How a cooking class works
Most classes follow the same pattern, over three to six hours:
- A welcome with mint tea, often with an explanation of how to serve it, poured from high up to make it froth.
- The market visit, when there is one: buying vegetables, herbs and spices at a neighbourhood market or in the souks, with explanations about the produce. Not every school offers it.
- The spice workshop: cumin, paprika, ginger, turmeric, saffron and ras el-hanout, the house blend. Some schools turn it into a blind tasting game.
- The bread: kneading khobz, the round everyday loaf, or msemen, flaky pancakes cooked in a pan. Depending on the school, the bread goes off to the neighbourhood oven, the ferran, or bakes in a clay oven.
- The cooking: everyone prepares one or more dishes, often at their own workstation.
- The meal: you have lunch or dinner of what you have cooked, then leave with the recipes, sometimes with a certificate.
What you cook
The menu varies by school and by day, and is sometimes chosen on the spot with the chef. It usually includes:
- Cooked salads: zaalouk (spiced aubergine and tomato), taktouka (peppers and tomatoes), carrots with cumin.
- A main course: chicken tagine with preserved lemon and olives, kefta tagine with eggs, seven-vegetable couscous, and more rarely pastilla, which takes longer to make.
- A dessert: oranges with cinnamon, fruit salad, almond pastries.
Moroccan dishes lend themselves well to a vegetarian menu: just say so when you book. To try these dishes in a restaurant before or after your class, see our guide what to eat in Marrakech.
The best-known schools
La Maison Arabe, in the medina
The La Maison Arabe hotel, near Bab Doukkala, was one of the first places to offer cooking workshops in Marrakech. The class is led by a dada, a traditional cook, with an interpreter in French, English or Arabic; each participant has their own station fitted with a screen that relays the cook's movements. There are two formats: a one-hour express workshop, at 1.30pm and 6.30pm, and a three-hour half-day workshop, at 10am and 3pm, with tea, spices, a Berber bread demonstration and a meal. There is no market visit. Prices seen on booking platforms in October 2026: about 36 dollars for the express workshop and 74 dollars for the half day.
Amal, an association in Targa
The Amal association trains women in precarious situations for jobs in the restaurant trade and reinvests the income from its classes in this training. The workshops take place at the Amal centre in Targa, a residential district west of Gueliz, Monday to Friday, from 9.30am to about 1pm. Each participant prepares a dish, after tea and a bread demonstration, then has lunch on site. Expect to pay about 400 DH for a tagine class and 500 DH for a couscous or pastilla class, based on prices seen in October 2026. Bookings are made on the association's website.
Faim d'Épices, in the countryside
Set on a farm surrounded by olive and citrus trees, about twenty minutes from the centre, Faim d'Épices offers a full day: hotel pickup around 9.30am, a stop at the market, a blind spice-tasting workshop, making bread, salads, a dish of the day and a dessert, then a meal on the terrace. The outing lasts about six and a half hours, every day except Tuesday. Expect to pay 600 DH per person in a group, transport included, with a minimum of three participants, and 450 DH for a child aged 12 or under; the private class, for one to six participants, costs 7,000 DH for the group (prices seen in October 2026).
Café Clock, in the Kasbah
Café Clock, a cultural centre and café in the Kasbah district, runs a class that starts at 10am with a visit to the local market, followed by four to five hours of cooking: a salad, a soup, a main dish and a dessert, chosen with the chef on the day. Vegetarian and vegan options are available. Expect to pay 600 DH per person in a group and 1,000 DH per person for a private class; a non-refundable 50% deposit is required when booking (prices seen in October 2026). To explore the neighbourhood, read our Kasbah and Mellah walk.
Dar Les Cigognes, near El Badi Palace
This riad hotel on Rue de Berima, a stone's throw from El Badi Palace, has been giving cooking classes since the early 2000s, private only: from one hour to half a day, with specialised pastry and bread workshops. Families and groups are welcome. The price is not published: ask for a quote.
Other places
Many riads in the medina offer their own class, often with a souk visit, for about 250 to 450 DH. There are also several countryside workshops, such as chef Tarik's, on the road to Amizmiz, the one that leads to Lalla Takerkoust lake and the Agafay Desert, with a vegetable garden and a clay oven, from about 70 dollars. Before booking, read recent reviews: the quality depends a lot on the cook.
Cooking classes compared
| School | Where | Length | Market visit | Price per person |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Maison Arabe | Medina, Bab Doukkala | 1 hr or 3 hrs | No | About 36 or 74 dollars |
| Amal | Targa, west of Gueliz | About 3 hrs 30 | No | 400 to 500 DH |
| Faim d'Épices | Farm on the outskirts | About 6 hrs 30 | Yes | 600 DH, transport included |
| Café Clock | Kasbah | About 5 hrs | Yes | 600 DH (group), 1,000 DH (private) |
| Dar Les Cigognes | Near El Badi Palace | 1 hr to half a day | Depends on the class | On request |
| Riad classes | Medina | 2 hrs 30 to 4 hrs | Often | About 250 to 450 DH |
Prices seen in October 2026, subject to change: check when you book.
Shopping before your class
If your class doesn't include a market visit, you can do one yourself. The herbalists on the Spice Square sell ras el-hanout, cumin and saffron; the covered market in the Mellah has spices and fresh herbs at local prices; the Gueliz central market brings together vegetables, olives and preserved lemons. If you head out to the Ourika Valley on a Monday, stop at the Tnine Ourika weekly souk, where the valley's farmers sell their vegetables and herbs. To take a tagine home, choose one in plain clay or with a simple glaze in the souks of Marrakech: the painted ones are decorative and can't go on the heat. Our guide to the markets of Marrakech covers all of these markets.
Tips for choosing and booking
- Book two to seven days ahead, more in high season and at weekends. Check the cancellation terms: 24 to 48 hours on the platforms.
- Group or private: a group class is cheaper and sociable; a private class lets you choose the dishes, for example a pastilla or pastries.
- Vegetarian, allergies: mention it when you book; most schools adapt the menu.
- With children: Faim d'Épices has a child rate, and Café Clock and Dar Les Cigognes offer private family classes. See also our guide Marrakech with kids.
- Season: in spring and autumn, every option is pleasant; in summer, go for a morning class, especially in the countryside, where the heat often tops 35 °C in the afternoon.
- Ramadan: times may change and some classes are suspended; check with the school. Our guide Ramadan in Marrakech explains what changes during the month of fasting.
Going further
To taste the dishes you have learned to cook, read our guide what to eat in Marrakech. To bring home spices, argan oil and a tagine, see what to bring back from Marrakech, and to plan your days, our 3 days in Marrakech itinerary.
