Cooking workshop and market in the Saloum, one day - Que Faire au Sénégal

Cooking workshop and market day in the Saloum

Cancellation Policy

Private / tailor-made activities — 72 h minimum cancellation

If you book the activity privately, free cancellation is possible up to at least 72 h before. A longer deadline set by the provider is shown to you before payment. After that, the amount paid for your booking is non-refundable. Deadlines in Senegal local time.

Applies to: private boat, private excursion, event, group.

For any further details on our cancellation terms, please refer to our dedicated page: Cancellation policy

Information

Sine-Saloum

Repas inclus

All levels

Group, private

Description of this activity

In the delta, the cooking workshop and market in the Saloum tastes of the sea and the mangrove: morning market, hands-on workshop, a fish or seafood dish prepared together, then a village walk. Guide, workshops and lunch are included, for all levels.

A market, produce from the delta

The day begins at the market of a Saloum village, very lively in the morning and calmer in the afternoon. The stalls mix fresh fish, shellfish, seasonal vegetables, aromatic herbs, tropical fruit, groundnuts, millet and rice, with craft products. The market is a stage in its own right: you watch the exchanges and you understand the ingredients of delta cooking.

The hands-on workshop varies by day and by village. In the Saloum, it may cover skills linked to the sea, the mangrove or farm produce: cleaning shellfish, preparing food, skills linked to fishing and life on the bolongs.

The cooking and the meal

You then prepare a dish with the morning’s produce: thiéboudienne (fish and rice), rice with bolong fish, yassa or dishes based on local seafood, depending on the season and the area. You learn cleaning fish, seasoning, cooking rice, sauces and balancing flavours. Suggestions can be made for the dish, but it depends on the day’s produce. The meal is often eaten in a shaded area near the mangrove or the bolongs.

The village and the delta

The walk crosses the village: traditional huts, sandy lanes, scenes of rural life, and, depending on the route, a stop near the mangroves. The areas near the bolongs are sometimes damp: suitable shoes are preferable, with light clothing and a minimal bag. Breezes can be cool early in the morning and late in the afternoon.

The Saloum, kitchen side

The Saloum Delta, about 150 km south of Dakar, is a delta of mangroves, bolongs and salt pans: that is what gives local cooking its flavour of fish and shellfish. It lies in the Fatick region, and the Saloum Delta page presents it as a whole. If you live in Senegal, a day to spend with the family in a setting you first associate with pirogues; if you are visiting, a chance to understand the delta through its table as much as through its pirogues.

To extend your trip

Other Senegalese cooking classes let you make the dish again elsewhere, crafts and know-how extend the workshop part, and pirogue rides show the delta from the water.