Ahead of her visit, Morse reflected on her journey from Morocco to Milwaukee and all of the possibilities that opened to her at UWM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Immigration and possibilities<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nMorse grew up in Casablanca, the child of a British father and a French mother. Her father had been a British Royal Air Force mechanic during World War II, repairing Spitfire planes damaged in combat. Her maternal grandfather and his family settled in Morocco at the turn of the 20th<\/sup>\u00a0century.<\/p>\n\n\n\nMorse grew up surrounded by towering minarets, the call to prayer echoing from the mosques, and the delicious scent of couscous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCouscous is my favorite, favorite<\/em> comfort food,\u201d she said. \u201cIn Casablanca, there are seven fresh vegetables that go on the topping of couscous. It\u2019s a half-a-day\u2019s preparation, because traditionally in Morocco, couscous is served on Friday, which is a Muslim day of rest, after the men come back from the Mosque. We were surrounded by the aroma of couscous everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\nKitty Morse on Moroccan cuisine for beginners:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n“Tagine is the Moroccan word for a stew, and it’s daily fare in Morocco. We have hundreds of them, because we have meat stews and seafood stews and vegetable stews, and sweet with meat, savory with meat, and they can be regional. I would say to do a tagine, with a meat if you would like to, and then assemble this stew following the recipe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The spices we use in Morocco are unique. For the Casablanca area, (there is a spice mix) called chermoula, and it’s a blend of cumin, paprika, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil. You use that as a marinade, or I just use it on roasted vegetables.”<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
In 1963 when she was 17, Morse visited her aunt and a set of grandparents who lived in Milwaukee. She immediately fell in love with the towering buildings, the sounds of the city, and the vastness of Lake Michigan that reminded her of the sea. She immigrated soon after and eventually enrolled in UW-Milwaukee with a Spanish major.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/letters-science\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/255\/2026\/07\/Kitty-Morse-graduation-photo-225x300.webp\")
Kitty Morse earned her bachelor’s degree from UWM in 1967 and her master’s in 1972. Photo courtesy of Kitty Morse.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nShe joined the Alpha Phi Sorority. She met and began dating Owen Morse, a dental student at Marquette University who would later become her husband. She started a Master\u2019s degree in French and served as a teaching assistant in both French and Spanish. She traveled around the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was so interesting, and I had this freedom that you don\u2019t have in a North African country, especially in my era,\u201d Morse said. \u201cThe possibility of doing anything I wanted was there, and I grasped at all of them. I learned that at UWM, because nobody put barriers in front of me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And while she was at UWM, Morse started to cook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Building a culinary career<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\nMorse laughs when she remembers her college apartment on Newhall Street. Rent was $25 per month, so \u201cYou can imagine the state,\u201d she joked. Her roommates were curious about their friend from Morocco and her food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey would ask me, \u2018Well, what do you eat in Morocco?\u2019\u201d Morse recalled. \u201cThey wanted to me to make whatever it is. I thought, well, why not? So, I would call my great-grandmother, who was still in Casablanca, my great-aunt, other people. I said, how do you make couscous and how do you make tagines?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Word spread. Soon, Morse was cooking for family friends and bigger crowds to earn pocket money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nKitty Morse on Moroccan cooking in Milwaukee:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n“We would take over people\u2019s living rooms on Prospect or Fox Point, wherever we were, and move all the furniture and bring in the pillows and rugs, because in Morocco you eat seated on poufs out of a communal dish in the center of the table \u2013 which we did. Then we invited a belly dancer to dance on the table. Milwaukee had never seen anything like it, we had a great time, and I made money to take us back to Morocco every year to see my father.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
As her popularity grew, Morse began catering, including for the opening of the Milwaukee Public Museum\u2019s building on Wells Street in 1963. Later, when her husband\u2019s career took the couple to California, Morse began writing cookbooks and teaching culinary classes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was very fortunate, because the early \u201880s and the beginning of the \u201890s was a big time for cooking, new cookbooks. America was awakening to new flavors,\u201d she said. \u201cI rode the wave from one Moroccan cookbook to another \u2026 gave talks on Moroccan culture everywhere, including at the Smithsonian, and then I started doing my tours. I probably was the first to lead culinary tours to Morocco.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As she wrote more cookbooks and her prestige grew, Morse was invited to cook alongside Julia Child, who famously brought the Joy of Cooking <\/em>to her audience. Her books were nominated for, and won, awards, and Morse expanded beyond cookbooks and released her first memoir. But her most ambitious project, and perhaps most personally meaningful, was published in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\nKitty Morse on meeting Julia Child:<\/strong>
“I was invited to cook alongside Julia when she came to Santa Barbara, and it was a benefit for a culinary organization. Julia was the attraction; I was just a sidekick there. But, they asked me to cook a Moroccan meal alongside Julia. Okay, twist my arm! So I went up and I cooked a Moroccan meal with Julia, who was charming.
