ABSTRACT
O believers, eat of the good things wherewith We have provided you, and give thanks to God, if it be Him that you serve.
(Koran, II: 169) Food is more than sustenance to the people of Morocco. Good food is a sensual pleasure and people speak fondly of favourite recipes and lavishly praise their own and other peoples' culinary skills. Food-sharing is an important way of establishing and reaffirming social relationships, and it would be unthinkable for a visitor to leave his or her host's home without sharing a meal or, at least, several glasses of mint tea. But above all, food is a gift from God. Each meal or snack is a reminder of God's providence, and no right-minded Moroccan would begin a meal without consecrating the food to God, nor end it without praising God for the food which had just been enjoyed.
