There must be some other word to describe these magnificent dishes other than salad - a harsh word in the British

There must be some other word to describe these magnificent dishes other than salad - a harsh word in the British vocabulary, evoking outside leaves of lettuce, unpeeled cucumber and a halved, unripe tomato.M Mars has made a dozen sweet treats of sliced, grilled, peeled vegetables; pungent peppers, ripe tomatoes, sweet onions, on their own and in combinations. It is very unusual for males in Morocco to have any experience of cooking."He is patient about my request for him to demonstrate a couscous, but anxious to point out that the horizons of Moroccan cooking extend infinitely farther than spicy lamb, fish or vegetable stews, however well-made.Take tagines, for example. He had with him a small team of three lady chefs - small in the sense of numbers, but not girth. "In my kitchen in Marrakesh all my chefs except two are women," says Boujeema Mars.

"Women are raised in the tradition of the grand bourgeois houses; their secrets are transmitted from mother to daughter, generation after generation. I think only four restaurants in London serve North African food, and they are Algerian or Tunisian. Then the penny dropped: where is the workforce of North African cooks to provide the know-how, skills and labour? There isn't one here in Britain.I encountered Boujeema Mars in the kitchens of the Berkeley Hotel in Knightsbridge, London, where he was guest chef. (Though its provenance, I have to say, was usually Algerian rather than Tunisian or Moroccan.)Given the British fondness for spicy food (Indian, Thai, Chinese), I used to wonder why couscous never took root over here.

In Paris I've enjoyed eating this sweet and spicy stew, with its eye-watering accompaniment of hot harissa sauce, for as long as I can remember. They held their gala dinner at La Mamounia, in Marrakesh, the most distinguished and grandest hotel restaurant in the country. They have not one, but four kitchens - for French, Chinese, Italian and Moroccan cooking.When I heard that its eminent chef des cuisines, Monsieur Boujeema Mars, was coming to London, I thought it would be great to persuade him to give me a lesson in cooking couscous This is the most famous dish coming out of North Africa. The chef in question is Paul Bocuse, literally France's most renowned chef, having been rewarded with the Legion d'Honneur after cooking a banquet for French president Giscard d'Estaing.So it was, when friends of M Bocuse organised a party to celebrate the great man's 70th birthday, they took him to Morocco.

One great French chef says it is the world's finest after French (naturellement) and Chinese. Colonial ties with France over the last century haven't greatly affected the content of their cooking, but they definitely improved the style.This is especially true of Moroccan cuisine. Certainly the food of the Arab world, emanating from the royal cuisine of ancient Persia, has been the chief influence on the delightful national cuisines of Turkey and the Lebanon.Less renowned is the Islam cooking of the Maghreb, the stretch of North Africa embracing Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. Today marks the beginning of the year in the Islamic calendar (a late starter as religions go, with seven centuries still to go until their next millennium). All the same, the Moslem world can argue that it has had a serious food culture as long as, if not longer than, Europe. Michael Bateman seized the chance to meet a visiting expert and discover the secrets of a perfect couscousBefore we come to our couscous masterclass, Happy New Year. This sweet, spicy North African lamb and vegetable stew is rarely found on British menus.