Food in Fez: 10 things we love

The food in Fez: 10 things we love

Tagine

The tagine, describing both the dish and the clay chimney-style pot used to make it, is influenced by Berber, Jewish, Arabic and Andalucían communities. In Fez, the most popular are makfoul – beef or lamb locked in with onions and tomato – and chicken with preserved lemons and daghmira onion sauce.

To try making your own, check out our collection of tagine recipes.

Bastilla

This light filo pastry snack was brought to Morocco by the Andalucíans. Traditional sweet cinnamon and almond versions are served at special occasions including weddings. There are also savoury options, filled with shredded pigeon or chicken, with crunchy almonds and a touch of cinnamon for sweetness.

Friday couscous

Fridays are sacred days in Morocco. Many merchants close shop to take a hammam, visit the mosque then catch up with friends and family over couscous. Fez’s regional topping is t’faya, a preparation of caramelised onions and raisins.

Briouats

You’ll find many types of these pastry parcels in Fez, enjoyed as snacks throughout the day. Most are triangular or cylindrical and filled with the likes of kefta (ground meat), cheese, rice and shrimp.

Medina life

Many locals live in the new town but come to the medina to meet friends for tea or coffee and to buy spices, fresh fruit and veg, incense and traditional dresses for Eid. People come to Fez’s medina from all over Morocco to buy chebakia – sticky, sweet, rose-shaped pastries made using sesame paste that are traditionally eaten to break fast during Ramadan.

Tea shops

Fez’s tea shops are where locals meet to drink tea made in a variety of styles, mostly combining green tea with herbs including marjoram, peppermint, spearmint, sage, wormwood and lemon verbena. We take it sweet, so if you just want a little less sugar, ask for ‘chouia chouia’.

Spices

There are many spices in Moroccan cuisine but the ‘head of shop’ is ras el hanout. This is a blend of up to 35 different herbs and spices. We use it in everything from tagines (including mrouzia beef and raisins) to stews including rfissa.

Rfissa

Rfissa is a stewed chicken and lentil dish cooked in a pot with a layer of pastry strips to soak up the spices and juices. It’s eaten on special occasions, most notably on the birthday of the prophet. You can see the pastry dough being stretched by hand in the medina.

Breads

Fez’s speciality is khobz bread, made with fine semolina and white flour, sprinkled with sesame and fennel seeds. We use this to dip into harira barley soup for breakfast or lunch.

Teatime gatherings

It’s traditional in Morocco for neighbours and friends to gather between 4pm and sunset at someone’s house to chat, play music and drink tea and coffee with an array of sweet treats. These include meloui (laminated pan breads), harcha (semolina flatbreads), baghrir (‘thousandhole pancakes’) and krachel (sweet brioche-style loaves).

Where to eat in Fez

Fez Cooking School

Meet your chef and guide over tea at Palais Amani before venturing into the heart of the medina to shop for veg, olives and spices, snack on traditional treats and chat to local merchants. Learn how to make a three-course Moroccan meal back on the rooftop, then enjoy it in the peaceful courtyard with new friends. fezcookingschool.com

Cafe Clock

Relax on the higgledy-piggledy rooftop of this multi-level restaurant offering views over the medina and the surrounding mountains. Tuck into cheese briouats, hearty rfissa and mint lemonade with the backdrop of live Arab and oud music, or take part in a jam session. cafeclock.com/fez

Café Al Oud

Nab an outdoor table at Café Al Oud in the heart of Fez’s medina to watch the world go by over the signature lamb tagine, a sizzling dish of melting lamb, jammy, sesame-coated prunes, apricots and crunchy almonds. instagram.com/caferestaurantaloud

Abdullah Thé & Café

Climb the steep, narrow stone steps to a tiny cavern where 81-year-old Ba Abdullah has been serving his signature mint tea since 1969. He picks homegrown leaves of spearmint, marjoram, sage and lemon verbena, heats green tea in an ancient copper contraption and jokes around spraying orange blossom water to cool guests down while they wait. Rue Machatine

Where to stay in Fez

Palais Amani

Step in from the hustle and bustle of Fez’s old medina to this peaceful riad, centred around a courtyard abundant with orange trees, shaded tables and chairs, and trickling fountains. Look out for Ba Mohammed perched on his cushion ready to serve traditional mint tea as he chuckles away at your attempts at repeating the Arabic cheers to your health, ‘sehha’. The rooftop is a haven of cushioned relaxation areas set among terracotta pots of peach bougainvillea, olive trees and rose bushes. On-site restaurant Eden serves traditional Moroccan cuisine such as slow-cooked aubergine zaalouk, pastilla stuffed with cinnamon-spiced chicken and nuts, lamb tagine and vegetable couscous. Breakfast platters of colourful bowls filled with jams, olives, herbed cottage cheese and olive oil accompany silver pots of tea and a daily rotating Moroccan soup served with warm, fennelflecked flatbreads. Stained-glass windows adorn the bedrooms along with intricate bedheads, handwoven rugs and dark wood cabinets. Hotel luxuries are all sourced in Morocco, from Sultan herbal teas to essential oil bath products. Extend the pampering experience and pad down to the hammam for a sensory experience of hot water, steam, scrubbing and massaging, leaving you feeling as clean as you will ever be. palaisamani.com

Doubles from £172, check availability at booking.com or mrandmrssmith.com

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