A cooking class for traditional Moroccan cuisine? A relaxing hammam and massage? In a special package deal? At top-rated operators Faim d’Epice and Mythic Oriental Spa? What better things to do in Marrakech?
Best cooking class in Marrakech — Faim d’Epices
One of the things I love best about travelling is discovering new foods. Sadly, Moroccan cuisine was a big disappointment, my first trip there. It was all so bland. I loved the bread, but the couscous? Tasteless. I don’t even remember anything else, only that eating was something we did in order not to be hungry, not for any enjoyment.
My experience with Moroccan food could not have been more different the second time around, on a short holiday to Marrakech with my BFF from school. Yum, yum, oh my goodness yum!
It started with the pastries and msemen (Moroccan pancakes) at our riad. It continued with a food tour, where I was amazed by all the dishes we tasted — so many delicacies! And then there was our wonderful cooking class.
Faim d’Epices is located in the countryside about 30 minutes from Marrakech. This cooking school offers a different menu each day, mostly tagines but also couscous. Couscous, I thought, as I booked us on a tagine day, who needs a class to learn how to cook couscous? The food tour taught me that good couscous takes 3 hours to cook, not 10 minutes out of a box — so now I’m thinking I do need a course. But I was not at all sorry to have chosen the tagine class.
We made a chicken tagine with olives — apparently the most popular choice — and Moroccan flat bread. Ilham, who runs Faim d’Epices with her husband Michel, also showed us how to make a few different salads as well as msemen. And then once it was all done, everyone sat outside to eat what we’d made.
The day was a lot of fun and the food was amazing — the best tagine I’d ever eaten, by far. Even better, I easily made the meal again once I was back home, and other tagines too. In fact, the class set me on a bit of a tagine obsession.
But that’s not all… after the cooking class there was still the hammam!
Hammam pampering — Mythic Oriental Spa
Faim d’Epices has a special offer with Mythic Oriental Spa — one of the best hammams in Marrakech — for a full day cooking class followed by a private hammam, exfoliation with Moroccan black soap and 1-hour body massage. We upgraded the massage to the 1 hour 15 min “signature” version with argan oil.
After a full day of kneading dough and marinating chicken, it was very pleasant to be kneaded and marinated ourselves. The luxurious spa is in a converted riad, with very kind attendants. There’s a bit of waiting around while the black soap and various oils sink in, but the massage was wonderful and the whole experience very luxurious. Even better, it was conveniently located just around the corner from our riad. Highly recommended!
