After getting ready, we set out for our cooking class. It was relatively far from our hotel; 20 minute taxi or about 40 minutes on bus. We opted for the bus.
We arrived a bit early and sat for tea and coffee.
Brahim met us on time, was friendly immediately! He escorted us to his house; a 3 story town house in a modern Moroccan neighbourhood. They share the house with Brahim’s parents and 2 brothers. The house is modestly decorated, rustic but very comfortable. We sat in the living room / dining room and met his wife, mother and 18 month old son.
We were presented a giant array of breads, jams, tomato chutney, olives and ‘pancakes’ with honey. Everything was simple and delicious. We got to know each other and we presented (mother) a Canadian gift, maple syrup.
After discussing the day, Brahim gave us many choices of meals to make. He helped us choose beef tagine with apricot and prunes; and lamb tagine with vegetables (potato, zucchini, carrots and peas).
We set out for the market with basket in hand. Brahim purchased all the provisions at the local stands. Each vendor was specially chosen for their support of tourism in the area that doesn’t normally have any.
All the ingredients were extremely fresh, especially the oranges that were in season. Yum!
We purchased 1 ‘large’ gram of saffron from a trusted vendor; best quality I have ever seen (35 MAD or about $8, not much cheaper than Amazon, but hey, we got it in Morocco).
After collecting all our stuff, we headed back to the house and got straight at it, cutting onions, garlic, potatoes, etc etc. Brahim left to drop the bread at the community bake house.
We marinaded the beef and lamb in a variety of spices including cumin, turmeric and a couple mixes such as Moroccan 35 spice mix. The smells were amazing.
Without giving a play-by-play for the entire day, we cooked for several hours and that may sound like a long of time to some, but we enjoyed every minute. It was especially interesting to use the simple instruments, all while the kids ran around and played. It was like being part of the family. Their daughter, who is 4, goes to school from 0830 until 1200, home for lunch until 1500 and back to school until 1730. Cute kid.
Brahim took us to the simple, but charming community bakery; located in the basement of the community bathhouse (hammam). Moroccan’s like their bread fresh baked in wood ovens and for about 1-2 MAD per loaf, most families drop their daily nosh there for browning.
We finished up fried potatoes and set the family style meal. The smells were incredible.
What can I say, the food was amazing. The meat was tender, the spices came through in every dish. The salads were simple but very fresh.
Although we learned Moroccan style cooking, the experience was less a cooking lesson than it was stepping into the life of a Moroccan home lifestyle. Fresh shopping; simplicity of ingredients and cooking methods. While we cooked we experienced Moroccan parenting, laundry and their passion for their family. We met everyone and they were all very warm, very welcoming!
We made a special connection and were both present gifts by the family, Ann a pashmina and me a tagine. Very nice ending to a very nice day. This Air BnB experience cost us $50 each, which is of the cheaper cooking classes we have done. It was one of the most authentic experiences we have ever done while travelling.
After the 6 hour experience, We took the bus back to the hotel, drank some beer and relaxed. We were both stuffed and exhausted. Time to just relax!
