Tariq Hanna was Executive Pastry Chef and partner of the Sucré dessert restaurant in

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. He was born and raised in

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, and after attending boarding school in

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, Hanna moved to the United States to attend

Lawrence Technological University Lawrence Technological University (Lawrence Tech, LTU) is a private university in Southfield, Michigan. It was founded in 1932 in Highland Park, Michigan, as the Lawrence Institute of Technology (LIT) by Russell E. Lawrence. The university moved ...

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. Hanna enrolled himself in culinary school at

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. His first job in the restaurant industry was working the sandwich board at a deli in Southfield, Michigan named Sol's Deli. While searching for jobs in hot food, Hanna dabbled in pastries on the side. In 1993, Hanna opened his own family-operated pastry and catering shop, The Northville Gourmet, at the age of 24. After six years of self-employment, Hanna was offered a position as the first casino pastry chef in Detroit. In December 1999,

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opened in Detroit. It was here that Hanna immersed himself in pastry, from taking and teaching classes to performing in competitions on a local and national level. During his tenure at MotorCity, Hanna participated in several cooking competitions on the

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, including the National Bread and Pastry Championship, Chocolate Fantasy Competition, Cereal Bridges and Gingerbread Mansions Competition. In 2004, he was named the first Central Region Pastry Chef of the Year, and Runner-up National Pastry Chef of the Year by the American Culinary Federation. After seven years at MotorCity Casino, Hanna joined with New Orleans native restaurateur

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to develop Dondis' vision of the Sucré restaurant. Hanna was named Pastry Chef of the Year in 2007 by ''New Orleans Magazine''. Hanna was also a finalist for Chef Magazine's 2008 Chef of the Year, and was named best pastry chef in both the 2008 and 2009 ''New Orleans City Business Culinary Connoisseurs'' issues. He also competed on

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's '' Ultimate Cake Off'' episode 1 ("Shark Summer") and episode 4 ("Fourth of July"); and the ''

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'' ("Incredible Edible Mansions"). In 2018, Hanna sold his shares of Sucré and left the company after sexual misconduct allegations. Sucré closed suddenly on June 17, 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanna, Tariq Living people Pastry chefs American people of Nigerian descent Nigerian people of Iraqi descent Nigerian people of Palestinian descent 20th-century Nigerian businesspeople 21st-century Nigerian businesspeople Nigerian chefs Oakland Community College alumni Lawrence Technological University alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Nigerian television chefs American chefs Chefs from New Orleans