“You have to taste a culture to understand it.” – Deborah Cater

Many years ago I was the kind of traveller who would rather save my money for antique shopping rather than splurge on, or take the time to eat, good meals. But, being married to a man who always sought out the traditional, popular, and unusual foods when we traveled, I quickly came around to his way of thinking and wow, has it ever enriched my travels. The deeper understanding that can be achieved by submersing yourself into the local food culture when travelling, adds richness to the experience.

Over the years I have dined on everything from sheep’s brain in Turkey to the priciest caviar in Russia, and I can attest, that although I didn’t develop a deep love for either dish, what I did learn was how those dishes reflect the traditions, culture of my host country. How fortunate we are to be able to travel and stretch our taste buds with new spices, new combinations of flavour, and new foods! 

While I can promise you sheep’s brain won’t be on the menu for our time in Marrakech, I can almost guarantee that everyone will try dishes during our time together that they’ve never tasted before – I hedge my bets in case you have a great local Moroccan restaurant in your town, lol! You will dine on tender tajines, the most amazing chicken pastilla (a Moroccan savoury delicacy featuring aromatic spices including cinnamon wrapped in layers of delicate pastry), and Kefta. And, of course, we will drink copious amounts of the mint tea Morocco is known for!

During Prone to Wander: Marrakech I am pleased to present two featured hands on cooking lessons; “Taste of Morocco” and “From Market to Table”. 

During the “Taste of Morocco” workshop, our group will create several iconic dishes that are typical of the region. Hosted by a local association that trains and empowers disadvantaged women to work in the culinary industry, we will learn, make and eat some amazing food together.

For our “From Market to Table” lesson, together we will go to a local market to procure the items we need for our menu before joining the staff and host at our private hotel for a lesson where we will prepare our dinner, fresh as can be!

During our time together, the included meals will vary between being prepared by the cooks at our host properties, and dining out at local restaurants or our cooking lessons venues.  Most of these meals will be eaten family style.

There are a few lunches and dinners which are not included in the retreat tuition. For the excluded meals there will be many cafes/restaurant options where you will be able to dine. However, one dinner that attendees will miss will be on our cooking lesson day. Because we will be eating a late lunch at our lesson I don’t anticipate that many will want to eat a full dinner. There will be a small snack provided later that night.

For drinks: Breakfast will include freshly squeezed orange juice, tea, coffee. Water will be provided with each lunch served, and for dinner we will provide water and tea.

Alcoholic beverages are not included and, indeed, are sometimes challenging to find as Morocco generally frowns on alcohol due to religious tradition. That said, there will be wine available for purchase at both of our accommodations and in the city you should be able to find it in many places like bars, restaurants and hotels.

If you have any food allergies, or dietary restrictions, please let us know as soon as possible so that we can confirm that the kitchen will be able to safely accommodate your needs.

Won’t you join us as we dive into the food culture of Morocco?