Marrakech Cooking Class: Market Visit, Tajine & Moroccan Pastries with a Local Chef

Moroccan cuisine is one of the richest in the world, and the best way to understand it is to cook it. This half-day class starts in the medina with your chef, a dada, as the women who keep the tradition of Moroccan home cooking are called. Together you visit the local market: the spice stalls where you learn the difference between ras el hanout, cumin and saffron, the vegetable sellers, the olive and preserved-lemon stands and the baker. Back in the riad kitchen, each person has a work station. You prepare a Moroccan salad selection, a tajine of your choice (chicken with preserved lemon and olives, beef with prunes, or vegetables) and learn to bake bread or make a simple pastry. The chef explains every step, and you learn the secret of real mint tea, poured from high. At the end you sit down on the terrace to enjoy the meal you cooked, and you leave with the recipes to cook it again at home.