Christmas ‘ Eve is a unique evening in the year, Marrakech is definitely a fantastic place to celebrate this very special moment and Restaurant Riad Monceau is a special and exclusive place – all dedicated to the best of Moroccan gastronomy – where we will be delighted to welcome you for an unforgettable 1001-night dinner with your friends and/or family. Children are of course very welcome (special 50% off for children under 12).

The seating capacity of Restaurant Riad Monceau Marrakech being extremely limited (50 people or so) we kindly recommend you to make your reservation for the 2012 Christmas’ Eve in Marrakech dinner as soon as possible if you plan to join us. Please use our online booking form to contact us and check out availabilities.

A 50% deposit will then be asked to secure your reservation.

For more information about Moroccan haute cuisine and gastronomy feel free to have a look at the digital overview of the beautiful book “The Riad Monceau – A palace of Moroccan gastronomy” that is now available on ISSUU. A great introduction to Marrakech, its architecture, lifestyle and of course gastronomy, and a great way to savour – in advance – your… upcoming Christmas’ Eve dinner in Marrakech !

Pre dinner drink

Kir Royal of the Monceau

Sweet Carot Cream Soup with Star Anise and Olive Oil

*

Lamb Pastilla with Dry Fruits and Fine Barley Semolina

*

Farm Chicken Tajine with Fresh Ginger

*

Caramelized Apple and Walnut Pastilla

*

Mint Tea or Coffee – Moroccan Honey Pastries

*

Wines

Domaine de Sahari Réserve (Rosé) and Bonassia(Red)

*

Ambiance

Traditional Musicians

*

Cost per person, all included : 70€

Children under 12 : 50% off

The New Year’Eve is a unique evening in the year, Marrakech is definitely the place to celebrate this very special moment and Restaurant Riad Monceau is a special and exclusive place – all dedicated to the best of Moroccan gastronomy – where we will be delighted to welcome you for an unforgettable 1001-night dinner.

The seating capacity of Restaurant Riad Monceau Marrakech being extremely limited (50 people or so) we kindly recommend you to make your reservation for the 2012/2013 New Year’s Eve dinner as soon as possible if you plan to join us. Please use our online booking form to contact us and check out availabilities.

A 50% deposit will then be asked to secure your reservation.

For more information about Moroccan haute cuisine and gastronomy feel free to have a look at the digital overview of the beautiful book “The Riad Monceau – A palace of Moroccan gastronomy” that is now available on ISSUU. A great introduction to Marrakech, its architecture, lifestyle and of course gastronomy, and a great way to savour – in advance – your… upcoming New Year’s’ Eve dinner in Marrakech !

Pre dinner drink

Kir Royal of the Monceau

Mini Briouats and Fine Salads of the Monceau as Apetizers

*

Sweet Pepper Cream Soup with Cardamom and Argan Oil

*

Veal “Tatin” with Potted Eggplants and Caramelized Tomatoes

*

Royal Quail Tajine with Sugar Baked Pears

Mini 7-Vegetable Couscous

*

Monceau’s Pastillas Trilogy

Cup of Champagne

*

Mint Tea or Coffee – Moroccan Honey Pastries

*

Wines

Val d’Argan (Rosé) and “S” de Siroua (Red)

*

Ambiance

Traditional Musicians – Midhnight Surprise

*

Cost per person, all included : 140€

]]> http://www.riad-monceau.com/new-years-eve-marrakech-2012-2013/feed 0 http://www.riad-monceau.com/about-moroccan-food http://www.riad-monceau.com/about-moroccan-food#comments Tue, 13 Mar 2012 14:47:37 +0000 ludovicantoine http://www.riad-monceau.com/?p=2062 Though North African cuisine is usually highlighted by the couscous, this world famous meal is actually rather of Tunisian and Algerian origin. Yet, Morocco is essentially the homeland of tajines and pastillas that are true symbolons of Moroccan food.

Unlike couscous, which is fairly easy to prepare and as a result gained international success, tajines are more complex dishes and require specific preparation. Therefore, Moroccan cuisine has remained a traditional family cuisine that is less exported to the world than couscous.

