Moroccan cuisine has become widely celebrated in the last few years, thanks both to its fresh, bright flavors and its rich history. Simple meals of freshly prepared fish or grilled, marinated meats served with the cooked vegetable salads so popular in the country vie with elaborate feasts of savory meat pies redolent with Andalusian blends of spices or roasted leg of lamb.

While some Moroccan chefs de cuisine celebrate Old World recipes, including the Abbadi family of La Maison Bleue in Fez, others bring a contemporary approach to employing the traditional ingredients, including chef Barnaby Jones of Marakech's Amanjena hotel, who blends the local condiment, salt-preserved lemons, with almond paste to garnish a slice of pâté de foie gras.

Favorite dishes include Couscous (a semolina grain served with meat and vegetables), Mechoui (lamb roasted on a spit), Pastilla (a flaky pastry often stuffed with pigeon and almonds or with chicken and almonds) and Tagine (a stew cooked using an earthenware dish) all complemented by an after meal cup of the ever popular Moroccan mint tea.