Marseille Tourist Office offers visitors half-day cooking lessons to learn the secrets of the now world-famous bouillabaisse. Culinary classes are available in French, as well as English, Japanese and Chinese, on request. Reservations are required.
Bouillabaisse, the legendary fish soup of Marseille, was first prepared from unsold fish by fishermen for their families. As the local dish became famous, the ingredients were enriched by restaurant chefs, who transformed the humble home-cooked soup into a gourmet stew.
The cooking lesson begins on Quai des Belges, at the end of La Canebiere Street, where participants meet their guide. After a brief introduction to the history of Marseille, the chef joins the group to visit the morning open-air fish market on the wharf.
Participants meet the fishermen who bring in the day's catch, identify the many Mediterranean fish that make authentic bouillabaisse, and learn which fish are most suitable for the soup: conger eel, scorpion fish, John Dory fish and monkfish. The greater the variety of seafood, the better the soup will be.
Culinary classes are in restaurants in the Old Port area, five minutes from the fish market. Chefs teach each group how to prepare the fish stock and how to make the famous rouille, a spicy garlic sauce, spread on toasted bread slices, put into the broth.
Participants enjoy a bouillabaisse lunch, which includes an aperitif, bouillabaisse, dessert, wine and coffee. Everyone receives the bouillabaisse recipe and a diploma.