Moroccan food is a Mediterranean cuisine in a broad sense. Multiple influences can be traced such as an Arab origin dating back to the Abassides, or Moorish in the sweet and sour notes of the tajines, Berber as in the couscous or Jewish and Sub Saharian, even India.

Moroccan food is seasonal, varied but also unknown

Thanks to its diverse origins, Moroccan cuisine offers a large variety of dishes: numerous tajines, couscous, pastillas (stuffed brick leaves with meat or seafood or else), briouates (triangle or round shaped pastry stuffed with meat or fish).

Besides a number of classical dishes such as the typical chicken tajine with lemon and olives, you can find other recipes which might be known by Moroccans only as for instance the tajine Makfoul with caramelised tomatoes or the Tanjia Marrakshia or the Harira soup served during Ramadan, or M’hancha, a snake-shaped pastry or Zalouk, a delicious Moroccan salad.

Morroccan food has been diet conscious from the start by the importance given to vegetables, which are beautiful and varied in Morocco: carrots, cabbage, eggplant, pumpkin, zucchini, onions, peppers… All these vegetables bring colour, flavour and texture to Moroccan dishes.

Moroccans also love lentils, chickpeas, fava beans and other beans, which allow to do without meat thanks to their diverse vitamins. However meat is often used but moderately and the quality of Moroccan lamb contributes to the reputation of the country’s cuisine.

Typical Atlantic fish and seafood are also important ingredients in Moroccan dishes as the country has the longest coastline in Arab countries and of course sardines, which can be prepared in multiple ways, are both affordable and savoury.

A cuisine with a 1001 flavours

Morocco is the land of spices and famous open air markets. Mixing the spices is part of the culinary art: saffron, ginger, coriander, paprika, cloves, cumin, cinnamon, pepper or tumeric are among the most used. Some mixes such as zahtar or ras el hanut date back to the most ancient times.

Hot pepper is also used in Morocco but quite moderately and Moroccan cuisine is not particularly hot compared to Algerian or Tunisian cuisine. Here a subtle and complex mixture of spices and flavours is preferred to the power of harissa, which is not used in Morocco.

Last but not least, olive oil and olives are part of the culinary Moroccan ritual. Olive oil producers are not as famous as in France or Italy but they are respectful of traditional methods.

Mint tea tradition and sunny wines

Traditionally mint tea is part of Moroccan gastronomy. Its preparation can vary according to the region- sweeter in the North (Tangier), more flavoured in the south (Marrakesh)- and to the season with numerous herbs (sage, absinth) that can be added to the tea.

Morocco also has some great vineyards and produces superb wines, sometimes with French partners. These wines are ideal to enhance the typical flavours and spices. A selection of some of the best Moroccan wines can be found in the Moroccan cookbook published by restaurant Riad Monceau : “Riad Monceau, A palace of Moroccan gastronomy“.

A traditional cuisine on the road to novelty

Traditionally, Moroccan recipes were transmitted from mother to daughter and Moroccan cuisine is by essence a family tradition. It explains how Moroccan dishes kept their genuine character but innovation was not a preoccupation.

However, over the last years, there has been an evolution implemented by some famous Chefs, for instance Mohamed Fedal, who is the owner of the restaurant Moha named after his own nickname. He has given an impulse to a new Moroccan cuisine along with Choumicha, the ambassador of Moroccan cuisine on the radio waves, who supports innovation and creativity.

Moroccan food is undergoing a change. It reminds of the innovative spirit that revolutionised British cuisine a few years ago and made it rank among the most sophisticated and creative cuisines in the world.

Genuine tradition and sophisticated creativity : Moroccan cuisine by restaurant Riad Monceau

The Riad Monceau has its own vision of Moroccan gastronomy and participates in this evolution towards a contemporary Moroccan gastronomy or even a true Moroccan Haute Cuisine, a glimpse into a new culinary universe.

