Food Tours · Tour

A Rooftop Tagine at Riad Nelia, Atlas in the Distance

One dish, done from the beginning, on a roof. Riad Nelia is in the old Medina, and its kitchen is on the terrace, which on a clear day looks out over the city to the snow on the High Atlas. That is a good place to spend three hours. The dish is a chicken tagine, and the class covers all of it rather than the easy middle: choosing and blending the spice mix, which is where the flavour is decided; marinating; and then the slow-cooking, which is the technique the conical lid exists for and the reason a tagine tastes different from a casserole. Then the mint tea. Not just how, but why: what the ritual means, where it came from, and what it does in Moroccan daily life, which is a good deal more than refreshment. You sit down together to eat the whole meal, with fresh bread, tea and a traditional dessert. Three hours. Up to fifteen people, in English, French or Arabic, with a dedicated chef, the meal, a recipe card and a certificate of completion. Public transport is not included.