Grilled skewers and lantern light at a Stone Town night food market, Zanzibar

Zanzibari food is Swahili, Arab, Indian and Portuguese history on one plate. The best way to understand it is to cook it.

You start at the market, buying what you will cook. Then a family kitchen, not a cooking studio. Charcoal, coconut graters, recipes that live in heads, not books. You make pilau or biryani, coconut fish curry, chapati from scratch.

Then the best part. You sit down together and eat what you made.

A

Abdalla or a local guide he introduces you to

Abdalla is based on Zanzibar and guides the tours himself when he is available. If another local guide will take you, Abdalla confirms who it is before you agree the booking.

I am vegetarian or have allergies. Will it work?
Yes. The menu bends easily. Include dietary needs in your request. Your guide checks them with the family before confirming.
Do I need cooking experience?
None. If you can stir, you can cook pilau. The family does the dangerous parts.