Soaring tourism numbers in Morocco have inspired Marrakech’s first street food festival. On November 9th, 2019, the Art and Culture Foundation will host a foodie extravaganza in Djemaa el Fna Square. Twenty talented Moroccan chefs will be preparing lunch for 5000 people. Additionally, the event will collaborate with restaurants, storytellers, food trucks, and feature a photo exhibition by Marrakech based photographer and videographer, Nour Eddine Tilsaghani.
Two million travelers visit Marrakech each year and the Marrakech Street Food Festival aims to satisfy their pallets with an introduction to some of Morocco’s traditional recipes alongside the latest food trends.
President of the Arts and Culture Foundation, Hafsa Benmchich, claims, the star of Marrakech street food “is undeniably the cooks behind it, who add their cultural identity to the taste of the food. In each Moroccan city, the cook highlights the customs and cultural values. The cook often adds a regional specialty to the street food. Street cooking refers to multiple techniques, know-how, taste, and processes specific to cultural habits and places.
In celebration of the Marrakech Street Food Festival, the Arts & Cultures Foundation will publish a book called “The Career of an Artisan Cook” profiling the most popular cooks in Marrakech’s historic medina along with their culinary secrets.