MasterChef finalist Monir Eddardary left a €1,300-a-month job to open a Moroccan restaurant

In the kitchen of a Milan restaurant, Monir Eddardary worked back-to-back shifts, putting in 40 to 50 hours a week for a monthly salary of €1,300. In eight months, he had learned to handle the different stations, eventually managing the preparations alone for 120 to 130 diners. Despite this progress, his request for a raise was turned down. He then decided to leave the restaurant.

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Born and raised in Umbria, Italy, in a family of Moroccan origin, Monir became familiar with two culinary traditions from an early age. His mother exchanged recipes with two Italian neighbours, Maria and Elvira. Lasagna and parmigiana thus shared the family apartment building’s kitchens with couscous and tagine.

At 23, he left to try his luck in Australia. For four years, he took on a series of jobs in Melbourne, working as a dishwasher, waiter and plantation worker on a banana farm. He continued his journey in New Zealand, where he became a salesperson at Gucci, before returning to Italy in January 2020.

His return coincided with a career turning point. After an unsuccessful application to become a flight attendant, he tried out for MasterChef Italia. He finished fourth in the tenth season, an experience that opened the doors to the culinary world.

After the show, he trained at the University of Flavours in Perugia, created food content for social media and began working as a private chef, specialising in Moroccan recipes. He then joined the kitchens of several Milan restaurants to hone his skills.

A €200,000 loan to open his restaurant

After leaving his €1,300-a-month job, Monir found a position at another Milan restaurant on Via San Marco. He was now earning €2,000 a month, with daytime hours. But his ambition lay elsewhere: to open a restaurant devoted to the cuisine of his roots.

With his partner Alessia, who handles the financial and administrative side, he secured a loan of about €200,000. The couple found a space in the Porta Romana neighbourhood and opened Amina, a Moroccan restaurant whose name pays tribute to the cook’s aunt Mina while also taking the first letter of Alessia’s name.

In an interview with Italian outlet Fanpage.it, Monir says his appearance on MasterChef also helped him secure the premises. The owner knew him from the show and trusted him.

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In Milan, Amina now attracts a mainly Italian and international clientele, including tourists and visitors from Saudi Arabia. At first, it took effort to win over local residents, but word of mouth gradually spread. Monir prioritises preparing food on the day and adjusts his purchases to bookings: eight kilos of meat for forty diners, three kilos for twenty. It’s meticulous planning for a former employee who now runs his own kitchen.