about diplomacy because you're always discovering something new.
Michael LeBlanc 04:34
Yeah.
Souriya Otmani 04:35
And getting a lot of friends and enjoying a lot of experiences. Not all-, not all the experiences are good, but it's the life-, and it's very pleasant because you, I mean, it's permanent. We are rich permanently, you know, we-, we discover all the time, something new and so it's good. I think I'm very, very lucky.
Michael LeBlanc 04:39
Very good. Let's-, let's talk about Morocco. So, for the listeners, let's start at the basics. Tell me about-, a bit about the geography, the population, and then we can talk about your food industry. What kind of foods do you specialize in?
Souriya Otmani 05:19
Geographical situation of Morocco, in North Africa, being, you know, so close to Europe, being in Africa, being part of the Arab world, being part of the Mediterranean world, also, I think it's-
Michael LeBlanc 05:36
It's a real mix.
Souriya Otmani 05:37
It's a mix. Yeah, absolutely and so, you know, the Kingdom of Morocco is one of the oldest kingdoms in the world with the-
Michael LeBlanc 05:45
How old-, how old is it?
Souriya Otmani 05:47
I mean, many, many, many-, I mean, like, we have more than 1000 years of existence and so it's a great civilization, we have wonderful culture, we have our tradition, but in the same time, with this geo-, geographical situation, we are very, very open to the world. So, it's a mixture between tradition and modernity and we manage, you know, to live very easily and very comfortably within our-, this-, all our cultures.
Michael LeBlanc 06:24
Like, your country reminds me of countries like yourselves that need to be outwardly focused. So, they need to, you know, it's a relatively small country, I mean, compared to, certainly, the geography of Canada, which is, you must sometimes be amazed at how vast the country is, but there's nobody here. I mean, it's such a big country, but nobody lives here, what are all these people doing? So, what it-, when I when people think of Morocco, when you think of Morocco, what kind of foods do you think and what are the foods that jump out for you that you're sharing here, and the people are sharing here?
Souriya Otmani 06:56
You know, Morocco, we have all our cultures. We have-, we are a mix of various cultures. There is the, of course, the Muslim culture, the Arab culture, the Hasani, which is from the Sahara, the Hasani culture, the Mediterranean culture, the African culture, it's a mix, you know, and then-.
Michael LeBlanc 07:21
We call that a melting pot.
Souriya Otmani 07:23
It's a melting pot, and then it gives you an idea about the diversity and the richness of our gastronomy and what-, what you're going to eat in the north of Morocco is different from what you are going to eat in the south of Morocco. You know, it's really-, we have each region, we have 12 region in Morocco, 12 regions in Morocco, and each region could provide you different meals, different culture, different celebration, different, you know, it's kind of-, if you travel to Morocco, you can experience different, different, different culture all over the country and so, this is what we are very proud of and then you are going to get that in the-, in our food.
Souriya Otmani 08:19
But we have, also, some basic food, of course, you can prepare them differently from one region to the other, but basically, we have like, the couscous, the couscous, with vegetables, and it's very healthy, because it makes you eat vegetables. It is something that we don't really-, we don't eat vegetables every day, you know, but couscous makes you love vegetables and eat them. So, we have, also, Tagine, the Tagine with the chicken and olives. This is a basic one but prepare differently from one region to the other.
Michael LeBlanc 08:19
Right.
Michael LeBlanc 08:58
I made tagine my first time, you're talking about the rice with the crispy bottom.
Souriya Otmani 09:04
Yeah.
Michael LeBlanc 09:04
I made my first tagine a week ago.
Souriya Otmani 09:07
Really?
Michael LeBlanc 09:07
And-, and I always wanted to try it and it was so delicious. I-, I didn't get the crispy part right, but the flavors were so fragrant, and I had some friends over, I used dried cranberries in mine.
Souriya Otmani 09:22
Oh yes.
Michael LeBlanc 09:23
And that's what I put in and the yogurt. It was fantastic. I made chick-, I served it with a chicken za'atar, a za'atar chicken.
Souriya Otmani 09:30
Yes.
Michael LeBlanc 09:31
And it was just wonderful, so when you go home and visit your home and your family what's your favorite meal to have when you go home?
Souriya Otmani 09:39
Ah, you know, I think, I love all the meals, all the meals because I'm so-
Michael LeBlanc 09:46
Very diplomatic answer, by the way.
Souriya Otmani 09:47
I'm so used to them, so you know anything-, I-, and especially when it is made at home and prepared at home. So, there is a lot of savors. We say savors.
Michael LeBlanc 10:02
Yeah.
