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The warm Saraha breezes were my first acquaintance as I stepped off my short flight from Paris. It had been 18 years since my last trip to Marrakech, Morocco and just the thought of being back sent chills up my spine.
Don't get me wrong... I love green curry, coconut milk, terraced rice paddies, and the easy life of Thailand. I also love the sunlight over the Harbor Bridge in Sydney, the yummy Clare Valley Reislings and the spirited Australians. But nothing gets me more excited than the smells that waff through the spice market, the sensuous sounds and sights, the extraordinary food and the most hospitable people in this exciting country of Morocco. When you fall in love with a place, no words that can do it justice.
The first morning I woke to a hollow knocking sound. I went to the window and there was a young boy whacking oranges out of a tree outside my window. Jet lagged, I smiled at him and one was promptly returned along with the aroma of orange flowers and offering of an orange. It was possibly the sweetest fruit I'd ever tasted.
An hour later, Bahija, the house chef, and I met my students in the big communal kitchen for our first cooking class on how to make the perfect chicken tagine. We had bowls of ginger, saffron, cumin, paprika, cayenne, coriander, cardamom, and turmeric along with our own clay tagines in front of us. There were all kinds of vegetables and fruit like zucchini, turnip, winter squash, tomatoes, carrots, eggplant, quince, apples, even bananas and dried fruit,- dates, apricots, raisins, and prunes. There were jars of preserved lemons, fresh ginger, almonds and honey from the Atlas Mountains.
As we rubbed spices and salt on the chicken thighs and placed them in the base of the tagine, excitement started to build. So many choices!
Some made savory tagines with eggplant, garlic and tomato, others were made with sweet dates, preserved lemons and apples. I settled on plump dried apricots with honey and a few toasted almonds. We placed the conical cover on top and we carried our tagines outside to individual wood-fired clay braziers scattered around the patio. In just 30 minutes they were done. This was a lunch I'll never forget. And that was just class number one!
Pack your bags and join me in Morocco! |
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- Hands-on cooking classes in the beautifully equipped, professional kitchen in our estate
- Luxurious accommodation at Jnane Tamsna, located in the exclusive Palmeraie district of Marrakech
- Learn how to use the amazing local ingredients and the best spices in the world
- A special excursion to the Atlas Mountains, where we will explore and enjoy lunch with an unbelievable view
- Learn the art of bread making and create authentic tagines
- Visit my all-time favorite markets for beautiful artisan crafts
- Accommodations, transportation throughout the week, meals, wine, excursions and much, much more! Click here to see the sample itinerary.
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US $5,000.00 per person
(Airfare and accommodations not included)
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