Half-Day Cooking Class with Local Chef Laila in Marrakech
Recommended by 97% of travellers
Marrakech, Morocco
- 4 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Discover the secrets of Moroccan cuisine with local chef Laila during this half-day cooking class. Accompany Laila to the market to select fresh produce and learn more about traditional herbs and spices, then get hands-on in the kitchen as you create an appetizer, main course, and dessert. Pick up plenty of expert tips throughout the cooking class, then sit down to enjoy your delicious 3-course lunch or dinner.
- Visit the local market to shop for herbs, spices, and fresh produce
- Create a delicious 3-course meal of Moroccan specialties
- Choose a morning (lunch) or afternoon (dinner) tour
- Class can be adapted for allergies and vegetarians/vegans
Sample Menu
Starter
Zaalouk
Starter
Zucchini charmoula
Starter
Caramelised carrots
Main
Chicken preserved lemon
Main
Tanjia
Main
Couscous
Dessert
Orange al la cannelle
What's Included
- Bottled water
- Coffee and/or Tea
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- J2C8+R5R, 3 Rue Riad Zitoun el Jdid, Marrakesh 40000, Morocco
Meeting point next Préfecture riad zitoun jdid Parking bahia Bahia palace
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.What To Expect
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Pushchair accessible
- Near public transportation
- Infants must sit on laps
- Infant seats available
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 20 travellers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveller Photos
Featured review
A delightful few hours well spent meeting new friends, absorbing the culinary culture of Marrakech under the expert tuition of Leila and her daughter Asma. A heap of fun, informative, well organised and best of all: the shared enjoyment and savouring of our work.
I was most grateful when I got lost in the maze of narrow streets that Leila responded to my message and sent someone to come and find me!
Cannot recommend more highly!
Reviews
4.9
based on 1,367 reviews
Sort by: Most recent
The cooking class was excellent. Yassir, who is Laila’s son, was knowledgable, funny and friendly. Although they changed the time and location the night before and I was worried, it turned out great.
It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon and the team at Leila’s kitchen were very friendly and welcoming. We learnt so much and made some beautiful food. A great way to get to know Morocco.
This cooking class was one of the highlights of our time in Marrakesh.
Our originally scheduled chef experienced an unexpected operational issue, but she communicated with us and thoughtfully arranged for her son to lead the class. He was absolutely wonderful—knowledgeable, patient, personable and committed to making sure we had a great experience. The change did not take away from the class at all.
We put on our aprons, got behind the cutting boards and learned to prepare several traditional dishes, including potato salad, seasoned carrots, Moroccan salad made with tomatoes and green peppers, and a delicious chicken tagine cooked in the traditional clay pot.
The class was hands-on, relaxed and filled with good conversation. We also enjoyed sharing the experience with travelers from Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and the United Kingdom. Preparing and eating a meal together created such a natural opportunity to learn about one another’s cultures.
The food was delicious, and receiving the recipes afterward was an especially thoughtful touch. Now we can try to recreate a little of Morocco at home.
From the communication surrounding the last-minute change to the instruction, hospitality and follow-up, everything was handled beautifully. I would absolutely recommend this class to anyone looking for an authentic, enjoyable and personal cooking experience in Marrakesh.
The location of the meeting point changed at the last minute. The location was hard to find and in an area I was a little uncomfortable with. But the chef’s son lead the class and he was excellent! He was engaging and made me really think I could do this at home lol. The food was amazing!
Response from Host, Sept 2026
I'm sorry, my dear, you're the one who hired someone who didn't know the location. I sent you the location; I always work in that place, and all my guests find it very easy.
Fantastic culinary and cultural experience with Chef Laila! We leaned a lot and the food was delicious to eat. We also had a nice chat with other attendees!
The class was brilliant, perfect mix of comedy and information! Delicious food and well worth the money!
Amazing, can't miss experience in Marrakesh! Chef Laila is so warm and welcoming. We went to the joining point in the morning and chef laila was there looking for the cooking class folks, it was very easy to find her. There was tea and sweets out when we arrived. The class was so informative, Chef Laila was funny and knew how to keep everyone engaged. Food was DELICIOUS. Would HIGHLY recommend.
We loved this cooking class everyone was so lovely and the food was AMAZING!! would definitely recommend.
This was fun and educational! Chef Laila was so patient with us, we were a group of mixed nationalities and she catered to us all by explaining everything in 3 different languages! Our tajine ended up tasting so good!
We had such an amazing time! The experience was a highlight of our time in the Medina and the food was delicious (of course we made it). It was interesting to see how spices and flavours were created and blended to make an amazing meal! Highly recommend.
Response from Host, Jul 2026
Thank you so much
The cooking class was alot of fun! From picking out the produce to sipping homemade Mint Tea, the experience was great and everything was explained perfectly. A great introduction for us in Moroccan food that set the tone for our visit to the country.
We had a great experience cooking with Chef R. last week! It was so much fun to pick out produce at the market and learn how to cook traditional dishes. He was so accommodating with my food allergy, too. The food that we made was some of the best we have ever eaten!! This is a must-do when you are in Marrakech.
Such an amazing local experience! We cooked with Asma and she was simply fantastic! Asma is full of life, full of humor and soooo good at what she does! We knew this was going to be a great experience, but Asma far exceeded our expectations! The food is outstanding and there is so much food. Do not plan to eat afterwards, you will be fully satisfied!
