Zsahleya Aisha Ibrahim (born in

Iligan City Iligan, officially the City of Iligan (; Bukid: ''Ciudad ta Iligan''; Maranao: ''Bandar a Iligan''; ), is a highly urbanized city in the region of Northern Mindanao, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 363,115 ...

, Philippines) is the executive chef at the Seattle restaurant

Canlis Canlis is a fine dining restaurant serving New American and Pacific Northwest cuisine in Seattle, Washington. Situated in the Queen Anne neighborhood, the restaurant has views of Gas Works Park and the Cascade Mountains. It was built by Pe ...

. Her partner Samantha Beaird also works at Canlis as a research and development chef. Ibrahim is the first female executive chef in the restaurant's more than seventy-year history.

Early life

Ibrahim is the oldest of three children. The family emigrated from the Philippines to

Evans, West Virginia Evans is an unincorporated community in western Jackson County, West Virginia, United States. It lies along West Virginia Route 87 west of the city of Ripley, the county seat of Jackson County. Its elevation is 594 feet (181 m). Al ...

when she was six years old. She was an athlete at

Elon University Elon University is a private university in Elon, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1889 as Elon College, the university is organized into six schools, most of which offer bachelor's degrees and several of which offer master's degrees or ...

, attending on a basketball scholarship. until an injury sidelined her. After that, she applied to

Le Cordon Bleu Le Cordon Bleu (; French: " The Blue Ribbon"; LCB) is a French hospitality and culinary education institution, teaching haute cuisine. Its educational focuses are hospitality management, culinary arts, and gastronomy. The institution consists ...

in San Francisco.

Career

After culinary school, Ibrahim began working at restaurants around the world, working her way up to becoming sous chef at

Manresa Manresa () is the capital of Bages county, located in the central region of Catalonia, Spain. Crossed by the river Cardener, it is an industrial area with textile, metallurgical, and glass industries. The houses of Manresa are arranged aro ...

in California. She moved to the

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

region of Spain to work for

Eneko Atxa Eneko Atxa Azurmendi (born September 14, 1977) is a Spanish Basque cuisine chef, known for his sustainability practices. Career Eneko started in the culinary world at the age of 15 at the Culinary School of Leioa in Biscay, Basque Country, but w ...

at Azurmendi before moving on to its sister restaurant Aziamendi in Thailand as chef de cuisine. She spent two years planning to open her own restaurant in Bangkok, but Covid forced her to scuttle her plans.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ibrahim, Aisha American women chefs LGBTQ chefs Filipino chefs Elon University alumni Alumni of Le Cordon Bleu Chefs from Seattle People from Iligan Year of birth missing (living people) Living people