KhadijaBensdira is the amabassador of traditional Morrocan cuisine to the world.  During Ramadan, a time when dishes of yesteryearhappily share the limelight with those of today, the guardian of our culinaryheritage tells us of her passion for gastronomy.

Sheis the perfect chef…. Especially when talking of the delights of this period ofRamadan.  During this holy month, the cookingis unique and the ceremonies special. After a day of fasting, the table is carefully set and the dishespatiently await guests who will enjoy their exquisite flavours once the sun hasset.  Ramadan is a celebration oftraditional cuisine. Age old knowledge, transmitted orally from generation togeneration – a family art of which Kahdija Bensdira is the precious guardian.
In fact, it has been almost thirty years that this woman, a virtual ball ofenergy and kindness, manages the kitchens of the Tourism and Catering Schoolof the Touarga in Rabat– an institution founded by King Hassan II to perpetuate and pay hommage totraditional Moroccan cuisine. She passes on her knowledge with patience andpassion to all those who will make gastronomy their life’s work.“I reallyblossom when I am teaching.  I lovesharing my knowledge with young people but also insist on instilling in them aphilosophy of cuisine” states Khadija Bensdira. “I want them to know that traditional Moroccan cuisine is produced witha smile and that patience is one of the main ingredients to ensure a goodresult.  They also need to know that theymust be in good physical shape to cope with the energy required during the longhours they will spend standing.” She explains before concluding, “I often remindthem that Moroccan cuisine is only too easy to eat but much harder to cook”.

Khadijaspent a happy childhood growing up in Fes, animperial city where good taste is part of the way of life and where delicacies are enjoyedevery day.  Her mother “an incomparablecook”, passed on the precision of gestures, the pleasures of the palate…without even realising. “She would spend hours in the kitchen, peeling,cutting, blending, seasoning… I watched her and lived in this ambiance wherethe aroma of spices and the fragrance of tajines delicately perfumed the air.”Khadija tells us.  She went to school andlike all young girls, learned embroidery, sewing and cooking. Self effacing andobedient, she would help her mother once she had finished her homework and needlework; but she was consumed by the desire to prove herself.  At the age of 9 she decided to go for it:”During Aid el Kebir, I took all the ingredients I could find in thekitchen.  I didn’t want to be discoveredso I made do with what there was.  And Iprepared a meat pastilla!”, she remembers. Her mother was impressed. Each day, she would give her daughter culinarytips. “ I remember her exact gestures as she prepared our bread.  She never ceased emphasising the importanceof the body in the process.  And placingher hands on my shoulderblades, she would chek that I was moving correctly”,she tells us.  The bread had to bekneaded over long hours “until it slapped under my fingers and gave out a scentof cumin – the sign of a job well done”, explains Khadija Bensdira beforecontinuing “this way of making bread is being lost.  Women today live at a different rhythm.  They now work outside the home and do notalways have hours to spend in the kitchen”.

Theyears passed and she developed her vocation but it still remained hersecret.  “I was afraid to express mydesires. But when at last I revealed my wishes, my parents were veryunderstanding.”, she says. And that is how Khadija enrolled in the Hotel and Tourism School in Marrakech in 1972.  Things took off very quickly from there:After 3 years of theoretical studies and workshops overseas, in Lyons, London, Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Germany)she received her diploma and was appointed as a teacher at the Hotel and Catering Schoolin Fes. Two years later, a telegram informed her that she was the only Moroccanto have been selected for a postgraduate course in Liege, Belgium.  On the syllabus were hotel management,adminstration and economics. An intensive course of intellectual work to beundertaken by a self confessed “lover of manual work”! Notwithstanding, herBelgian experience over, she returned to Fesvery well qualified.  The very next yearshe was appointed Head Chef at the Hotel and Catering School of Touarga in Rabat. Since 1979, shedivides her time between her classes and culinary events throughout theworld.  Khadija, who speaks English,French, Arabic, German and Spanish was in 2000 awarded the title of "Ambassador ofMoroccan Food" by the Academie Culinaire de France.  Her couscous won first prize in aninternational competition in Italyin 2002.  An exceptional journey and apassionate life in the service of her art: traditional Moroccan cuisine.

Copyright saveursetcuisinedumaroc.com N° 13