We are home from a culinary and cultural tour in Morocco. The food was wonderful and the Moroccan people were friendly and welcoming. But we had some unexpected excitement at the end. To prevent transmission of COVID-19 to the country, Morocco cut off flights to most international locations, including our flight out. For a few days, we felt a bit like Ilsa Lund and Victor Laszlo from the movie Casablanca searching for a way out.
Let’s begin with the many good things that happened. We have found that culinary tours are an excellent way to find out a lot about its culture and history. We found this to be especially true on the two tours we previously had taken with Peggy Markel, to Tuscany and India, and on this trip as well in Morocco.
Peggy operates a company that offers small group culinary and cultural tours in several countries and leads the tours herself. These tours are not like any other we have been on. It’s not like checking off tourist sites from a guidebook. We are instead meeting Peggy’s friends. These are people she has developed friendships with over the years who are doing interesting things as chefs or in growing and producing food, or as artisans working on local crafts. When we meet them, we feel welcomed into their homes and communities and we learn about their cuisine, culture and way of life.
On this trip, we were based at a small Riyadh outside of Marrakesh called Jnane Tamsna. Peggy has known the couple who own the Riyadh, Gary and Mary Ann Martin, for over 20 years. In addition to running the Riyadh, they are involved in organic and sustainable agriculture. We used produce and herbs from their garden and nearby farm in our cooking classes. We also learned about the couple’s work in helping build local cooperatives that are developing new products to help improve the local economy.
The cooking lessons at Jnane Tamsna were given by their long-time chef, Bahija. We learned how to do Moroccan cooking in tajines and about the different herbs and spices that give the food its special flavor. We also made breads, couscous and kefta. Although Morocco borders on the Sahara desert, the produce grown there is varied, delicious, and fresh. Through Gary and another organic farmer we visited, Domain Sauvage, we learned how they were able to grow crops in that setting, for example, protecting plants from the heat by siting them in the rows between olive trees, and judicious use of scarce water.
We traveled from Marrakesh for a few days to see a bit of the country. Our first stop was an an inn, the Kasbah du Toubkal, which is located in the Atlas Mountains near the 13,000 foot peak of Mount Toubkal. The inn was developed for trekkers and has been recognized for its sustainable design. It was also accessible only by foot or by mule. We opted for the mules, who were more sure-footed than we would likely be. During our stay, we walked higher up the mountain through walnut groves and terraces used for agriculture to a village perched on the edge of the mountain. There we were invited into a home—Peggy’s friends—for tea and conversation about living in the mountains. And we had a cooking lesson from the Inn’s chef.
From there we went to the Atlantic coast near the town of Essaouira. We visited the shops in town, including a Berber rug store where we succumbed to the charms of the owner and the beauty of the rugs. Steve also got to emulate Lawrence of Arabia with a camel ride on the beach.
We came away from the trip with an understanding of the possibilities for organic, small-scale and sustainable agriculture. We also saw how people in Morocco were able to work in cooperatives that helped them develop new products and markets. Like the other trips we took with Peggy, this was no ordinary tour, but a genuine look into the culture and daily life of a country, accompanied by delicious meals made with fresh, local ingredients.
At the end of the trip we were back at Jnane Tamsna but with no way home. The US Embassy was of little help. Not only had most flights out of Morocco been canceled, the government was saying it would close down all international flights in a few days.
Two heroes, however, rode to our rescue. Stephanie and Alice, who are service representatives with United Airlines, managed to get us out via British Air, which was still flying. They were great. We got home one day late filled with memories of the wonderful experiences we had and armed with new recipes to try out at home.
