Faces in the Medina - Tara Stevens

Tara - enjoying Fez magic

Like many people, Tara Stevens ended up visiting Fez "by accident". Originally from Wales, Tara had been working in Copenhagen as a copywriter in the advertising industry. The work was hard and being something of a workaholic she found herself working ridiculous hours.

"I suddenly realised that being at work at 3 in the morning was crazy so I decided to quit and write a travel guide book."

The chance came shortly after, when she stumbled across an advertisement calling for someone to write about Puerto Rico. That was back in 2000.

After completing the Adventure Guide to Puerto Rico, Tara headed to Barcelona where she based herself and began working as a freelance travel writer. Over time Tara found herself drawn more and more to writing about food. "Cuisine is a doorway to culture. Even if you can't speak a foreign language, food itself is a language."

In 2008 Tara attended the Hay Festival in Grenada and while chatting with Tahir Shah (The Caliph's House: A Year in Casablanca) he mentioned Café Clock in Fez and their camel burgers. That conversation brought Tara to Fez where she wrote "the camel burger" story for Conde Nast.

When Mike Richardson from Cafe Clock contacted her and suggested writing a "Café Clock" cookbook, Tara was hooked. Since then she has visited Fez five times and confesses to being enchanted. "It is a magical place and the food is more than just for eating - it is often prepared for a magical reason.

We look forward to her book and seeing just how long it will take for 'Fez magic" to convince this talented and vivacious woman that Fez is a superb place to live.


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