SUCCESS STORY
“It’s crucial for us to preserve Moroccan traditions’’ Nothing brings people together quite as universally as food, according to Ikram (26) and Amal Mataich (23). The two sisters grew up in a large, traditional Moroccan family and were raised with a love of the country’s traditional cuisine. Now, with their company ZIRI, they aspire to introduce the original ceramic tajine – a staple of the Moroccan kitchen – into modern-day households.
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The earthenware dish used in North African cuisine for centu-
nationally. Ikram: “Of course we realized beforehand that our
ries has always played a major role in Ikram’s and Amal’s lives.
Dutch way of doing business wouldn’t necessarily work in
The sisters have cooked countless meals in tajines, but it was
Morocco and that we would have to adjust, but it really was
only after noticing that most of those sold in shops here are
different from what we were used to. Actually, though, that
not made by real Moroccan craftsmen – though this is a del-
was nice to experience. At one point, we still had a few minor
icate and age-old pottery process – that they decided some-
tweaks we wanted to make to the samples. Instead of doing
thing had to be done. “It’s a shame”, Ikram explains. “People
everything through video calls, I went back to the shop in Fez
who buy them expect to have the authentic experience of
and talked to the supplier. During this process we recognized
cooking in a real tajine, but instead own a product mass-pro-
the importance of personal contact when working together;
duced in Poland or China.” So, in addition to Amal’s studies
we are so used to doing everything digitally, but in Morocco
and Ikram’s full-time job, they decided to turn tajines into a
people need face-to-face contact to maintain good relation-
family business.
ships. It took considerable effort at times, but we really
TEXT Céline Boute & Tessa Burger
PHOTOGRAPHY Ruben Stam
STORYTELLING
learned to be patient. That’s why I would encourage anyone with an original idea for a business to just go for it, there is in-
During a trip to Fez – a city famed for its craftsmanship –
variably so much to gain. A big network, loads of beautiful sto-
Ikram and Amal personally selected a local shop to hand-craft
ries and the possibility to meet inspiring people. That’s worth
their exclusive designs into a unique form of Moroccan art.
so much in itself, even if no one were to buy our tajines!” ZIRI
In keeping with age-old tradition, the tajines are made from
tajines and their beautiful stories will be available from this
natural clay, hand-painted, and dried in the sun. But, for ZI-
autumn on the sisters’ website: ziriofficial.com. They’ve also
RI’s pottery, the sisters decided to go a step further. “Our ta-
lined up restaurants in The Netherlands and abroad that will
jines are meant to be an icebreaker and conversation-starter
be cooking in their tajines.
for people enjoying this food, as well as a way to tell stories about the country and its traditions, or about the tajine and the process of producing it and the stories of the craftsmen themselves.” This is also reflected in the name Ikram and Amal chose for their brand. Amal: “Ziri is old-Berber for ‘moonlight’. We have always had a big fascination for the moon, and we have Berber roots ourselves. The moon is something that binds us and other people together – just like food.”
DIFFERENCES Setting up a company in the midst of multiple lockdowns proved easier said than done, especially when working inter-