Starting from a genuine and traditional or even forgotten recipe and turning it into a new version has been Rachida Sahnoune’s challenge. Sauces have become lighter, flavours more subtle and dishes are aesthetically presented as in the sophisticated tradition of French haute cuisine.

At the Riad’s Restaurant, a piano duet is being played between Rachida Sahnoune, the Moroccan Chef and Isabelle Aubry, the French owner, a harmonisation of two different cultures and a quest for a balance between tradition and creativity for today’s Moroccan cuisine.

From the Moroccan cookbook “Riad Monceau – A palace of Moroccan gastronomy” with the king authorization of its author.

From the meeting in 2003 between Alain Graillot (Crozes-Hermitage, Saint Joseph) and Thalvin was born TANDEM, one of the most interesting wines from the current Moroccan production.

The collaboration between Morocco and France is known for its fertility and the history of TANDEM is one of the most beautiful illustrations ever.

In 2003, during a visit to the Moroccan vineyard Alain Graillot, great French wine producer in the Northern Rhône (Crozes-Hermitage, Saint Joseph) and artist in love with the grape vineyard of Syrah, meets Thalvin teams (one of the leading wine producers in Morocco) to the cellar of the Ouled Thaleb estate in Benslimane.

Attracted by the quality of work done on the Syrah and the rich soils, Alain Graillot decides to engage in a collaboration with his fellow Moroccan winemaker that will lead quickly to a friendship which first result is the birth of TANDEM, a sumptuous wine where one can found all the knowledge of a magician of the wine together with the typicity of the Moroccan vineyard.

On the nose, this vintage is proving very expressive. The complex bouquet of aromas, combining notes of ripe black fruit (blackcurrant, blackberry) enhanced by spicy notes, evolves into a cocoa final note. The wine is balanced and harmonious in the mouth, the aftertaste is a remarkable, and an elegant bitterness and astringency on the finish suggest that if TANDEM can of course be enjoyed now, it will also be exciting to see it evolve over the years.

So it is definitely a “winner tandem” we’ve got here and that opens up more than cheering perspectives for the future of Moroccan wines.

The exquisite Tandem red wine is to be tasted during a gourmet short break in Morocco or discovered – as a start – in the beautiful book that Restaurant Riad Monceau has dedicated to the best of Moroccan cuisine and wines (a worldwide premiere) : “Riad Monceau – Palace of Moroccan gastronomy” which can be overviewed on ISSUU. Get more information on this page of the present website.

At an age when many aspire to live an easy life Charles Mélia decides that his own life as a Châteauneuf-du-Pape wine producer is definitely too well settled. So at nearly 50 years old he entrusted the keys of his estate to his eldest daughter, Anne-Charlotte, and go and explore the world in search of a new wine “Eldorado”. A new adventure, a new start in life.

It is finally in Morocco, land of his childhood, that the Val d’Argan will born in 1994, a family estate created from scratch in the middle of olive trees, a few kilometers from the white Essaouira. Four long years will be needed to construct, develop, gradually clear of stones and plant 30 acres of grapes from the Rhone Valley.

Become a new land of great wines, Southern Morocco now gives birth each year to a new vintage of the different wines that make up the range of the Val d’Argan: The Gazelle of Mogador, El Mogador, The Val d’Argan, Orients of the Val d’Argan, all from organic farming. Many elegant and genuine wines, born of the passion of a man for his job and the desire to make wine without any constraints other than those dictated by the nature itself.

Present at the finest restaurants in the Kingdom – and of course at Restaurant Riad Monceau which has made them its favorite – and soon available in France thanks to the work of Emmanuelle Mélia, who joined her father in 2007, the wines of the Val d’Argan fall within the high-end production with Moroccan wines in particular, the “Orients Blanc”, an exceptional vintage grown in barrels of French “Haut Sauternois”. The ultimate Moroccan white wine for most experts.

The Val d’Argan wines are to be tasted during a gourmet short break in Morocco or discovered – to start with – in the beautiful book that Riad Monceau have dedicated to the best of Moroccan cuisine and wines (a worldwide premiere) and which can be overviewed on ISSUU.

