Food Tours · Tour

Khmisa's Kitchen in the Medina, and the Old Souk First

Two women run this, and both are named, which among a great many anonymous local chefs is worth something. Khmisa has been a chef for twenty-five years, specialising in Moroccan cooking and pastry, and has worked in a number of well-known hotels in Rabat and Marrakech. Kawtar has a degree in hospitality and tourism, and works alongside her, partly to teach and partly so that nothing gets lost between you and the chef. The class is at Khmisa's house, in the heart of the Medina, which is the difference: this is somebody's kitchen, and the atmosphere is a family one rather than a school one. You arrive to mint tea and a conversation about the menu, which is not fixed. Between you, you settle on a starter, a main and a dessert from the classic Moroccan repertoire. Then out to the Old Souk with Khmisa to buy what it needs, which is an education in itself: what she picks, what she rejects, what she pays. Back at the house, you cook it. Then you eat it. Three hours. Up to twelve people, in English, French or Arabic, with the chef, the guide, lunch and tea or coffee. Hotel pick-up is not included.