Cooking Classes in Oujda - Eastern Morocco's Distinct Flavours

Oujda, capital of Morocco's far east near the Algerian border, has a food culture distinct from the rest of the country - shaped by the eastern plains, the nearby Beni Snassen mountains, and the citrus and olive groves of Berkane down the road. Its cooking rewards the curious, and a class here explores flavours and dishes that rarely appear in the tourist cities of the west.

You cook an eastern-style tagine and the regional dishes the area is proud of, learning how the local pantry - olives and olive oil from the fertile Triffa plain, Berkane citrus, eastern herbs and spices - shapes the food. Many classes also touch the street specialities that define Oujda, above all karan, the baked chickpea-flour custard sold from carts and eaten in bread with cumin, which is the city's beloved everyday snack.

Because Oujda sees so few food tourists, classes are personal and genuinely local, taught in homes rather than polished tourist kitchens. The host explains the eastern region's identity - its music, its border culture, its distinct table - and how it differs from Fassi or Marrakchi cooking. You finish by eating everything you made, and leave having tasted a corner of Morocco most visitors never reach.