Even though the idea might seem strange at first sight today, it is actually less surprising than it appears if one remembers that, since Antiquity, Mococco as always been a privileged land for vineyards and wine.

The contemporary Moroccan vineyard takes its expansion, from 1880, thanks to the emigration of French winemakers defeated by phylloxera, and since, their descendants and successors have continued to invest and gradually refine their skills to offer more and more subtle and complex wines, the best of them now deserving to be served at the finest tables.

Beside the excellent chapter about the best Moroccan wines in the book “The Riad Monceau – a palace of Moroccan gastronomy” (la Croisée des Chemins editors) we are very pleased to present here these beautiful wines born under the sun that will of course ideally pair with all Moroccan recipes presented in this book but also, more generally, with all Eastern or Mediterranean-style dishes.

The international distribution of some of these great wines still remaining a bit confidential, we will provide on this blog, with the help of the most important wine producers, a regularly updated information about where to find the best Moroccan wines outside Morocco (wine merchants, websites,…).

You can have a look here at the online overview of the book of the Riad Monceau about Moroccan gastronomy and Moroccan wines on ISSUU

Published by the great Moroccan editor La Croisée des Chemins, this luxury Moroccan cookbook was thought as an hymn to this extraordinary city that is Marrakech, perfect symbol of today’s Morocco, a country firmly heading towards future and modernity, but also strong of its culture and traditions that make its richness.

Featuring 284 pages under a canvased hard cover, the book is formed of 4 great chapters allowing the reader to discover the 1001 aspects of the Riad Monceau as a charm hotel and a prestigious gourmet restaurant :

Part 1 : An oriental dream - Discovery of the Riad Monceau, a gem of arabo-andalusian architecture. An introduction chapter to discover the Riad Monceau, its history and origins with dozens of beautiful photos by Ludovic Antoine to visit the many parts of the hotel.
Part 2 : A palace of Moroccan gastronomy - Restaurant Riad Monceau, a highlight of Moroccan gastronomy in Marrakech. The genesis of the restaurant, from the initial guest table to the famous gourmet restaurant.
Part 3 : Cooking secrets - 56 great recipes of Moroccan gastronomy by Rachida Sahnoune, the chef of restaurant Riad Monceau. The cookbook that the amateurs were hoping for ! All you need to cook at home the famous recipes that have made restaurant Riad Monceau’s reputation.
Part 4 : Borned under the sun - Exclusive guide of the greatest Moroccan wines. A worlwide première ! Restaurant Riad Monceau is proud to publish the very first guide of these beautiful but almost unknown wines borned under the sun.

Riad Monceau’s clientele being international, Riad Monceau’s book is entirely bilingual french/english. For practical purpose the 1st and 4th covers are in French, their english translation being inside the cover.

” I hope this book will allow those who know Marrakech, and love it as we do, to take home a little part of the magic of this extraordinary city in their luggage, and those who do not know it yet to discover some its treasures “. Isabelle Aubry.

Buy Riad Monceau’s book : « The Riad Monceau – A palace of Moroccan gastronomy » is available since early 2012 in most bookstores, Fnac, Virgin Megastores as well as on Amazon. Do not hesitate to ask your usual bookshop to order it for you with the following references : Code EAN : 9 789954 103647 – ISBN : 978-9954-1-0364-7. Author and photographer : Ludovic Antoine.

A special limited edition of 500 numbered copies, presented in luxury hard boxes, is also available directly at the riad. Please contact us for availability, price and delivery conditions.

Feel free to have a look at the digital digest of the book that is now available on ISSUU.

The Christmas ‘ Eve is a unique evening in the year, Marrakech is definitely a fantastic place to celebrate this very special moment and Restaurant Riad Monceau is a special and exclusive place – all dedicated to the best of Moroccan gastronomy – where we will be delighted to welcome you for an unforgettable 1001-night dinner with your friends and/or family. Children are of course very welcome (special 50% off for children under 12).

