Food Tours · Tour

Ras El Hanout and Several Tagines, with Chef Hassan

Four hours, and the structure is the standard one done carefully: the market first for the vegetables and the ingredients, then back to the family home, mint tea while everyone works out who everyone is, and then the cooking. What is taught is tagines, and what is actually taught is spice. Ras el hanout is not one thing; it is a blend that every shop and every family makes differently, and understanding what has gone into the one in front of you is the difference between following a recipe and cooking Moroccan food. The peeling, the chopping and the seasoning all get covered, with the stories that go with them. You work as one team rather than at separate stations, which sounds like a compromise and is not: it means the group makes several different dishes instead of everyone making the same one, so you see more. Then you sit down and eat what you made. Ten people at most, in English or French, with the market visit, the tea ceremony, the class, the meal, bottled water and Wi-Fi. The kitchen and dining room are air-conditioned, which in a Marrakech summer is not a small thing. The recipes are sent to everyone afterwards. Vegan and vegetarian options. Not suitable if you are allergic to onion or garlic. No children under seven. One thing the operator asks and few do: photograph the class and the vegetable stalls freely, but not other shops or other people.