In Saly, the cooking workshop and market shows the resort beyond its beaches: morning market, hands-on workshop, a Senegalese dish prepared together, then a village walk. Guide, workshops and lunch are included, and the day is open to all levels, beginners included.

The market and the workshop

The visit begins at the Saly market, very lively in the morning: tropical fruit, vegetables, fish, spices, colourful fabrics and everyday goods. You see how residents do their shopping, you learn to recognise the ingredients of Senegalese cooking and you experience the busy morning atmosphere on the Petite Côte.

The hands-on workshop varies with the time of year: preparing ingredients, a craft skill, local know-how or market produce. The workshops change regularly, to offer a different experience from one week to the next.

At the table and in the lanes

Participants then prepare, with the produce bought at the market, a typical dish of the country: thiéboudienne (fish and rice), yassa (onion-marinated chicken or fish), mafe (peanut stew) or another speciality depending on what is available; the dish changes with the market ingredients, the season and the group’s wishes. You learn choosing produce, chopping, seasoning, cooking and balancing flavours, then you have lunch together.

In the afternoon, the walk crosses the village: quiet lanes, family homes, small workshops, stalls, fishing areas or beaches depending on the route. The lanes are sometimes sandy: comfortable shoes are preferable. The heat can rise in the kitchen, and breaks in the shade are planned throughout the day.

Saly, beyond the beach

Saly, about 80 km south of Dakar, is the main resort of the Petite Côte; our Saly page details its seaside offer. This day shows its other face: that of a village with its markets, its workshops and its people. If you live on the coast, it is a way to cook a dish you often order; if you are on a stay, the day that gives local substance to a week of swimming.

Things to do nearby

The Senegalese cooking classes let you cook the recipe again elsewhere, crafts and know-how extend the workshop, and the traditional sites and villages offer other walks.