Souriya Otmani 10:02
And perfumes and when you-, if you go to Morocco, and you go to the traditional Medina, you know, Medina, it's the old market with a lot of small shops, you know and so all of them offer, offer to-, I mean to your sight first and also if you want to taste for example, olives and you can smell so many-, all the ingredients, you know, the-,, the all the ingredients that I don't know exactly the names like-
Michael LeBlanc 10:36
The saffron.
Souriya Otmani 10:38
Saffron, Cumin.
Michael LeBlanc 10:39
Sure, sure, sure.
Souriya Otmani 10:40
Yeah, paprika, but with a special-, special smell. This is so typical of the Moroccan Medina and you have to experience that because really, it's I mean, what-, it's really is something wonderful to be seen and to be also, uh, you can interact with the people who sell this kind of product, they will, they will show you so many recipes they could and also the they could tell you how to make this and to make that, so I think it's an experience that wants to be-, to be enjoyed.
Michael LeBlanc 11:17
Yeah, fantastic and would you encourage Canadians to spend some time go to Morocco and explore the country, 12 Different regions, so it's don't have to-, you go to one country and explore so much.
Souriya Otmani 11:29
This is a country, what you can do on the same day. You can go to the beach, you can swim, you can do-, you can go to the mountain, you know, climb the mountain, and you can also go to the desert, you know, in south of Morocco. So, this, is you can experience that in only 24 hours, and you know-
Michael LeBlanc 11:50
You can do that here, but it takes you a five-hour plane ride to go coast to coast.
Souriya Otmani 11:54
And you know, we have right now 20 flights, 20 flights, direct flights from Montreal to Casablanca per week, 20 yes.
Michael LeBlanc 12:12
Really 20 flights.
Souriya Otmani 12:13
We have Royal Air Maroc, we have Air Canada, and very soon we are going to have Air Transat going to Morocco.
Michael LeBlanc 12:22
I had no idea how long is the flight to Morocco, it's about eight-,
Souriya Otmani 12:26
Six hours.
Michael LeBlanc 12:26
I was gonna say eight but six hours.
Souriya Otmani 12:28
Six hours. I mean, like you go to Mexico.
Michael LeBlanc 12:29
That's like a drive back to Toronto.
Souriya Otmani 12:32
Absolutely. Absolutely.
Michael LeBlanc 12:33
Okay, I gotta go to Morocco.
Souriya Otmani 12:34
I went to-, I just came back from Edmonton. It was five hours.
Michael LeBlanc 12:39
It's a big country, Edmonton is nice, but I think I like the sound of Morocco.
Souriya Otmani 12:48
So, you have no excuse to not know to go to Morocco, absolutely. The flights are there. The I mean, the, the, it's not, it's not an expensive country. I mean, you can, really, it's all-, it's good and it's affordable for all kinds of people.
Michael LeBlanc 13:06
Right, all right. All the listeners go to Morocco and-, and hopefully you'll find more products from Morocco on grocery shelves. Thanks to SIAL and your advocacy.
Souriya Otmani 13:16
Absolutely.
Michael LeBlanc 13:16
Fantastic. Look for those.
Souriya Otmani 13:17
They have to try them. They have to-, we have wonderful couscous Semolina, we have fresh meat, we have fishes, we're so-, big variety, yes.
Michael LeBlanc 13:28
Well, ambassador, thank you so much for joining me on The Food Professor podcast and sharing a bit about your country. Congratulations again on being the-, the nation of SIAL and-, and thanks again, continued success and-, and safe travels.
Souriya Otmani 13:44
Thank you so much for your interest-, your interest in my country. I appreciate it and welcome everybody to Morocco.
Michael LeBlanc 13:51
20 flights, 20 flights a week.
Souriya Otmani 13:53
20 flights a week and more than that with Air Transat. Thank you.
Michael LeBlanc 13:57
Very good.
Souriya Otmani 13:58
All the best.
Michael LeBlanc 13:58
Thank you.
Sylvain Charlebois 14:00
Thanks for tuning into our summer SIAL bonus interview series. Michael and I will be back live on the microphone together in late August. I'm The Food Professor, Sylvain Charlebois.
Michael LeBlanc 14:13
And I am Michael LeBlanc, media entrepreneur, consumer growth consultant and keynote speaker. Safe travels everyone. See you back in August.
Sylvain Charlebois 14:23
Take care.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
Morocco, country, culture, Montreal, Canada, Ottawa, tagine, couscous, food, flights, wonderful, fantastic, experience, ambassador, exhibitors, opportunity, good, live, long, professor