Fez: Rooftop Cooking Class with Grandmother & Medina Views

Fez market stroll rooftop cooking with grandmother Fatima

You’ll shop local markets in Fez with Fatima before heading up to her family’s rooftop kitchen overlooking the Medina. Prepare Moroccan salads, bake bread by hand, cook your chosen main dish, and try your hand at traditional pastries. Share lunch together as city sounds drift up from below — and take home recipes so you can relive it all later.

What’s included

Your morning includes meeting at Batha for market shopping with Fatima and your guide, hands-on rooftop cooking overlooking Fez’s Medina, all ingredients for salads, bread, main course and pastries of your choice, coffee or tea during lunch together on the terrace — plus an emailed recipe booklet after your day so you can try everything again at home.

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Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1 — Cooking Moroccan cuisine with grandmother

• Meet guests at Batha
• Shop at local market
• Go home to rooftop
• Prepare with grandmother Fatima
• Cook Moroccan dishes
• Eat the cooked food

The Experience

We were already halfway through the souk when I realized I’d lost track of what we were actually buying. Fatima (she’s the grandmother everyone talks about) kept squeezing tomatoes, shaking her head or nodding, and our guide translated her muttered comments — something about “real flavor” and “not supermarket.” The air smelled sharp, like mint and raw olives, mixed with that dusty Fez sun. I tried to ask for coriander in my best French-Moroccan mashup; Fatima just grinned and handed me a bunch anyway. She knows what she’s doing.

The walk back to Dar Settash was a bit of a maze — up stone steps, past kids playing with a dented football, then suddenly we’re on the rooftop and the whole Medina is just there. It’s noisy down below but up here it feels weirdly peaceful. We started chopping peppers for zaalouk (I still can’t pronounce it right), and Fatima showed me how to mash eggplant without making it mushy. She moves fast but never rushes anyone. There was this moment when she sprinkled cumin over everything and the smell kind of hung in the warm air — honestly, I didn’t expect that part to stick with me.

Bread baking was chaos in the best way — flour everywhere, Fatima laughing at my lopsided dough circles, our guide trying to keep up translating between all the jokes. Lunch happened slowly: salads first (zaalouk and taktouka), then whatever main dish we’d picked together (I went for chicken with preserved lemon). I think everyone got quiet when we finally sat down to eat; maybe just hungry or maybe because it tasted like something you couldn’t get in any restaurant. Afterward we tried making those crescent-shaped almond pastries — cornes de gazelle — mine looked more like tired croissants but nobody cared.

I got an email later with all the recipes, which felt like a small gift from Fez itself. Sometimes I open it just to remember that view, or how cumin really smells on a hot rooftop. It’s funny what sticks.

Top questions

Is this Fez cooking class suitable for beginners?

Yes, Fatima guides everyone step by step and there’s a translator to help explain each part.

Do I get recipes after the class?

Yes, you’ll receive a booklet of all the recipes you learned by email after your visit.

Where does the cooking class start?

You’ll meet at Batha in Fez before heading to shop at the local market together.

What dishes do we cook during this Moroccan cooking class?

You’ll make two Moroccan salads (zaalouk and taktouka), bake bread, choose your main course together, and prepare traditional pastries such as cornes de gazelle.

Is transportation provided for this day trip in Fez?

No hotel pickup is included but public transportation options are available nearby Batha where you meet your guide.

Are children welcome at this Fez rooftop cooking experience?

Yes, specialized infant seats are available if needed so families can join comfortably.