24 08, 2018

The Last Couscous

2018-10-23T17:45:10+02:00August 24th, 2018|

Couscous, a traditional moroccan dish Every Friday like clockwork in households all over Morocco, carrots, courgettes, turnips are bought, cut and cooked in order of their density. Seasonal vegetable variations such as aubergines and peppers in the summer, rich red pumpkin in the autumn or [...]

12 06, 2018

Harira: Breaking the fast during Ramadan

2018-10-23T18:24:17+02:00June 12th, 2018|

Breaking the fast This year’s month of fasting is drawing to an end. Last night was the 27thnight of Ramadan, the sacred night, where prayers are the most fervent, and where children dress in their finest new clothes and go out after dark to [...]

29 05, 2018

Artichokes announcing the approach of summer

2018-05-29T16:08:30+02:00May 29th, 2018|

This week in the medina in Fez, the market stalls are piled high with artichokes, which is always a sign that summer is just round the corner as their abundance tends to precede a spate of much warmer weather in this part of North [...]

25 05, 2018

Chebbakia: Ramadan’s Queen of pastries

2018-05-25T17:09:03+02:00May 25th, 2018|

‘But I have 5 kilos of Chebbakia in my hand luggage, that’s why it’s overweight’ says the man just ahead of me in the check-in queue for the Air Arabia flight to London Gatwick. The member of Fez airport ground crew hesitates then looks up [...]

7 05, 2018

A day in the country

2018-05-25T17:09:32+02:00May 7th, 2018|

Friday is the holy day in Morocco, where the mosques are the fullest; the midday prayer is the longest and where family kitchens excel in the variation and refinement of the Friday Family Couscous. But Sunday is the day where most people mark a [...]

1 05, 2018

“Moroccan feast at a foodie hotel master class”

2018-05-25T16:37:04+02:00May 1st, 2018|

 Excerpts from latest article in the daily mail online ‘Now, confession time’ writes Liz Hoggard in the dailymail.co.uk ‘I don’t cook much’. In a delightful article on the Tajine and side dishes cooking workshop at Fez Cooking School, Liz Hoggard, one of the top writers [...]

24 04, 2018

Fez – A mosaic of daily life

2018-06-05T12:20:07+02:00April 24th, 2018|

Following the course of the river that bears the same name, Fez El-Bali spills down the hill from the plateau of the new town. In shades of cream and gold dotted with the green roofs of its places of worship, it sits there like [...]

13 04, 2018

Broad Beans: Maana From Heaven

2018-05-07T17:19:52+02:00April 13th, 2018|

Morocco never ceases to surprise me for the speed with which things grow. As the chill of winter fades, little lines of green stripe this hills surrounding Fez like a 70’s knitted sweater; sage green knotty ridges against the chocolate brown earth. Blink and [...]