🥂Celebrating Love and Friendship in Tangier! [Full]
Hey,
I hope you’re doing well! I can’t believe it’s already been more than a week since we stepped into Tangier. Last week has been such a crazy rollercoaster of great intensity on so many levels, I don’t even know where to start! Let’s do it like I usually do then, as it might help me a little! 🙂
It’s Monday afternoon and I’m sitting on the beautiful rooftop of our new place, where I can enjoy a view of the golden and shiny coast of Spain, so beautiful, under a perfectly clear blue sky. I decided to simply let the sound of the seagulls mixed with the daily life of the medina that slowly takes place be my inspiration as I’m about to share what an unforgettable evening we had at La Maison de Tanger last Saturday evening!
I hope you’re doing well! I can’t believe it’s already been more than a week since we stepped into Tangier. Last week has been such a crazy rollercoaster of great intensity on so many levels, I don’t even know where to start! Let’s do it like I usually do then, as it might help me a little! 🙂
It’s Monday afternoon and I’m sitting on the beautiful rooftop of our new place, where I can enjoy a view of the golden and shiny coast of Spain, so beautiful, under a perfectly clear blue sky. I decided to simply let the sound of the seagulls mixed with the daily life of the medina that slowly takes place be my inspiration as I’m about to share what an unforgettable evening we had at La Maison de Tanger last Saturday evening!
Everything started with an email that came into the La Maison de Tanger inbox back in January, in which a lady was asking if we would be kind enough to allow her and her husband with around 40 of their friends and relatives to celebrate their wedding anniversary. The wedding took place in 2020 during COVID, and a very limited amount of people made it to this very important event in anyone’s life! We obviously felt touched and grateful that they’d choose our place for such a meaningful and hopefully memorable event, with people flying from France, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, many of them from the USA, and of course, many Moroccans. Some even came from Dubaï!
Our first reaction was to hire third parties, as we knew we would arrive in Tangier in early August, just a few days before the event, and wouldn’t have much time to put it in place on our own, especially after a tour. Having to manage everything from afar isn’t ideal, and that is especially true in Tangier. But having all those people traveling for this event, we couldn’t afford for this to simply be average. It had to be next-level and memorable! We’re celebrating love, after all, right?! 🙂 No room for mistakes, and as I’m sure you agree with me, wedding celebration expectations are always quite high!
Our first reaction was to hire third parties, as we knew we would arrive in Tangier in early August, just a few days before the event, and wouldn’t have much time to put it in place on our own, especially after a tour. Having to manage everything from afar isn’t ideal, and that is especially true in Tangier. But having all those people traveling for this event, we couldn’t afford for this to simply be average. It had to be next-level and memorable! We’re celebrating love, after all, right?! 🙂 No room for mistakes, and as I’m sure you agree with me, wedding celebration expectations are always quite high!
I love how diverse Alex and my lives can be, filled with so much diversity in a single day. During the entire months of February and March, as we were working on Alex’s new album, releasing Kimiyo, we would also spend a few hours a week following up with the team at La Maison de Tanger, making sure everything was aligned with the wedding anniversary party! We had to make sure we found the right chef, the right flowers, the right band, the right bar menu, and the right ambiance to make sure everyone would leave walking on clouds, wondering what just happened! The same thing occurred as we were touring all summer. As we were getting closer to the date, things started to get aligned, like the menu, the set list, the colors of the flowers, the list of people coming, the pacing of the evening, the gifts, and the bar offerings! Stressful, but so much fun!
We arrived in Tangier on August 2nd, and the party was last Saturday, August 10th! Everything was pretty much in place when we arrived, but Tangier being Tangier, you always have to go through every little detail and be open-minded to changes and modifications, even during the whole event. The key is to manage every little thing without the guests noticing we’re always working behind the scenes, anticipating what could go wrong and hoping we never have to improvise.
We arrived in Tangier on August 2nd, and the party was last Saturday, August 10th! Everything was pretty much in place when we arrived, but Tangier being Tangier, you always have to go through every little detail and be open-minded to changes and modifications, even during the whole event. The key is to manage every little thing without the guests noticing we’re always working behind the scenes, anticipating what could go wrong and hoping we never have to improvise.
As soon as we arrived at La Maison de Tanger, Alex, Isabel, and myself, the house was already fully booked by those people who had come to attend the wedding ceremony, as they wanted to spend a week in Tangier, at La Maison, and enjoy life together days before the big day! As you know us, how long do you think it took before the entire place was on fire with hugs, cheers, conversations, laughter, and amazing stories being told from both ends?! I’m sure you got it right: just a few minutes and bang! We were all having so much fun! It was as if we all had known each other for a long time!
We quickly realized how tight of a group those people are! They’re all in their mid-30s to early 40s, have been friends for 10 to 15 years, and always travel together. It was just incredible and it resonated so deeply. As you know, we share so many similarities friendship-wise: a huge family where friendship is what matters the most!
We quickly realized how tight of a group those people are! They’re all in their mid-30s to early 40s, have been friends for 10 to 15 years, and always travel together. It was just incredible and it resonated so deeply. As you know, we share so many similarities friendship-wise: a huge family where friendship is what matters the most!
Alex, Isabel, and I gathered at our new home at the very end on the rooftop (yes, we love rooftops) and as we started to share the conversations we had all evening with our new friends, we were stunned by how amazing that was, and how unexpected it also felt to be welcomed that quickly and easily in such a beautiful group of people.
