Cooking Class in Fes: Market Tour, Tajine and Pastilla

Fes is Morocco’s culinary capital, and the best way to understand its food is to cook it yourself. A cooking class is at once a market tour, a history lesson, a shared moment and an excellent meal. Here is how a typical class unfolds, what you will learn and how to choose the right one. To discover the dishes themselves, read what to eat in Fes first.

Why take a cooking class in Fes

Fassi cooking is passed down by hand, rarely in writing. Cooking alongside an experienced cook, you discover the gestures, proportions and little secrets no recipe gives you: when to add the saffron, how to roll the semolina, the patience a tajine demands. It is also an ideal activity during the hot hours of summer or on a rainy winter afternoon, and a great idea for families.

How a typical class works

Most classes last three to five hours and follow a similar pattern:

1. The market: with the cook, you head into the souks to choose vegetables, herbs, spices and sometimes meat. It is a chance to understand the produce, taste olives and discover the neighbourhood’s communal oven, where families bake their bread.
2. The kitchen: back in the kitchen, everyone joins in. You usually prepare two cooked salads, a main course and a dessert.
3. Tea: the mint tea ceremony, with its precise gestures, is often part of the programme.
4. The meal: you eat together what you have cooked, often on a terrace or in a courtyard.

At the end, most classes hand out the recipes so you can recreate them at home.

The dishes you learn

Depending on the length of the class and the season, you might learn:

• cooked salads: aubergine zaalouk, pepper and tomato taktouka, cumin carrots;
• tajine: chicken with preserved lemon and olives, lamb with prunes, or a vegetable tajine;
• couscous: rolled and steamed three times, the traditional way;
• pastilla, more technical, kept for longer classes;
• sweets: gazelle horns, briouates or orange salad with cinnamon.

The spices of Moroccan cooking

A cooking class is the best way to demystify the spices. You will learn to balance cumin, ginger, turmeric, paprika, cinnamon and precious saffron, to recognise ras el hanout, a blend of many spices unique to each spice merchant, and to use preserved lemon and smen, a clarified, aged butter. To bring some home, follow our tips on shopping in the Fes souks.

Different kinds of classes

• In a riad or guesthouse, in a family kitchen, often in a small group.
• In a cooking school, with individual stations and a more structured programme.
• In a local home, for a very authentic experience, sometimes with gestures as the only shared language.
• As a private class, for a couple, a family or a group of friends, with a tailor-made menu.

How to choose a good class

• A small group, ideally fewer than ten people, so everyone gets hands-on.
• Real participation rather than a simple demonstration.
• A market visit included, one of the most interesting parts.
• Dietary adaptations: vegetarian, gluten-free, allergies; mention them in advance.
• The language of the class: English, French or other.
• Recent reviews from participants.

Practical information

In high season, book a few days ahead. Classes usually take place in the morning, with the market and lunch, or in the afternoon, ending with dinner. Children are often welcome; we cover this in Fes with kids. Wear comfortable shoes for the market and bring a healthy appetite.

Before booking, check what is included: ingredients, the meal and drinks almost always are, the market visit not always. Ask about the meeting point too, as many classes are tucked away in lanes that are hard to find, and whether someone can collect you from your riad or a medina gate.

Bringing the flavours home

Before you leave, buy a few good-quality spices, a jar of preserved lemons or amlou, and perhaps a tajine. For cooking on the stove, choose a plain, unglazed cooking tajine rather than a painted one, which is usually meant for decoration or serving.

A cooking class during your stay

A cooking class fits naturally into day two of our three-day Fes itinerary, between exploring Fes el-Jdid and the souks. For other experiences, see things to do in Fes, and our Fes medina guide to find the nearby Rcif market.

Cooking and eating at La Petite Maison

With us, the cooking starts at breakfast, homemade every morning, and continues in the evening on request the day before, with tajine, pastilla or couscous on Fridays. Ask us for advice on a cooking class that suits you: we will gladly point you in the right direction. Discover the riad and our rooms, and write to us to plan a stay full of flavour.