The founder
Ali Benfallah, the man who gave life to a Moroccan dream
At the end of the 1970s, Ali Benfallah, a passionate guide who spoke several languages, dreamed of giving visitors to Marrakech a real immersion in Moroccan culture: not a tourist visit, but a celebration of traditions, folklore and hospitality.
Every spring, Marrakech came alive with a popular festival where troupes of musicians, singers and riders performed. Ali had a visionary idea: create a permanent place where that magic would exist all year round.
His name appears in several spellings — Ali Benfallah, Ali Ben Fellah, Ali Belfellah — and Marrakchis often simply call him chef Ali. They all refer to the same man: the founder of Chez Ali.
1982
The first tent
In the early 1980s he bought a plot of desert land in the Palmeraie, far from the city centre. With a handful of loyal companions he began to transform the arid ground by hand. That enormous building site produced, in 1982, the first Berber tent. Then came the surrounding walls, the esplanade, the stables, lodgings for the artists and a huge kitchen able to feed 3,000 guests. A museum on the site now tells this story.
The show
The birth of the Fantasia
Ali travelled across Morocco to bring together the best traditional troupes, the finest voices and the most talented musicians. He also created his own Fantasia: first by day, then by night, after long months of training the horses. The show quickly became legendary.
With his mother, his wife Kamar and his children, he built the project with passion and determination. Chez Ali became a landmark of living Moroccan culture and hosted prestige evenings and corporate galas. Even the billionaire Malcolm Forbes celebrated his birthday there.
A keeper of memory
A dream that came true
Ali Benfallah was not only a builder. He passed on memory, was generous, curious about the world and deeply human. He believed in the strength of the group and gave his trust to those who shared his vision or simply needed a hand.
When you visit, take a moment to talk with the artists, the riders or your waiter. Many of them worked alongside him and keep a strong memory of the man who turned an idea into a living heritage.
The tents, kitchen and arena he built are the ones your table is booked in tonight. See how an evening runs, or the events hall added to the domain since.
Chez Ali is not only a place: it is the story of a dream that came true.
Guides
Read more about the traditions
- Fantasia in Morocco: the history of tbouridaWhere the charge comes from, how it is judged, and why a single shot must be heard.
- The horse in Morocco: the Barb and the Arab-BarbThe breed behind the Fantasia, and how a horse learns to stay calm under gunfire.
- Moroccan folklore, region by regionAhwach, Gnawa, dekka marrakchia, guedra: how to tell the troupes apart.
Come and see it for yourself
Dinner, the troupes and the Fantasia, with your transfer included.
The Chez Ali dinner show and Fantasia in Marrakech, booked with a free return hotel transfer by Traces Berbères Voyages.
Book
WhatsApp +212 661 454 738booking@restaurantchezali.comEvery evening, 8 pm to midnight
Ouahat Sidi Brahim, Palmeraie, Marrakech
© 2026 Traces Berbères Voyages, Marrakech