The cuisine of Morocco is far more enticing than the cuisine of maracas, which teases diners with delicious dried beans stuck inside an impenetrable yet percussive coconut shell. Get easier access to exotic eats with today's Groupon: for $49, you get a Moroccan cooking class with executive chef Rafih Benjelloun at Imperial Fez in Buckhead (a $100 value).
Born and raised in Morocco, chef Rafih Benjelloun has been serving authentic Moroccan cuisine to Atlantans since 1991. In a two-hour cooking class, held every other Tuesday from 3 p.m to 5 p.m., the recipe-illiterate will learn how to tame the exotic ingredients and feverish spices that embody Morocco's cuisine. Upon completion of the course, newly minted mealmakers taste their creations, ensuring successful delivery of self-targeted love potions. In a reflection of authentic Moroccan eating traditions, many of Benjelloun's recipes are meant to be eaten sans silverware, allowing diners to test out their recently attached cyborg fingers before this summer's rock, paper, cyborg-fingers tournament.
Imperial Fez
Belly dancers wend sinuously through Imperial Fez’s dimly lit main dining room. On Wednesday, the belly dancers give over the floor to the searing showmanship of fire dancers. While nightly entertainment draws diners’ attentions, the main attraction at Imperial Fez is chef Rafih Benjelloun’s native Moroccan cuisine, which guests devour by the fingerful. Benjelloun seals the flavors of cumin and cilantro into baked legs of lamb and infuses mountains of couscous with the flavors of apricot, raisin, and sweet onions. Embroidered cushioned benches for seating complete the authenticity of guests’ Moroccan dining experience.