Fes Activities
Fes cooking class: shop for ingredients in the medina, cook the refined dishes of Fes with a local cook and share the meal you have made.
Overview
Moroccans will tell you the best food in the country comes from Fes. Its cooking is the most elaborate in Morocco, shaped by Andalusian families and centuries of court kitchens: sweet and savoury together, saffron and cinnamon, slow sauces reduced to a glaze.
The class begins in the food souk, where you buy vegetables, herbs and spices with your cook. Back in the kitchen of a riad or family home you prepare a menu that might include a chicken tagine with preserved lemon and olives, a lamb tagine with prunes and almonds or the famous pastilla, with cooked salads and bread. Then you eat together in the courtyard.
Detailed programme
Start
With your cook you buy vegetables, herbs, olives and spices from the stalls of the medina.
Fes is regarded as the home of Morocco’s most refined cooking, and the market visit shows why: the range of ingredients is remarkable.
Preparation
In the riad kitchen you prepare cooked salads and learn the balance of sweet and savoury that defines Fassi cooking.
The menu is agreed in advance and vegetarian options are available.
Cooking
You assemble the main dish step by step and take your bread to the neighbourhood oven if time allows.
Pastilla, the sweet-and-savoury pie of Fes, takes patience and is a favourite with keen cooks. In the old city many families still send their bread to the communal oven.
The meal
Sit down to eat what you have made, with mint tea to finish and recipes to take home.
Allow three to four hours including the meal.
This is a private experience, so times and stops can be adjusted to your arrival, your pace and the season.
Ask About This ProgrammeThe experience
Why choose this experience
In Fes, recipes are family heirlooms. Cooking with a local cook is a way into the homes and habits of the city.
Why Choose This ExperienceWhat’s included
Not included
Good to know
Location
Frequent questions
A typical menu is a tagine, two or three cooked salads and bread. Pastilla or couscous can be requested in advance, as they take longer.
No. The class suits complete beginners and keen cooks alike.
Yes, in the morning class. It is one of the most interesting parts: you see how locals shop and learn to recognise the spices.
Yes. It is arranged for you and the people you travel with, so the timing and pace are yours.
Send us a message on WhatsApp or by email with your date and the number of people. We reply with availability and the price, and nothing is charged for enquiring.
Yes. It can be booked on its own or added to any of our private tours that pass through Fes.
What to know before you book your Fes cooking class, and what else to do nearby.
Moroccan Cooking Class in Fes is one of 6 private Fes activities on our list. Other Fes activities include Fes Guided Tour (half or full day), Hammam & Spa (2–3 hours), Day Trip to Meknes & Volubilis (full day) and Day Trip to Chefchaouen (full day).
The best things to do in Fes start with Bab Boujloud (the blue gate into the old medina), Chouara Tannery (leather dyed by hand since medieval times) and Royal Palace Gates (seven golden doors framed in zellige). Other things to do in Fes include Bou Inania Madrasa, Al Quaraouiyine and Merenid Tombs Viewpoint; our Fes travel guide covers each one.
Our Fes excursions include Fes Guided Tour (half or full day) and Hammam & Spa (2–3 hours). Every one of our Fes excursions is private, so the start time and pace are yours.
