A luxury boutique hotel in the heart of ancient Marrakech

Since the day it opened in 2007, Le Jasmin, the restaurant of Les Borjs de la Kasbah, has taken pride in the quality of its cuisine.

However, following employment earlier this year of a top consultant chef from France, gourmet visitors to Les Borjs de la Kasbah will now be treated to an even more memorable dining experience thanks to a new menu featuring French cuisine with distinctive Moroccan overtones, as well as a separate selection of classic local dishes.

Smoked Atlas trout

Smoked Atlas trout

In February we invited Olivier Pichot, former head chef at the Trianon, Paris (where he obtained 2 Michelin stars before handing over the reins to a certain Gordon Ramsay), to have a look at every aspect of catering at Les Borjs de la Kasbah and to make recommendations.

Over a three month period the entire restaurant operation was assessed and a programme of additional training implemented including, not least, the techniques required to produce and serve a number of exciting new dishes, both French and Moroccan.

Salad of gambas prawns

Salad of gambas prawns

The main aim behind the review of dining at Les Borjs was not only to raise the bar a little by presenting a number of new, light and refined dishes, including certain French classics, but to imbue them with the unmistakeable influences of Moroccan herbs and spices.

In addition to the daily-changing table d’hote menu (200 dh) a tempting selection of French and international à la carte dishes is available, including vegetarian options, with traditional local specialities being featured in a separate Moroccan menu. A  lexicon of  Moroccan culinary terms is included with each menu.

Papillote of market vegetables

Papillote of market vegetables

An important point to make is that dinner menus are cooked to order using, to the maximum extent possible, fresh produce, sourced locally. A few examples of dishes from our current menu are featured below.

* Smoked Atlas trout with fresh ewe’s cheese, beet coulis and fresh herb salad with pesto and homemade gressini

* Salad of gambas prawns Riviera with small cubes of grilled umbrine, chermoula, green asparagus, citrus fruit and fresh mixed lettuce with a citrus emulsion

* Scorpion fish (rascasse) in a spicy chermoula and shellfish coulis, pan fried artichoke barigoule style and grenaille potatoes

* Slow-cooked noisettes of lamb with figs and dates, reduced tagine stock with cinnamon, pumpkin chutney, puréed carrot with chermoula

* Papillote of market vegetables in chermoula perfumed with ginger and fresh beldi lemon, served with rose water flavoured rice