Coffee with the Chef: Mo Kablouti, Bibi'z Restaurant and Lounge in Westwood

Mo Kablouti owned five restaurants and cafés in Manhattan — two in Chelsea and three in Greenwich Village, including Rafaella's on Bleecker Street, where he was executive chef — until, after 19 years, rising rents forced him out of the city.

Now the 60-year-old Ridgewood resident and father of three is the chef at Westwood's Bibi'z Restaurant and Lounge, where for two years he's worked to create the global cuisine the establishment is known for.

Originally from Tunisia, Kablouti came to the United States at 17 and learned to cook at an Italian restaurant in Miami. Other than that experience, he's self-taught. Bibi'z received 2 1/2 out of 4 stars from The Record in December 2013.

Here, he talks about bronzino, Whole Foods and an odd diner who always sends his food back so it can be burned more.

Toughest dish to cook at my restaurant: The bronzino [$29]. We serve it boneless, but it's very delicate, and it's complicated to make sure that the fish stays intact.

My favorite local restaurant: I go to Just Janice, a bistro in Ho-Ho-Kus. I like the short ribs and the risotto — it's perfect, nice and creamy.

What I'd never pay for at a restaurant: Bread — the first thing on the table should be bread, olive oil and butter, but a lot of them don't do that anymore. And if they do, they want to charge you.

Simplest tip to improve home cooking: You must practice. If you cook for long enough, you're going to get better at it, and if you make a mistake, you move on. You don't give up because something doesn't taste good, or because your wife didn't like it.

Favorite dish I've created: The blackened salmon with a tomato chardonnay [$27]. It's a big seller, and I like it because it has the spiciness of the Cajun spice in the fish along with the sweetness of the tomato chardonnay, which has figs and cranberries. A lobster sauce on the plate gives you another flavor as well.

Best place to grocery shop in North Jersey: I like Whole Foods' quality, and that they have a lot of local stuff.

My favorite cooking show: I watch Ina Garten. A lot of her dishes are interesting because they're very simple and very good.

Strangest request from a diner: I have a man that comes in, and he orders the same thing every time: a shrimp cocktail in a martini glass and a chicken kabob. But he wants them burned. So I send them out to him, and he always sends them back and says they're not burned enough — and they're black already. But he always wants them burned more. I've never seen anything like it.

The biggest misconception about chefs: That this is easy work.

How I keep my weight down: I don't eat. A lot of chefs eat continuously, but when I'm working I just cannot. I don't have the appetite.

Favorite cookbook: Ina Gartner's "Barefoot Contessa Family Style." I've tried a lot of her recipes and they're beautiful.

Most underused spice: Cumin and coriander. They're powerful spices, and you can't just throw them in anything; it has to be the right dish. Here, we use coriander in the Tunisian couscous [$15], which is a vegan dish, and in the fava beans [$5, appetizer].

More info: Bibi'z Restaurant and Lounge, 84 Center Ave., Westwood; 201-722-8600; bibizlounge.com. Appetizers $5 to $7, entrées $15 to $29.

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