Alex, Isabel, and I gathered at our new home at the very end on the rooftop (yes, we love rooftops) and as we started to share the conversations we had all evening with our new friends, we were stunned by how amazing that was, and how unexpected it also felt to be welcomed that quickly and easily in such a beautiful group of people.
Alex, Isabel, and I gathered at our new home at the very end on the rooftop (yes, we love rooftops) and as we started to share the conversations we had all evening with our new friends, we were stunned by how amazing that was, and how unexpected it also felt to be welcomed that quickly and easily in such a beautiful group of people.
The first thing we did as we woke up the next day was to gather all of our amazing staff members at La Maison de Tanger and explain to them how much we would like to cook for the guests ourselves, to bring a great band at home, and to truly welcome them as they deserve to be welcomed and to celebrate what matters the most in life: love! Everyone was so thrilled and excited (as well as nervous and almost scared as it was a lot of work in a very short amount of time)!
So here we were, Alex, Isabel, and I, with the entire staff of La Maison, following a 10-week tour in Europe, turning ourselves into hosts of the year wannabe where I was in charge of the food and the music, Alex and Isabel in charge of the bar and the decorations. We’re Monday morning, August 5, party is on Saturday, August 10, and guess what? Nothing’s done as we canceled everything we had previously organized!
I’m going to spare you every detail of what happened every day since I would need another 20 pages as we really had to run around town as we had to buy glasses, plates, cups, find the band, rent the audio gear, work on the menu, put all the bar together, and so on! I haven’t slept much, but as the guests were seeing us working like ants all week long, they kept inviting us to hang out with them every evening until pretty late, which we of course did! All of us became even better friends as the week went by, and it kept on challenging us to offer what’s best for them! The night before, as I was preparing the shrimp and the calamari and listening to some great music, one of them came to the kitchen and said: “Dude, it’s 1am! What are you still doing there working? Join us for a glass of wine!” I went to bed at 4am and was back at the fish market at 8am the next day! Crazy week!
So here we were, Alex, Isabel, and I, with the entire staff of La Maison, following a 10-week tour in Europe, turning ourselves into hosts of the year wannabe where I was in charge of the food and the music, Alex and Isabel in charge of the bar and the decorations. We’re Monday morning, August 5, party is on Saturday, August 10, and guess what? Nothing’s done as we canceled everything we had previously organized!
I’m going to spare you every detail of what happened every day since I would need another 20 pages as we really had to run around town as we had to buy glasses, plates, cups, find the band, rent the audio gear, work on the menu, put all the bar together, and so on! I haven’t slept much, but as the guests were seeing us working like ants all week long, they kept inviting us to hang out with them every evening until pretty late, which we of course did! All of us became even better friends as the week went by, and it kept on challenging us to offer what’s best for them! The night before, as I was preparing the shrimp and the calamari and listening to some great music, one of them came to the kitchen and said: “Dude, it’s 1am! What are you still doing there working? Join us for a glass of wine!” I went to bed at 4am and was back at the fish market at 8am the next day! Crazy week!
Here's What the Menu Looked Like
Cold Starters
• Batbout maamar
• Mini fish pastilla
• Chicken pastilla
• Zaalouk
• Taktouka
• Oysters*
• Carrot salad
• Beet salad
• Cherry tomato salad
• Selection of charcuterie
• Assortment of cheese
• Bread
*Yeah, I opened more than 100 oysters on that day!
• Mini fish pastilla
• Chicken pastilla
• Zaalouk
• Taktouka
• Oysters*
• Carrot salad
• Beet salad
• Cherry tomato salad
• Selection of charcuterie
• Assortment of cheese
• Bread
*Yeah, I opened more than 100 oysters on that day!
Hot Starters
• Cheese and spinach briouates
• Almond briouates
• Meat briouates
• Cheese briouates
• Salmon briouates
• Shrimp in sauce au cognac
• Calamari al pil pil
• Almond briouates
• Meat briouates
• Cheese briouates
• Salmon briouates
• Shrimp in sauce au cognac
• Calamari al pil pil
Entrées
• Tajine chicken lemon
• Tajine kefta
• Tajine beef & plum
• Swordfish with herbs and white wine sauce
• Red Bigeye with garlic and lemon & olive tapenade
• Vegetarian couscous
• Tajine kefta
• Tajine beef & plum
• Swordfish with herbs and white wine sauce
• Red Bigeye with garlic and lemon & olive tapenade
• Vegetarian couscous
Desserts
• Fruit salad with dragonfruit and blackberries
• Birthday cake
• Birthday cake
That evening of August 10th, 2024 at La Maison de Tanger will live in our hearts forever! It will always find its way to resonate within us every day of our lives as what was celebrated that day wasn’t the beauty of our place, how good the food was, how amazing the band was, or how beautifully dressed everyone was; it was about how powerful and meaningful our relationships are, how incredibly important it is to celebrate those relationships that are so hard to build and sustain in all of their imperfections but that are nonetheless home to everything truly being possible. I believe that when we’re close to such friendships, we know we belong, we know we’re loved, and this brings us to always want to offer what’s best to those around us!
This is what we decided to offer, give, share. And before they all left, they invited us all for a glass of champagne and for us to join them and be part of their traditional final picture all together… Which means “Until next time!”
Life is so rich! Let’s be great to one another!!!
Your Host and Friend,
Jeff
This is what we decided to offer, give, share. And before they all left, they invited us all for a glass of champagne and for us to join them and be part of their traditional final picture all together… Which means “Until next time!”
Life is so rich! Let’s be great to one another!!!
Your Host and Friend,
Jeff
