Cookery

Known in the past as one of Africa's most famous and legendary restaurants, La Maison Arabe today offers cooking workshops designed for visitors to Marrakech, both amateurs and professionals alike, an opportunity to discover the pleasures and delights of preparing and becoming familiar with one of the great cuisines of the world.

Set in enchanting surroundings - a kasbah surrounded by lush greenery and a potagere (vegetable garden). The Dada, traditionally the housekeeper and person responsible for the wellbeing and care of the household children and of course the preparation of meals among wealthy families will share her secret recipes with budding chefs. The workshops are adapted to the length of any guests stay in Marrakech and can be organised for individuals or small groups with easy to use and modern kitchen equipment.

Each half-day session is preceded by a brief introduction to Moroccan cuisine, during which the history and traditions of the "speciality of the day" are described. An interpreter (English, French) provides detailed preparation and cooking instructions. At the end of each workshop, participants dine on the meal they have prepared on a private patio in the shade of an olive or fig tree (weather permitting).

Each workshop is structured so that the participants (maximum of 8 pupils in a class) will learn to prepare an appetiser and an entree or an entree and a dessert. The menu is chosen by the participants at the beginning of each lesson.

Here are some examples of what can be achieved in a single half-day workshop:

Chicken tajine with lemon and olives
Chicken tajine with almonds and hard boiled eggs
Chicken tajine m'derbel
Lamb tajine with dates and almonds
Lamb tajine with figs and nuts
Tajine Makfoul Lamb
Tajine with prunes and apricots
Chicken or Lamb couscous
Moroccan Briwates
Moroccan salads
Pastilla - filled with either shellfish or chicken
Almonds Moroccan pastries