The short answer
Pastries, tea or sugar are the classic gifts when a Moroccan family invites you in. A box from a good pâtisserie, such as gazelle horns, is always welcome. Hand it over with your right hand. Accept the mint tea that follows: it is part of the welcome, not optional politeness.
In more detail
Hospitality runs deep in Morocco, and an invitation to a home, whether from a guide, a riad owner or a cooking-class host, is something to accept warmly. Bringing something small for the table is the courtesy that matches it.
Gueliz has pâtisseries selling gazelle horns, the almond-filled crescent pastries, and other Moroccan sweets. Sugar and tea are traditional too, because they are what the host will use to make mint tea for you.
Inside, follow the household's lead. If shoes come off at the door, take yours off. Eat with your right hand from the part of the shared dish in front of you, and accept the tea when it is poured.
Good to know
- Pastries, tea or sugar: never wrong.
- Dress as you would for the medina.
- Take your shoes off if your hosts do.
- Say 'shukran' to the cook.
- Accept the first glass of tea; refusing outright reads as cold.
- Greet everyone in the room when you arrive.