Meet The Minds Behind The Menu
Behind Mokonuts is a husband-and-wife workforce whose path to the kitchen was something however conventional. Omar Koreitem and Moko Hirayama opened the tiny Paris restaurant in 2015, but neither started their careers in meals. Each found cooking after pursuing totally totally different professions, which makes the restaurant really feel much more private.
Omar Koreitem, who oversees the savory aspect of the menu, was born in Lebanon and raised in Paris earlier than heading ot New York, the place his culinary profession started. He skilled in extremely regarded kitchens, together with Daniel Boulud’s Daniel in New York and Gordon Ramsay’s Savoy Grill in London. Regardless of his fine-dining pedigree, his meals at Mokonuts by no means feels stiff or overworked. As a substitute, it’s considerate and comforting with unimaginable flavors.
Moko Hirayama’s story is equally surprising. Born in Tokyo and raised between San Francisco and New York, she first labored in regulation and finance earlier than pursuing pastry. She skilled at Ladurée in London and the Michelin-starred Yam’Tcha in Paris, however she’s greatest identified for cookies which have achieved near-legendary standing amongst Mokonuts followers. Her desserts are each acquainted and stunning: American-style cookies and rustic sweets infused with Japanese components reminiscent of miso, black sesame, tahini, and even seaweed, with coconut. They’re the sort of treats folks speak about lengthy after the meal ends.
At the moment, Mokonuts is only one a part of their increasing world in Paris’ eleventh arrondissement. Alongside the unique lunch-only restaurant, they function Mokoloco, a residency kitchen for rising cooks, and Mokochaya, an all-day café that opened in 2024, serving espresso, pastries, and bento-style lunches. In September 2025, they reached one other milestone with the discharge of Mokonuts: The Cookbook, that includes 100 recipes from each cooks. Whilst they develop, every thing they do stays rooted in the identical concept that makes Mokonuts particular: cooking that’s private and considerate.
