Rabat Palace Cuisine Class — Royal & Festive Moroccan Dishes

Beyond everyday tagines lies the elaborate, ceremonial cuisine of Morocco's palaces and grand celebrations — the food of weddings, feasts and the royal table. Rabat, as the seat of the monarchy, is a fitting place to explore it. This class is more ambitious than a standard session, teaching the labour-intensive, sweet-savoury showpieces that define festive Moroccan cooking.

You might make mrouzia, the rich lamb tagine slow-cooked with honey, raisins, almonds and a heavy hand of ras el hanout, traditionally a preserving dish for the Eid al-Adha feast; a chicken pastilla, the layered warqa pie of poultry, almonds and cinnamon dusted with sugar; or a tagine of chicken with caramelised onion and honey (mkhalel) or stuffed and glazed. These are the dishes a Moroccan family cooks to honour a guest.

The class digs into the techniques that make festive cuisine special: long, patient braising and reduction, the layering of warqa pastry, the confit-like treatment of meats, and the balance of honey, saffron and warm spice that sits at the heart of the royal tradition. The host explains the occasions these dishes belong to and the etiquette of the Moroccan feast.

It is a rewarding class for keen cooks who already know the basics and want to go deeper, or for anyone drawn to the most refined and historic side of Moroccan food. You eat your creation as a celebratory meal, and leave with recipes for dishes that will impress at any table back home.