We had no problem finding the meeting point only because we secured a Tuk Tuk arranged by our Riad! And then we were picked up by a Tuk Tuk to take us back (we were 15 minutes away by Tuk Tuk)
Our group size was also perfect. There was 14 of us. Plenty of room and lots of great guests. This is an event for all ages. We had two young kids (and Asma was great with them and included them in all aspects) up to all us adults!
Book immediately! I promise, this is an experience you don’t want to miss.
This was the most fabulous experience of our entire trip. Asma, Laila's daughter is a fabulous cook and a fabulous teacher. We had hands-down the best meal of our trip and learned so much from her about Marrakesh, about Moroccan cooking, about what is authentic in Moroccan cooking. Truly, one of the most flavorful and delicious meals.
It’s very authentic, takes place in a Moroccan family home. We cooked a 3 course meal that we then ate with the rest of the group. The only negative is it was hard to find the meeting point. 3 couples and all 3 had difficulty.
Very difficult to find; but once we did, Asma, Laila’s daughter was amazing. Small group of 6 and we had a fabulous time. Food was incredible and inspired me to go and buy a ravine that very afternoon. Would 100% recommend
Great experience Laila and her Eseema were friendly, welcoming and funny. Loved the cooking and the eating. Highly recommended.
Only point I’d make is you DONT go shopping in the souk - all ingredients are supplied. Viator need to adjust their description. Was a little disappointed as was looking forward to ‘shopping like a local’
Also meeting place is right outside the Hamman (by the square with all the taxis) Viator pin is slightly out putting you outside a jewellery shop!
Other than that it’s great. We even got recipes sent to us afterwards!
Book it!
Had a great experience making all the dishes with Chef ( Laila's daughter) Met people from Italy, Canada, Holland, USA, England. We all took turns cutting foods, prep and then eating. There was some down time while food cooked to get to know others in the group. It was difficult to find the location. Recipes shared on WhatApp right after we finished our meal. We made 3 side dishes, 2 different tagines, had dessert but chef made it and when we arrived had mint tea and cookies.
Chef Laila was extremely knowledgeable and welcoming. She made us feel like family cooking in the kitchen together. Our very own Moroccan mammy.
The food is wonderful and the teachers great, but too many people in the class in a small space (20?) limiting to even 15 would help. Nice group of people. did not go to market as advertised
Our experience with chef Laila and her daughter was the best thing we have done on our trip. The friendly welcoming environment was everything we hoped it would be. Not only did we learn to cook a delicious 3 course meal we had a laugh, learned about the culture, met new people and really felt like part of the family.
I cannot recommend this experience enough.
The food was amazing but the people made it magical.
This was a great event and our party of 4 really enjoyed the morning. The location was a local home not a professional kitchen and mother and daughter team were really very funny and knowledgeable. We produced some cooked(cold) salads and two tagines one chicken and one beef meat balls. Both had an amazing flavour and there was plenty for everyone. We tried many of these during the holiday and this was all our favourite and I guess the most authentic. It was group cooking event where we all helped produced a meal for our team of 9 which we shared. Good hygiene was in place and the support team made sure all the dirty dishes magical disappeared. I would recommend this if you enjoy this sort of event
A delightful few hours well spent meeting new friends, absorbing the culinary culture of Marrakech under the expert tuition of Leila and her daughter Asma. A heap of fun, informative, well organised and best of all: the shared enjoyment and savouring of our work.
I was most grateful when I got lost in the maze of narrow streets that Leila responded to my message and sent someone to come and find me!
Cannot recommend more highly!
A brilliant afternoon, Laila and her daughter were extremely friendly and the food was amazing. Very easy to follow and she's given us all the recipes.
From strangers standing shyly around a kitchen, transformed to family sharing a meal in only half a day... the magic of Laila and her daughter Asma. Laughs, amazing smells, great culinary education, and one of the best meals in Morocco (not too toot my own horn!). Laila makes you feel like family and it's an excellent and thorough instructor.
Great experience. The food was amazing. Finding the actual location was a little challenging and stressful as it was very easy to miss ( it’s right at the small square with cars and taxis 50m after Bahia Palace) Would consider adding signage at the meeting location to make it easier for participants.
This was a great experience. So much fun and such scrumptious food. Laila and her daughter Azma were the best - so friendly and welcoming. Highly recommended.
Amazing fun cooking session .. such lovely hosts and made it lots of fun. Amazing food to eat too!!!
The food was tasty and the mother and daughter team kept us entertained and involved everyone in the experience, especially the children of families. No mean feat for a group of 14. However we didn’t visit the market as described in the itinerary and a lot of time was spent sharing stories with fellow travellers whilst we waited for the food to cook. A query about the meeting point beforehand never received a response and the promise of recipes via WhatsApp after the lesson never materialised.
Response from Host, Apr 2026
I'm sorry, dear, but I cancelled the market because the tourist police prevented me from doing so. I wrote it down and cancelled them through the website. Thank you.
The cooking class was an incredible immersion into Moroccan cooking. Lialia gave us insights into cooking with spices the Moroccan way. The meal we help make was delicious and fun to make.
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up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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