Moroccan Cooking class

Under the guidance of a head chef, prepare an exquisite 4-course meal in the open air using traditional recipes and small clay coal ovens. Learn about the culture and pleasures of the sweet and salty cuisine of Morocco: traditional slow food.

Have you always dreamed of colorful markets, unfamiliar eastern spices, and preparing a simple but exquisite tagine with the freshest ingredients? Then you will be elated with this cooking course.

You'll be picked up in lively Jemaa El Fna and driven to Riad by one of our employees. There, the lead chef will be waiting for you with the ingredients prepared. In the kitchen courtyard, you'll work under artful instruction, cooking an exquisite 4-course meal using traditional recipes and a small clay, coal-burning oven. While your tagine cooks over the fire, you'll prepare a selection of Moroccan salads that serve as the prelude to every Moroccan meal. At the end, dessert will be served.

Enjoy a good Moroccan wine with your own authentic meal, and linger after your cooking adventure for mint tea and fresh pastries.

Moroccan cuisine uses only regional, seasonal products and provides a wonderful balance of sweet and salty dishes; it makes use of original ingredients like rose water and pickled lemons. Your cooking course can be tailored to your wishes.

For those who want to learn a little bit about shopping in Morocco, an optional visit to an authentic Moroccan bazaar is just the thing. The market visit will be followed by a tea ceremony and a snack.

Cook a real Moroccan meal

Moroccan food is built on spice, patience and a few clever techniques — and it is easier to master than it looks. In this hands-on class a Moroccan cook guides you through preparing a full meal from scratch, which you then sit down to enjoy.

What you will do

Learn the spices — get to know cumin, ras el hanout, saffron and preserved lemon, the backbone of Moroccan cooking.
Prepare a tagine — the iconic slow-cooked dish, plus starters and salads.
Master the classics — techniques you can recreate at home, from folding pastilla to steaming couscous.
Share the table — eat the four-course meal you have cooked.

Good to know

No experience is needed and recipes can be adapted for vegetarians. It is a relaxed, sociable few hours and a great rainy-day or first-day activity. You will leave able to cook a Moroccan dinner for friends back home.