Cooking Workshop at La Maison Arabe Country Club, Marrakech, Morocco

The La Maison Arabe Country Club is a tranquil, idyllic paradise; located only minutes outside of Marrakech. The Country Club oasis is only a short shuttle ride from the La Maison Arabe hotel situated in the Medina of Marrakech.

As La Maison Arabe perfectly describes its’ country retreat;

“in the sheltering shade of fig and olive trees in our Private Casbah Gardens, Marrakech, with it’s urban hustle and bustle, is a forgotten world.”

Stepping out of the shuttle at the Country Club, you will literally have to pinch yourself to believe that it was only minutes ago you left behind the craziness and chaos that is the Medina.

The cooking workshop at the Country Club is open to both guests and non-guests of the hotel. I guarantee that whether you are a amateur or a Masterchef, you will love your day spent in the kitchen at La Maison Arabe. Your workshop is run by a traditional Moroccan cook, also known as a dada. The kitchen is beautiful, spacious and modern, complete with individual cooktops, workbenches, sinks and even TV screens allowing you a magnified view of your dadas’ cooking at the front of the room, ensuring you will not miss a step! The kitchen is beautifully designed and the decor stunning, with the walls filled with jars of herbs and spices, along with beautiful Moroccan pottery. The classes run to a maximum of 10 participants, ensuring you are well looked after throughout your time at La Maison Arabe. Don’t be worried about any language barriers either, the classes also provide a translator who can speak Arabic, English and French! They really do to above and beyond to meet your every need.

A tour of the grounds at the beginning of the workshop is the perfect introduction to the ethos of La Maison Arabe and it’s wonderful cooking workshop. A walk through the extensive herb gardens gives you the opportunity to touch, smell and identify all the spices, many which you would use to cook with later in the day! Our tour of the gardens was topped off by experiencing and enjoying the ritual of Moroccan mint tea and being shown how traditional Moroccan flat bread is made and given the chance to assist in cooking it in the outdoor oven. The Country Club features a stunning Casbah, traditional Berber tent and an enormous, sparkling swimming pool just to name a few of it’s many beautiful features provided for it’s guests.

Throughout the half day cooking workshop we were guided through the process of creating culinary masterpieces! From Moroccan salads to Chicken Tagine with preserved lemons and Fruit Pastilla, we truly satisfied our tastebuds. Dining on our creations at the end, whilst enjoying the stunning, peaceful surroundings was the perfect way to end an incredible day. Finally, whilst I don’t want to ruin the surprise too much, you are also given a wonderful little present from La Maison Arabe to take home with you as a thank you for taking part in their cooking workshop.

The cooking workshop was by far one of the highlights of our trip to Morocco. Having fallen in love with Moroccan cuisine from the very beginning, this was the perfect way to end our Moroccan adventures. The staff at La Maison Arabe, including the cooking workshop staff, hotel staff and grounds staff are absolutely wonderful. They are friendly, fun, helpful and really go above and beyond to ensure your experience with La Maison Arabe is perfect. I’ve been lucky enough to have also taken cooking classes in Thailand and Argentina on previous travels, and can say that without a doubt La Maison Arabe’s cooking workshop wins by far.