“What would you like? You must eat before we talk so you know what you’re asking me about.”
That was the first thing Amal Aloui told me when I walked into her new restaurant Marrakech Express, named after the beloved food stall at the Tech community market where she serves hungry students every week. Aloui has been serving lunch on Tech Green for over ten years, and she opened her first restaurant on Christmas Day last month. The reason for her success was clear after entering her restaurant — once you eat a plate of her food, you are automatically welcomed into her family.
Despite walking by the stall many times before, I had never tried Marrakech Express or Moroccan food in general. I was served a lamb shank over rice with spicy harissa sauce, pita and hummus, and it was outstanding. The whole dish was rich with a fragrant aroma of citrus, saffron and warm Moroccan spices. The lamb fell off the bone, and combined with the fragrant rice that had a hint of preserved lemon, it made the perfect bite.
At Marrakech Express, Aloui serves up fine-dining quality-plates under the guise of a fast-casual restaurant. The dish tasted like truly authentic home cooking, the kind that feeds the soul. It is obvious that Aloui has put in extra work to perfectly replicate the dishes that she grew up on in Morocco.
“I have a recipe that is at least 100 years old. It’s my grandma’s grandma’s recipe. And I still cook with the same ingredients. Like the preserved lemon, I make it in a traditional way with my hands, and I don’t let anyone else touch it. I can’t afford that sacrifice. I want to make sure everything is right. My harissa sauce also — I make that from scratch. Both the harissa and the preserved lemon stay in a jar for one year before I use them,” Aloui said.
The cuisine at Marrakech Express is clearly a labor of love. Now, she operates both the restaurant and the stall on campus, closing the restaurant on the mornings she serves food at the community market. On the nights before she comes to Tech, Aloui wakes up at 3:00 a.m. to go to her restaurant in Smyrna and start preparing food. She says that even though she has a small team now, she must verify the quality of every element of every dish. Now, even with a restaurant to oversee, she tries to never leave her stall when it is open.
“That is part of my success. The portions I give to customers, and the quality of my food, it’s always the same. Nobody but me can give the guarantee. And also, being there gives me a beautiful feeling. I told you, I am the mom of one son, but God gave me a million kids,” Aloui said.
Surprisingly, Aloui did not always want to be a chef. What started out as a hobby became a passion when she moved to the U.S., and she eventually transformed that passion into a successful career.
“That dream started when I came to America,” Aloui said. “Before then, I liked cooking with my mom and sister in the kitchen, but I never had this dream to open a restaurant. But when I came [here], I realized I had no other skills. I had limited English skills, and I did not go far in school, but I had to work. Everyone here has to work, and I started thinking about what I could do. The only skill I had was cooking.”
Shortly after moving here, she started applying to serve food at farmers’ markets across the city. Tech’s market was the second to accept her, and she chose it as an ideal location to get her start. Students grew to love her and her food, and she quickly became a valued member of the community.
“[Starting my stall] was a great experience, to be honest. I enjoy it all. I enjoy cooking; I enjoy talking to people with my limited English. Also, I only have one child, and I felt like I needed to be a mom again. The campus, all of them, they are like my kids, and they know that. There are a lot of them that call me Auntie Amal; this makes me so happy. We have a really good relationship,” Aloui said.
Over the years, Aloui has developed invaluable relationships with Tech students and faculty. She said that she cries each graduation season and that she has even catered weddings for alumni who would frequent her stall. Now, Tech students and faculty line up for as long as 40 minutes to get lunch at Marrakech Express, and a good portion of her customers at her restaurant are also from the Tech community. Aloui says that she does not plan to stop here, and that one day, she hopes to have a permanent home on campus.
“I really appreciate Georgia Tech Dining; they have helped me a lot. When they see I’m successful, they give me more days [at the community market]. And the students, they are always asking ‘Where is Marrakech Express?’ Hopefully, soon, they will give me a place at Tech,” Aloui said.
Aloui attributes her success to her serving food “with a special feeling”, which could not be more true. She transmits a love for her community and culture through each plate she serves, which drives hundreds of students to line up at her stall each day. Students can find Marrakech Express at the community market from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, or at their restaurant at 2450 Atlanta Rd. SE.