The short answer
For most travellers, yes, especially a class that starts with a souk walk. You shop for spices and vegetables, cook three to five dishes such as a tagine, a couscous and Moroccan salads over three to four hours, then eat what you made. It is also one of the easiest ways to spend real time with a Moroccan cook.
In more detail
A good class follows the day of a Marrakchi kitchen. Many begin in the souk or the spice square, learning how ras el hanout is blended and how to identify good saffron. Then you move to a riad kitchen or roof terrace and cook: often chicken with preserved lemon and olives or lamb with prunes, a couscous, cooked salads such as zaalouk or taktouka, and sometimes msemen or pastilla. The meal at the end, with mint tea, is substantial.
Size changes everything. Group sessions can run to ten or fifteen people with a commercial-kitchen feel. Small riad classes of four to six, cooking alongside a host, are the ones people remember. Ask how much of the time you spend chopping, mixing and seasoning yourself rather than watching.
Book ahead in the busy months, March to May and October to November, when the best small classes fill two to four weeks out. No experience is needed. Vegetarian and vegan classes exist; mention any diet when you book and again the day before. Alcohol is not part of a standard class.
We can arrange a class as part of your trip, including women-only sessions on request. Tell us when you ask for your quote.
Good to know
- Choose a class that includes the souk walk.
- Ask the group size before you book.
- Wear clothes you do not mind splashing with turmeric.
- Arrive hungry.