It takes around one hour of driving from Marrakech through rolling hills before you end up at the Atlas Mountains and the Kasbah Tamadot. The wall complex in the Ouirgane Valley near Berber villages is one of Sir Richard Branson’s properties and a part of his Virgin Limited Edition. The unique property was bought from an Italian antiques dealer in 1998 and 2005 the Kasbah was opened for concerned guests. Kasbah Tamadot is undoubtedly the best place to stay at during your discoveries of the breathtaking Atlas Mountains and their Kanoun Restaurant offers the region’s best food.

The dining experience works like a concept where you will have options on where you like to have your dinner (or lunch). You can have outdoor dining by the pool, choose to have a private dinner anywhere around the kasbah, dine up on the rooftop terrace underneath the sky or in the main dining room with art from the original owner. We recommend starting with a glass of perfectly chilled champagne at the fireside bar before the first bites of the international and local cuisine served.

Malaysian born Restaurant Manager Navindran Sukumaran offers a comfortable and relaxing service in the dining room and New Zealander Executive Chef Lee Cowie knows how to make the perfect balance between North African and European. Lee Cowie started at Kasbah Tamadot two years ago and before that he was the Executive Chef for three and a half years at Sir Richard Branson’s private island – Necker Island.

The most famous Moroccan dish is the tagine (tajine) that got its name after the earthenware pot in which it is cooked. The Moroccan tagine is slow cooked stewed braised at low temperatures which gives the meat a nice tenderness. Executive Chef Lee Cowie’s interpretation of the classic dish is better than the original and not as sweet as a traditional tagine tends to be. The balance between ginger, cumin and black pepper works perfect and depending on season and availability of ingredients you can have meat as the main ingredient one day and poultry another day.

The lunch menu is not as sophisticated as the dinner menu, but the concept works well and during the occasionally scorching days it can be just nice with a quick lunch by the poolside and a more proper meal after sunset.

Executive Chef Lee Cowie’s talent works really well in the Atlas Mountains and he delivers what he should considering the environment he is working in, his interpretations of the North African cuisine work just as well as his international cooking. We recommend Kanoun Restaurant both for the food and for the unique Kasbah Tamadot with its extraordinary surroundings.

Written by Andy