Morocco seeks to preserve traditional cooking and recipes through UNESCO project

Morocco seeks to preserve traditional cooking and recipes through UNESCO project

In the heart of Rabat, Morocco, the aroma of cinnamon, orange blossom water, and roasted almonds fills the kitchen of the traditional Zyriab restaurant. A chef gently garnishes a sweet pumpkin paste—an age-old Moroccan delicacy—while preparing tomato-cucumber salad with oil-cured black olives, a staple in homes across the country.

From Fez’s bastilla to Marrakech’s slow-cooked tanjia and Rabat’s beef tagine with prunes, every Moroccan city boasts its own signature dish. “Moroccan cuisine reflects regional identities and carries deep cultural meaning,” explains Amine El Boujadi, a culinary researcher. “Each dish showcases local ingredients, cooking techniques, and balance.”

Dishes like chicken tagine with olives and preserved lemon or beef tagine with caramelized apricots highlight the unique blend of spices and slow-cooking methods that define Moroccan food. “It’s not just about the ingredients, but how the cook handles the spices and stages of preparation,” El Boujadi notes.

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Beyond the cities, in the quiet village of Brachoua, 50 kilometers from Rabat, a traditional Moroccan breakfast is served under a tent—mint tea, honey, black olives, organic eggs, and freshly baked bread prepared without additives. “Our bread uses wheat and barley flour with natural yeast, making it lighter and healthier,” says Naima El Meziane, head of the “Golden Sands” food cooperative.

El Meziane, alongside cook Laila El Harmaoui, showcases the making of rfissa—a rich, traditional dish of organic chicken, lentils, fenugreek, and spices, served over hand-cut meloui flatbread. Other dishes like couscous and various tagine variations reflect Morocco’s deep culinary traditions.

This dedication to heritage has found international recognition. On April 21, 2025, Morocco officially joined the pilot phase of UNESCO’s new initiative to preserve traditional cuisine through the creation of an International Atlas of Food Heritage. The project includes a digital platform and aims to document and promote global food traditions. The first edition of the Atlas is expected by 2027.

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For El Boujadi and others, the project is a vital step. “It ensures our techniques, dishes, and skills are passed down,” he says. According to UNESCO, traditional food is more than a meal—it supports sustainable agriculture, fishing, biodiversity, and cultural continuity.

Even as modern tastes evolve, Moroccan cuisine retains its unique appeal. “Foreigners and locals alike are drawn to our dishes—tagine, couscous, rfissa,” says diner Naima Metrab.

From home kitchens to street stalls in Marrakesh’s Jemaa El-Fna square, where snails and fried fish are served alongside sheep’s head, Morocco’s culinary legacy lives on—rich, diverse, and now protected for generations to come.

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