Food Tours · Tour

Shopping the Mellah Market, Cooking in a Working Riad

Two things are unusual here, and they are both about the setting being real. The market is the covered Mellah market, in the old Jewish quarter, which is where the neighbourhood shops and is not on the tourist circuit. You buy everything the lesson needs there, with the group, which is how a Moroccan family would do it. And the venue is a riad that still operates as one. Not a cooking school in a riad-shaped building: an old family house in the Medina, with guests staying in it, which means you will run into people at breakfast and the place has a life independent of your class. Walking into a riad, as the operator puts it, is a flashback into the Moroccan tradition. The chef is Aicha, and the lesson is the secrets of the Moroccan kitchen and the culture behind it, cooked together rather than watched. Four hours, with a welcome mint tea, all the equipment, and lunch or dinner depending on the slot. A large bottle of water for every two people. Fifteen at most, in English, French or Arabic. Gluten-free and vegan on request; tell them at booking. The recipes arrive by email within a week. The class is not private, so you may cook alongside other guests. Other drinks at the riad are paid for separately, and private transport is not included.