{"id":49218,"date":"2025-04-24T13:06:21","date_gmt":"2025-04-24T17:06:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/?p=49218"},"modified":"2025-05-12T13:05:50","modified_gmt":"2025-05-12T17:05:50","slug":"discover-the-cheesemaker-crafting-farmstead-cheese-in-morocco","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/discover-the-cheesemaker-crafting-farmstead-cheese-in-morocco\/","title":{"rendered":"Discover the Cheesemaker Crafting Farmstead Cheese in Morocco"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Photographed by Tyson Bateman<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Those are my Moroccan Ferraris,\u201d says Tarik Lechkar, pointing to a pair of donkeys on his farm, Domaine de La Pommeraie. \u201cAnd these are the goats.\u201d As if on cue, the animals race out of their barn and down the hill toward the farmer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are in the Middle Atlas Mountains, 45 minutes from downtown Fez, in the town of Ait Sebaa. On his farm, lined with fruit trees and crocuses grown for saffron, Lechkar makes artisan goat cheese with milk from his herd of Alpine and Barcha goats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1998, Lechkar began with 10 goats, but the operation ha grown to 50 goats today. When explaining why he chose to make cheese, Lechkar exclaims with his usual vivacity, \u201cIt\u2019s genetic!\u201d Lechkar\u2019s great-grandfather emigrated from Spain to Tangier. \u201cHe was a supplier of goat\u2019s milk for all of Tangier,\u201d the farmer recounts. \u201cHe was selling directly. He was milking goats in front of you.\u201d And Lechkar\u2019s grandfather made jben, Morocco\u2019s national cheese. Visitors to the North African country are likely to try this fresh cheese in one of Morocco\u2019s ubiquitous big breakfasts. Usually mild, it\u2019s ideal for spreading onto freshly baked bread\u2014another offering to guests who tour Lechkar\u2019s farm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visitors are also welcome to help make some of Lechkar\u2019s signature dishes. \u201cI invented this tagine,\u201d he says, which is potentially the world\u2019s first cheese tagine. (Tagine can refer to the clay conical vessel itself, known as the traditional Moroccan slow cooker, or anything prepared inside it.) The dish includes three of Domaine de La Pommeraie\u2019s goat cheeses, slowly baked with coriander, saffron, and garlic cloves. In addition to the tagine, Lechkar makes cheese couscous with his Roquefort-style Vert de l\u2019Atlas that\u2019s served beneath a traditional chicken stew. Both are served with green tea flavored with mint grown on his farm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On a large plate, he shares a sampling of the cheeses included in the tagine: buttery two-week-aged Berber Cedar; Mimouna, which is modeled after camembert; and firm and crumbly Kandri, with rich and tangy notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lechkar revels in feeding guests at his farm, but his products are also available at upscale spots in the Fez area, including Palais Faraj Suites & Spa and Hotel Sahrai. For Lechkar, cheese isn\u2019t a luxury item, it\u2019s a calling. \u201cIt\u2019s a question of creativity,\u201d he says. \u201cI think one of the best cheeses in the world is Moroccan cheese. I don\u2019t say this just because I\u2019m Moroccan. I know we do not do marketing. This is our lack, our problem.\u201d But visitors to the Middle Atlas region will soon learn that Moroccan cheeses\u2014and the dishes that use them\u2014 are worth the trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photographed by Tyson Bateman “Those are my Moroccan Ferraris,\u201d says Tarik Lechkar, pointing to a pair of donkeys on his farm, Domaine de La Pommeraie. \u201cAnd these are the goats.\u201d As if on cue, the animals race out of their barn and down the hill toward the farmer. We are in the Middle Atlas Mountains, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":114,"featured_media":49220,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11,34134],"tags":[],"coauthors":[34729],"class_list":["post-49218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel","category-wheys-less-traveled"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDiscover the Cheesemaker Crafting Farmstead Cheese in Morocco - culture: the word on cheese<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/discover-the-cheesemaker-crafting-farmstead-cheese-in-morocco\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Discover the Cheesemaker Crafting Farmstead Cheese in Morocco\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Photographed by Tyson Bateman “Those are my Moroccan Ferraris,\u201d says Tarik Lechkar, pointing to a pair of donkeys on his farm, Domaine de La Pommeraie. \u201cAnd these are the goats.\u201d As if on cue, the animals race out of their barn and down the hill toward the farmer. 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