How English Can Open Up Opportunities
A seasoned culinary leaders with 15 years of global experience spanning 25 cities across the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia, and the South Pacific. I possess a proven track record of excellence in leadership, financial control, and the creation of innovative culinary concepts for both fine dining establishments and international chains. My expertise includes managing high-profile hotel openings and recruiting, training, and developing world-class culinary teams.
Enhance an individual's social life
Reciew the materials we have learned
Interactions with people from diverse cultural backgrounds
Executive Experience (Selected)
📍 Gorilla Fiji – Managment Consultant (2020–2023)
📍 Castaway Island Resort, Fiji – Executive Chef (2019–2020)
📍 Warwick Hotels, Fiji – Executive Chef (2017–2018)
📍 Accor Tala Bay Resort, Jordan – Cluster Executive Chef (2018)
📍 IHG Intercontinental Aqaba, Jordan – Executive Chef (2015–2016)
📍 African Regent Hotel / UNDP – Ghana – Executive Chef (2011–2015)
📍 Mövenpick Private Castle for Prince Alwaleed, KSA – Executive Chef (2004–2006)
📍 Memoire de Chine, Beirut – Opening Head Chef (2002–2004)
📍 Blue Elephant / Rotana, MEA – Chef de Partie (1998–2000)
🏛️ Full Career Timeline
Gorilla Consultant (2020–2023)
Currently providing creative solutions and concepts.
Fairouz Group (Divan Hotel Erbil), Iraq
Cluster Executive Chef | Jan 2015 – Mar 2015
Oversaw 7 high-end outlets before company closure due to landlord disputes.
AMSCO / UNDP Program, Ghana
Executive Chef | Dec 2011 – Jan 2015
Led Best Western & African Regent Hotels. Trained local chefs, launched themed nights, created purchasing and cost-control strategies.
Double Tree by Hilton, Tanzania/Zanzibar
Executive Chef | Oct 2011 – Dec 2011
Oversaw dual-property operations; focused on training and dining presentation.
Avari Hotels, Dubai
Executive Chef | Dec 2010 – Dec 2011
Ran 5 restaurants across cuisines. Salary irregularities prompted departure.
Itsandra Beach Hotel, Comoros (Round II)
Executive Chef | Oct 2009 – Nov 2010
Led VIP catering, banquets, and full dining operations across property & private island.
Le Méridien / Transcorp Hilton, Nigeria
Executive Chef | Mar 2007 – Sept 2009
Managed 970+ keys and 5000 pax events. Later led opening of Transcorp in Calabar.
PMS Software Consultant, Africa
Stock Control & Opening Executive Chef | Jan 2006 – Jan 2007
Trained chefs and integrated software across 3 hotel openings in Congo, Guinea, Sierra Leone.
Mövenpick for Prince Alwaleed, Saudi Arabia
Executive Chef | Apr 2004 – Jan 2006
Managed elite dining, private jets, and desert catering for royalty.
Memoire de Chine, Beirut
Opening Head Chef | Feb 2002 – Feb 2004
Achieved Best Consumer Cuisine in ME in 2004. Spearheaded entire opening.
Hilton Metropolitan Palace, Beirut
Executive Sous Chef | Jun 2000 – Feb 2002
Part of pre-opening team; led banquets and carving displays.
Blue Elephant / Rotana Hotels, MEA
Chef de Partie | Mar 1998 – Jun 2000
Supported Thai-focused kitchen operations across openings.
Le Bristol Hotel, Beirut
Demi Chef | Apr 1997 – Jan 1998
Trained under Michelin-starred Olivier Billiard in French classics.
VW & Audi, Germany
Mechanic Intern | Jun 1995 – Feb 1997
Early foundation in engineering and mechanical precision.
Awards & Recognition
🏆 Best Asian Consumer Restaurant – 2004
🥇 Gold Medal – 5-Course Menu
🥉 Bronze – Fruit & Vegetable Carving
🎖️ Chef to Prince Alwaleed & African Presidents
📚 Best Middle East Cookbook (Sufret Anaheed) – 2003
🌍 ISO & HACCP Certification Leader – Jordan & Ghana
Skills Snapshot
👨🍳 Culinary Diplomacy & F&B Leadership
🧠 Branding, UX Systems & Immersive Design
🛰️ Ethical AI, Quantum Thinking & Voice UI
📉 Cost Control, PMS, ISO22000
🛠️ Stock Management: Opera, FIDELIO, IDS, HEISA
GORILLA CULINARY FIJI
GorillaCulinaryExplore the journal ↗Gorilla Culinary is an open archive of 20+ years in international kitchens — a field journal of food, hospitality, business and the ecosystems that feed us.
Founded by executive chef Hicham Mneimne, Gorilla Culinary collects the observations that normally disappear after service: how teams come together, how a country tastes, what a good business protects, and what the next generation should know.
Free to explore. Built to keep learning. Made with respect for the places that make a table possible.
Choose a chapter to reveal the ingredients, operational notes and ecosystem questions waiting inside.
From Suva outward, the archive follows ingredients, people, climate and the practical rituals that make hospitality feel like home.
Short, generous lessons for cooks, owners, students and anyone who believes hospitality can be a force for good.
Translate place, memory and available ingredients into a coherent culinary identity.
Creative direction
Turn smart purchasing, homemade products and plastic-free thinking into a generous guest experience.
Eco systems
Lessons from hotel openings across continents: people, prep, pressure and the calm behind service.
Operations
From organic products to outdoor wedding setups, the Gorilla approach is practical creativity: fewer plastics, more flavour, and systems that honour the people doing the work.
Dining as theatre. Memory as an ingredient. An experimental space for immersive food stories, art, sound and place.
GorillaCulinary← Back to the archiveGorilla Culinary is an educational archive documenting food, hospitality, ingredients, business practices, and kitchen experiences from around the world.
Hicham MneimneFounded by executive chef Hicham Mneimne, Gorilla Culinary brings together more than 20 years of international experience across professional kitchens, hotel openings, hospitality operations, creative culinary work, training, and public-facing food education.
The project began in Fiji, where Gorilla Kitchen Fiji developed a distinctive approach to culinary management, creative training, outdoor events, organic products, and plastic-free concepts. Today, that work is growing into a wider, free-to-explore encyclopedia for anyone who wants to understand how food and hospitality connect to place.
Experience connected with hospitality and hotel operations in Accra, including work associated with the African Regent, the former President’s environment, UNDP / Best Western Accra, and the North Takoradi area.
Three visits and three hotel openings — lessons in teams, supply chains, preparation, local context, and the discipline required to bring a new property to life.
A future research chapter exploring vanilla, coconut, clove, ylang-ylang, volcanic soil, and the relationship between island resources and dignified livelihoods.
The home of Gorilla Kitchen Fiji in Suva: a place for creative culinary design, events, organic products, homemade preserves, and a grounded Fijian hospitality perspective.
Gorilla Culinary is designed to be educational and free. It exists to preserve professional experience in a form that students, cooks, hospitality teams, researchers, business owners, and curious food lovers can use.
The encyclopedia will continue to grow through Hicham’s documents, images, videos, country notes, business plans, and the memories of the people who shared these kitchens.
Contact Gorilla Culinary ↗