Authentic Moroccan Cooking Class: Souk Market Walk to Riad Feast

Moroccan culinary heritage is recognized by UNESCO as one of the world's most intricate and ancient food cultures: a delicate synthesis of Berber pastoral cooking, Andalusian citrus elegance, Arab spice commerce, and French pastry precision. This hands-on masterclass is hosted in the sunlit open-air courtyard of a restored 18th-century medina riad. Accompanied by your English-speaking chef, the morning begins in the neighbourhood market, sourcing seasonal vegetables, fragrant flat-leaf parsley, preserved lemons, and custom-blended spices from traditional spice merchants. Returning to individual cooking stations equipped with custom butane burners and seasoned clay tagines, master the fundamental secrets of Moroccan gastronomy: grinding fresh cumin and ginger, caramelizing onions without burning, and assembling light, flaky pastry for chicken pastilla. Together with your chef, prepare an array of cooked Moroccan salads (smoky zaalouk eggplant and sweet roasted tomato taktouka), a signature main tagine (tender lamb with prunes or lemon-confit chicken with green olives), and orange slices with cinnamon. Finally, sit together on the tiled courtyard to feast on your culinary creations paired with fresh bread and mint tea.