Mbour is a fishing port, and that is what gives its colour to this cooking workshop and market in Mbour: a big market in the morning, a hands-on workshop often linked to seafood, a Senegalese dish prepared together, then a walk in a fishing village. Guide, workshops and lunch are included.

A market bigger than elsewhere

The Mbour market is one of the largest and most varied on the Petite Côte: bigger than those of Saly or the Somone. There you find fresh fish from the port, tropical fruit, colourful vegetables, spices, grains, fabrics and everyday objects. Some areas are very busy in the morning; it is best to keep your belongings close.

It is a chance to grasp the diversity of ingredients in Senegalese cooking, and to watch the morning exchanges.

The workshop and the meal

The hands-on workshop varies with the time of year and with what is available. As Mbour lives from fishing, it may include seafood or simple techniques used locally, but not always. You then prepare a traditional dish with the day’s ingredients: thiéboudienne (fish and rice), yassa (onion-marinated chicken or fish), mafe (peanut stew), grilled fish, local rice or seasonal vegetables. The activity is participatory, even for beginners; you learn chopping, seasoning, sauces and controlling the cooking. The meal is often eaten in the shade of a tree, in a calm part of the village.

The fishing village

In the afternoon, the walk crosses a village in Mbour: sandy lanes, small shops, local workshops, scenes of daily life. Depending on the route, it may pass near the beach, the fishermen’s work areas or secondary markets. Some paths are sandy or uneven: comfortable shoes are recommended, and drinking regularly helps in the middle of the day, when the heat rises. The pace is gentle, with stops to watch.

Mbour, beyond the port

Mbour, 80 km south of Dakar, is the country’s second fishing port after Dakar, in the Thiès region. If you live on the Petite Côte, it is a day that takes you from buying fish to learning the recipe; if you are staying in Saly, the outing that shows Mbour without stopping at the port.

To extend your day

Other Senegalese cooking classes let you make the dish again elsewhere, crafts and know-how extend the workshop, and the traditional sites and villages offer other visits.