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Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Hakima's Moroccan Cooking School

By Kristen Harrington

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Port Townsend resident Carolyn Watts opened a cooking school in Marrakech, Morocco, named after Hakima Saih (pictured). The proceeds from the school provide literacy training and job skills for Saih and other young Moroccan women. - Photo courtesy of Carolyn Watts

I first learned about Hakima's Moroccan Cooking School when my mom called and said "Guess what? I am going to cooking school in Marrakech!" It sounded so exciting, I invited myself along.

On March 21, we arrived in Morocco, jet-lagged and disoriented. We were met at the airport by the school's director, Port Townsend resident Carolyn Watts.

She took us to Dar Egbert, the home of Hakima's Moroccan Cooking School, where we would spend the next week while exploring Marrakech. A "dar" is a traditional house set around a garden courtyard; up to six people can stay at the dar for the school. We were instantly revived by the smell of orange blossoms in the exotic garden surroundings, and mint tea.

When Carolyn first went to Morocco eight years ago, she was captivated by the sounds, scents, scenery and history that make Marrakech such a magical place. When she returned in March 2007 to paint a mural in the home of her friend Jim Egbert (owner of Seattle's Egbert's Furniture Store), she fell in love all over again, especially with the hospitality of the local people.

Personal connection

While she was working on her mural in Dar Egbert (Jim's house), Carolyn was particularly charmed by a young Moroccan woman named Hakima Saih, who held the ladder while Carolyn painted, cleaned up her messes, and prepared some of the most delicious food Carolyn had ever tasted.

At the project's end, Carolyn wanted to thank Hakima for all of her help. What Hakima wanted most of all was to learn to read and write, so Watts agreed to pay for three months of Hakima's schooling. After further research, Carolyn learned that the illiteracy rate among young Moroccan women is 60 percent.

Looking for a way to give back to those who had shown her such hospitality, Carolyn put her culinary passion into action to help others in Marrakech. With a lifelong background in cooking, she decided to open a nonprofit cooking school at Dar Egbert, with Hakima as the instructor. The proceeds from the school provide literacy training and job skills for Hakima and other young Moroccan women.

School opened

Hakima's Moroccan Cooking School opened in September 2007, with Port Townsend residents Dr. Jennifer Carl and Sarah Grossman as the school's first students. In spring 2008, Carolyn hosted 10 cooking school students and four other "non-cooking" guests who occasionally stirred things up in the kitchen.

During my visit, our schedule for the week was flexible, with plenty of time for sightseeing. We shopped at the market with Hakima and Carolyn in the mornings and reconvened in the kitchen at Dar Egbert around 5:30 to prepare our evening meal. We spent several hours cooking and several hours enjoying our meal and conversation.

We made several "tagines," or stews, in traditional clay pots. Hakima's recipes included tagines with chicken, preserved lemons and olives, as well as a tagine of lamb and apricots. We had a chance to venture to the foothills of the Atlas Mountains about an hour from Marrakech to tour a Berber home and sample a tagine cooked over charcoal in the traditional style.

As all of our meals were included with our stay, we had lots of time to observe and help with meals, which included fresh pea soup, lamb meatballs and handmade chocolates for dessert. Breakfast included semolina pancakes with fig jam, fresh bread with local olive oil, and fresh-squeezed orange juice.

Community ovens

One of my favorite sights during the week was our visit to the "fournatchis," or community wood-fired ovens. Families in Morocco mark their bread with a name or seal, drop it off for baking, and return to pick it up before the midday meal. We followed the heavenly smell and were rewarded with hot, oven-fresh bread.

In our final day of cooking class, we learned the fine art of preparing couscous, which is a time-consuming process of working the grains by hand as they steam over a fragrant broth of chicken and vegetables. It was delicious and worth the work.

Carolyn has been graciously received by her "neighbors" in Marrakech, thanks in part to her outgoing, friendly nature.

"Like people everywhere, they treat you as you treat them," she says. Carolyn respects the Muslim culture and asks that her guests to do the same by dressing modestly and not taking pictures without asking. Her feeble attempts at the Arabic language are usually well received. She has made friends with many of the local business owners, who know her by name. Shopkeepers wave and smile as she walks past, and parking attendants outside Dar Egbert watch over her and her guests.

Carolyn sums it up when she says: "I know when I return in the fall, I will be welcomed like an old friend. I cannot wait to return and share this wonderful place with anyone wanting to eat good food, experience a new culture, an ancient history, stay in a Moroccan home and not a hotel, and have a great adventure."

Learn more about Hakima's Moroccan Cooking School at www.moroccancookingschool.com.

(Kirsten Harrington is a freelance writer living in Spokane, Wash. She can be reached at kharrington67@earthlink.net.)