Saying goodbye to the cooking workshops

Dear guests, this is a message I would rather not have written.

My joints have been troubling me for years, my hands most of all. That is why I moved the workshops from the evening to the daytime, it helped. But the shopping, the preparation, a whole afternoon of intensive work and then the clearing up and cleaning: more and more often I paid for it the next day, in pain and fatigue.

At the beginning of August I had an unlucky fall from my bicycle in France. The MRI showed that a shoulder tendon had torn completely. The surgery has been done, the rehabilitation has started and I am slowly building up again.

That torn tendon was the final straw for me. I had to cancel every workshop that was booked. And I have decided that there will be no new ones. For good.

What I loved most was introducing people to Moroccan culture and to what happens at our table. I keep wonderful memories of those afternoons: the mint tea, the surprise that sweet and savoury can go together, full tables of people who knew each other better at the end than at the start. That nothing more will be added to that saddens me. And I know I am disappointing people. I am sorry.

But the house remains. And so does the kitchen.

What there is

Bij Leila is a guest house with a kitchen you will not find anywhere else. And you are welcome to cook in it. Yourself, with my recipes, in my tajines, at my table, which seats twelve.

A stay of three nights lends itself beautifully to that. Arrive on the first day, explore the surroundings and use the wellness. On the second day do the shopping and prepare. On the third day lay the table, get everything ready and cook and dine in the evening, with your own company, or invite others along. The next morning, breakfast and check out.

I am glad to help you on your way: with recipes, with where to find the right ingredients, and with the small things that make the difference. Being a host is simply in my blood. It is just that from now on I will be standing beside the stove instead of behind it.

Warm regards,
Leila