Farmers

Marrakech

Globetrotting dishes grounded in sustainable local ingredients

With a name like Farmers, it's perhaps unsurprising that this elegant Marrakech restaurant takes sustainability seriously. Opened in 2024 by Casablanca-born former banker Aziz Nahas and French restaurateur Benjamin Pastor, Farmers has its own nearby permaculture farm, Sanctuary Slimane. This site employs 20 people and is Farmers' main supplier of chicken, eggs, honey, olive oil, fresh hers, fruits and vegetables. By growing multiple varieties of the same produce – for example, 15 varieties of lemons and five varieties of beets – the farm helps boost biodiversity.

Even when using external suppliers, the Farmers' team remains vigilant about sustainable practices, ensuring that meat, fruit and vegetables are all traceable to the farm of origin. For example, walnuts, garlic, almonds and dates are sourced from small local farms; rye and barley are sourced from a farm on the outskirts of Marrakech, with the Farmers staff milling the grains in small batches to ensure it remains fresh; and the team works with a local guide to buy fresh produce in bulk from multiple farms in the Atlas Mountains.

With this produce, chef Driss Aloui creates vibrant dishes that take inspiration from Mexico, Japan, the Caribbean, Italy and other far-flung locations. The team has also recently increased the vegetarian and vegan options on its menu and organic waste is sent daily to Sanctuary Slimane to be repurposed as animal feed or compost.

Proper care for its staff is a core value for Farmers, with regular training sessions, farm visits and a mentorship programme all offered to support professional development. Additionally, the team has hired a dedicated staff member to cook meals for Farmers staff.

All water bottles are now made from glass and recyclable, with guests enjoying filtered water. The restaurant has also partnered with Beldi Country Club, which has a recycling initiative through which glass bottles are repurposed.

Of Farmers Marrakech, the CEO of The Sustainable Restaurant Association, Juliane Caillouette Noble, said, "Congratulations to Farmers Marrakech for this well-deserved win. The central story for us was how they source their ingredients, with their own permaculture farm acting as the restaurant's main supplier and often growing less-common varieties of fruit and vegetables. When they do source from elsewhere, their approach is diligent, locally focused and seasonal, working with small-scale farms in the area to buy everything from walnuts and garlic to barley and rye, and partnering with a local guide to buy fresh produce in bulk from Atlas mountain farmers as soon as it's harvested. This is a fantastic example of responsible sourcing in the region, and one that we hope more restaurants will follow."

For its focus on locally produced ingredients, thoughtful partnerships with external suppliers and support of staff wellbeing, Farmers is the winner of the Sustainable Restaurant Award 2026, as part of Middle East & North Africa's 50 Best Restaurants.

The Sustainable Restaurant Award is given to the restaurant in the region that achieves the highest environmental and social responsibility rating as determined by 50 Best’s audit partner, the Sustainable Restaurant Association. All restaurants on the Middle East & North Africa’s 50 Best Restaurants list were invited to enter the award via self-nomination and each entry was assessed across three main pillars: sourcing, society and environment.

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