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I have stressed the importance of indulging yourself in the local culture before and also using the local food to do so. In this post I will mention another creative way in which you can get stuck into and learn about a culture. Sign up for a cooking class! This is a perfect way to experience a culture from a local’s perspective. It works that much better in a food rich country – in a country where the food is a big part of the culture – in countries like Italy, Japan, Thailand and Morocco.
We signed up for a cooking class in Marrakech and in this post I will detail our experience.
a cooking class is a creative way in which you can get stuck into and learn about a culture.
We were met by the local host at the jamaa al fnaa square at around mid morning. This was after we awkwardly missed our appointment the day before. She thankfully didn’t mind rescheduling. After our brief introductions, we got to our first task of the day – shopping! We went into the local market to buy all of the ingredients we were going to shop with! That may sound mundane, but considering the fact it’s in a foreign land and also considering the madness of the jamaa al fnaa, we were going to be in for a treat. It did not disappoint. Our local host whizzed through the tight alleys and maze like markets and it became swiftly clear that she knew this area like the back of her hand. If you’ve ever been to Marrakech, you’ll know what a maze jamaa al fnaa is.
So, we bought every ingredient and I really do mean every ingredient. We bought the vegetables, the olives, the lemons and even the fresh chicken! We watched on as the local expertly haggled with the vendors. Some of them even decided to converse with us – including some football banter – about Jose Mourinho nonetheless! A wonderful and clearly a very local experience. Once we had purchased everything we needed, we went back to the place we were going to cook at – it was a riad located amidst the markets.
Before we started cooking and while everything was getting set up for us, our host gave us a little taste of a famous Moroccan tradition – the mint tea. She spoke about the history of the drink and also how it is usually made. Then she poured all of us a drink each and as always Moroccan mint tea never ever disappoints. One of my favourite drinks ever!
Then we started cooking. By the way, we were cooking the famous tajine – chicken and lemon version. All the ingredients were laid out on the table in front of us. The host explained and also modeled for us what to do. We followed. We got nuggets of cultural information about the country and the dish and the ingredients and all in all it was a very pleasant and educational experience.
Tajine is the name of the dish that the food is cooked in and that’s where this dish gets its name from. I should put a disclaimer and mention that neither me nor my wife were big fans of tajine and the tajine we tried in Morocco. However, this one right here (cooked by me coincidentally) tasted really good (confirmed by the wife too). It was one of our favourite tajines! Now, I’m sure this is probably due to the fresh ingredients and not my culinary skills.
The nature of the dish is that all the ingredients are placed in this tajine and then you just let it cook. So, that’s what we did and while we waited we went up onto the rooftop to take in the wonderful views of Marrakech. Wonderful! Once the tajine was ready, we came back down and dined with the others. It was interesting and fun to be eating the food that we had just cooked and learnt about.
This was an experience to savour for sure. I was a little skeptical to begin with, but this was a winner and one of the highlights of our trip. Whether you like cooking or not, you must try this activity next time you travel!
