FEBRUARY MARKET VISIT
Tnine Ourika Berber Market

It’s filled with vibrant colours, fresh local produce, dentists, barbers, clothes sellers, livestock, blacksmiths, butchers, ironmongers, cafes, set against the stunning backdrop of the Atlas Mountains. It’s an important social event for local berbers as well as a place to shop. (It’s also where we often do our weekly shop.)
The market is always changing, we find new stallholders, the vegetables change with the seasons (although carrots, potatoes, fennel, peas, onions seem to be constants). Broad beans are currently in abundance and of course oranges. Dates are always popular and with Ramadan approaching, everyone was stocking up.
We usually whizz through the live stock part – seeing a chicken or turkey being slaughtered is not at the top of our Monday morning Wishlist! But it’s a quintessential part of berber life – buying a supermarket clingfilm-wrapped chicken is not part of the local way of life.
You need a good couple of hours to do the market justice. And once you’ve shopped and gawped at the extraordinary sights, you’ll be ready for lunch. There are tagines that you’ll have seen being prepared as you wander round, or a fresh lamb or chicken brochettes from another stall or even a lamb mechoui sandwich.

We do much of our shopping at this market or from the farmer producers who grow on the same land in similar environments. We share many of the values as these growers; respect for the land, minimum use of pesticides, fresh is best. Healthy food begins here- these are our raw materials, it then travels the short distance to our kitchen to be prepared by us or even by you, if you join one of our Marrakech cooking classes.