The seating capacity of Restaurant Riad Monceau Marrakech being extremely limited (50 people or so) we kindly recommend you to make your reservation for the 2011 Christmas’ Eve in Marrakech dinner as soon as possible if you plan to join us. Please use our online booking form to contact us and check out availabilities.

A 50% deposit will then be asked to secure your reservation.

For more information about Moroccan haute cuisine and gastronomy feel free to have a look at the digital overview of the beautiful book “The Riad Monceau – A palace of Moroccan gastronomy” that is now available on ISSUU. A great introduction to Marrakech, its architecture, lifestyle and of course gastronomy, and a great way to savour – in advance – your… upcoming Christmas’ Eve dinner in Marrakech !

Pre dinner drink

Kir Royal of the Monceau

Bites of Traditional M’hanchas as Apetizers

*

Tasting of fine Moroccan Fassia Style salads

*

Shrimps’ “tatin”, Green Salad with a Dash of Pure Argan Oil

*

Lamb Tajine with Dry Fruits and its Extra Fine Semolina

*

Home made Half Cooked Chocolate Cake

*

Mint Tea or Coffee – Moroccan Honey Pastries

*

Wines

Domaine de Sahari Réserve (Rosé) and Cuvée Première Président(Red)

*

Ambiance

Traditional Musicians

*

Cost per person, all included : 700 MAD (65 €)

Children under 12 : 50% off

The New Year’Eve is a unique evening in the year, Marrakech is definitely the place to celebrate this very special moment and Restaurant Riad Monceau is a special and exclusive place – all dedicated to the best of Moroccan gastronomy – where we will be delighted to welcome you for an unforgettable 1001-night dinner.

The seating capacity of Restaurant Riad Monceau Marrakech being extremely limited (50 people or so) we kindly recommend you to make your reservation for the 2011/2012 New Year’s Eve dinner as soon as possible if you plan to join us. Please use our online booking form to contact us and check out availabilities.

A 50% deposit will then be asked to secure your reservation.

For more information about Moroccan haute cuisine and gastronomy feel free to have a look at the digital overview of the beautiful book “The Riad Monceau – A palace of Moroccan gastronomy” that is now available on ISSUU. A great introduction to Marrakech, its architecture, lifestyle and of course gastronomy, and a great way to savour – in advance – your… upcoming New Year’s’ Eve dinner in Marrakech !

Pre dinner drink

Kir Royal of the Monceau

Bites of Monceau’ Specialties as Apetizers

*

Broad Bean & Paprika Cream Soup with its Cumin Pie

*

Home made Seafood Pastilla, Green Salad with a Dash of Pure Argan Oil

*

Coquerel from the Farm with Candied Clementines and Saffron

Crushed Carrots with Spices of Morocco

*

Monceau’s Sweet Trilogy

Cup of Champagne

*

Mint Tea or Coffee – Moroccan Honey Pastries

*

Wines

Val d’Argan (Rosé) and “S” de Siroua (Red)

*

Ambiance

Traditional Musicians – Midhnight Surprise

*

Cost per person, all included : 1400 MAD (125 €)

]]> http://www.riad-monceau.com/2011-new-years-eve-dinner/feed 0 http://www.riad-monceau.com/shopping-in-marrakech http://www.riad-monceau.com/shopping-in-marrakech#comments Tue, 26 Jul 2011 09:09:39 +0000 ludovicantoine http://www.riad-monceau.com/?p=1414 Though it does not seek to compete with large cities such as London or Paris, Marrakech is a city that is still attractive in many ways and it is not uncommon to leave it the arms - and luggage – full of multiple purchases.

Of course Morocco has always been famous for its handicrafts but Marrakech has changed a lot within the last few years and, beside the basic local workshops, you can now find here luxury shops, stores and even designer workshops where artists of great talent combine the most contemporary vision and ancestral know-how to produce some really – and unique – interesting pieces.

We intend to share with you in this topic some of our favorite places,  in the medina (old quarter), Guéliz (modern city) as well as in Sidi Ghanem, the activity area where concentrate many workshops, factories and warehouses where costs can still be interesting even though, because of the recent development of the city, most prices now tend to approach those of Europe.