Date Harvest culinary tour to Marrakesh, October 2017

These culinary tours include cooking, shopping, dining and absorbing the wondrous local culture and history.  There are cooking classes where you learn to make many of the local specialities. Our residential, culinary riad, the House of Fusion, is a highly regarded culinary retreat, visited by many European chefs to polish up their skills in Moroccan food and their knowledge of the exotic spices.

You experience discovery of hidden treasures, well off the tourist map; you will marvel as you wander around a beautiful, ancient, 12^th century Mosque, the only remaining one in the world which faces Jerusalem.  You will cook and dine in a remote Berber village, one accessed only by mule.  There, in this remote place, you learn how to make their local bread, various tagines, couscous, and finished with a simple, spicy, fruit dessert. While you cook with some of the household women, others embroider beautiful tablecloths and napkins; many of which are available for purchase.  And this is all in the middle of beautiful, quite primitive countryside.

You will drive for some days through the spectacular, rugged Atlas Mountains and further into the Sahara desert, through oases, and finally, by camel to an overnight camp. At dawn you climb a high, steep sand dune to experience the sunrise over the exquisite, golden sands of the Sahara, against the most beautiful, clear, azure sky.

 

You dine on sensational, authentic Moroccan cuisine, in our riad, at local riads, in the souk, desert and mountains.  Back at the House of Fusion, you learn how to cook some of the dishes you have enjoyed during your stay; the famous B’stilla, delicious tagines, mezze dishes, and various pastries.  Before the cooking classes you shop for your produce in the nearby market.

You have day in Jemaa el-Fnaa, the main city souk, market place; you can shop for spices, tagines, various cookware, silk scarves, linen, and a very special visit to the ‘boutique’ carpet house.  It is a trip to experience authenticity in Moroccan food and culture.

Consult the website also for some more information under culinary tours.

Feedback from previous happy travellers on our tours and also on Trip Advisor 

‘A Feast for the senses’
5 of 5 stars
Reviewed June 2016

Edwina’s riad is both elegant and comfortable – you immediately feel
very much at home. Apart from being a beautiful place to stay it is
situated right in the medina so you can easily walk to the square and
soak up the wonderful atmosphere of old Marrakech.
At relatively short notice, Edwina cooked our group a delicious tapas dinner – which was the best food we had tasted during our whole trip to Morocco.
Edwina also makes a pretty deadly mojito! Perhaps the highlight for me though was the cooking class the following day. I was fortunate to have a one on one session with Edwina. We talked, we laughed, we cried – and we cooked! Together we prepared the most amazing 8-course lunch. Back home in Melbourne some of these dishes – including the beetroot and orange soup – are now part of my standard repertoire. The whole experience was just amazing. Thanks Edwina.

‘House of Fusion, Marrakech, Morocco’
Reviewed December 2015

House of Fusion is a wonderful, colourful reflection of its owner the gorgeous Edwina. The riad, in the heart of old Marrakech, has been beautifully renovated . The bedrooms and bathrooms are very comfortable with personal touches. The riad abounds with art work and zany collectables. Our road trip with Edwina through Morocco was an adventure to non tourist areas. The House of Fusion cooking classes are FABulous!
Stayed September 2015, Sue and David Bell

‘Best food that we had in Morocco’
Reviewed May 20, 2015
Stayed here for 5 nights as part of a cooking programme with Edwina. Great riad. If you are looking for the tourist experience with average tagines and usual spots visited then do NOT come here. If you want to see some less visited places like the extraordinary Tinmal mosque and tea with a berber family then this is the place. Having said that the real highlight here is the food. No place where we ate including the Richard Branson Kasbah Tamadot and Relaix & Chateaux came close to Edwina’s food. The most sparkling flavours I have ever had. You have to try this version of a pigeon b’stilla. That is after you try the beetroot and orange soup and an amazing chicken/lemon tagine. Stil leave room foir an astonishing rose water meringue with saffron custard
Stayed May 2015, Steve and Rhonda Hall