“Julia was a terrific, wonderful lady. … Just to tell you who she was, she went into the kitchen and she said thank you to my husband for washing the dishes. Oh, my husband was in love with Julia right there!
“And the other funny thing I found out later – in Moroccan cuisine, you use a lot of cilantro. … I made the tagine, the couscous. I found out afterwards she did not like cilantro at all. She never said anything!”<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Morse grew up surrounded by towering minarets, the call to prayer echoing from the mosques, and the delicious scent of couscous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCouscous is my favorite, favorite<\/em> comfort food,\u201d she said. \u201cIn Casablanca, there are seven fresh vegetables that go on the topping of couscous. It\u2019s a half-a-day\u2019s preparation, because traditionally in Morocco, couscous is served on Friday, which is a Muslim day of rest, after the men come back from the Mosque. We were surrounded by the aroma of couscous everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kitty Morse on Moroccan cuisine for beginners:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n “Tagine is the Moroccan word for a stew, and it’s daily fare in Morocco. We have hundreds of them, because we have meat stews and seafood stews and vegetable stews, and sweet with meat, savory with meat, and they can be regional. I would say to do a tagine, with a meat if you would like to, and then assemble this stew following the recipe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “The spices we use in Morocco are unique. For the Casablanca area, (there is a spice mix) called chermoula, and it’s a blend of cumin, paprika, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil. You use that as a marinade, or I just use it on roasted vegetables.”<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n In 1963 when she was 17, Morse visited her aunt and a set of grandparents who lived in Milwaukee. She immediately fell in love with the towering buildings, the sounds of the city, and the vastness of Lake Michigan that reminded her of the sea. She immigrated soon after and eventually enrolled in UW-Milwaukee with a Spanish major.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She joined the Alpha Phi Sorority. She met and began dating Owen Morse, a dental student at Marquette University who would later become her husband. She started a Master\u2019s degree in French and served as a teaching assistant in both French and Spanish. She traveled around the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was so interesting, and I had this freedom that you don\u2019t have in a North African country, especially in my era,\u201d Morse said. \u201cThe possibility of doing anything I wanted was there, and I grasped at all of them. I learned that at UWM, because nobody put barriers in front of me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And while she was at UWM, Morse started to cook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Morse laughs when she remembers her college apartment on Newhall Street. Rent was $25 per month, so \u201cYou can imagine the state,\u201d she joked. Her roommates were curious about their friend from Morocco and her food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey would ask me, \u2018Well, what do you eat in Morocco?\u2019\u201d Morse recalled. \u201cThey wanted to me to make whatever it is. I thought, well, why not? So, I would call my great-grandmother, who was still in Casablanca, my great-aunt, other people. I said, how do you make couscous and how do you make tagines?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Word spread. Soon, Morse was cooking for family friends and bigger crowds to earn pocket money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kitty Morse on Moroccan cooking in Milwaukee:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n “We would take over people\u2019s living rooms on Prospect or Fox Point, wherever we were, and move all the furniture and bring in the pillows and rugs, because in Morocco you eat seated on poufs out of a communal dish in the center of the table \u2013 which we did. Then we invited a belly dancer to dance on the table. Milwaukee had never seen anything like it, we had a great time, and I made money to take us back to Morocco every year to see my father.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n As her popularity grew, Morse began catering, including for the opening of the Milwaukee Public Museum\u2019s building on Wells Street in 1963. Later, when her husband\u2019s career took the couple to California, Morse began writing cookbooks and teaching culinary classes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI was very fortunate, because the early \u201880s and the beginning of the \u201890s was a big time for cooking, new cookbooks. America was awakening to new flavors,\u201d she said. \u201cI rode the wave from one Moroccan cookbook to another \u2026 gave talks on Moroccan culture everywhere, including at the Smithsonian, and then I started doing my tours. I probably was the first to lead culinary tours to Morocco.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As she wrote more cookbooks and her prestige grew, Morse was invited to cook alongside Julia Child, who famously brought the Joy of Cooking <\/em>to her audience. Her books were nominated for, and won, awards, and Morse expanded beyond cookbooks and released her first memoir. But her most ambitious project, and perhaps most personally meaningful, was published in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kitty Morse on meeting Julia Child:<\/strong>Building a culinary career<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
“I was invited to cook alongside Julia when she came to Santa Barbara, and it was a benefit for a culinary organization. Julia was the attraction; I was just a sidekick there. But, they asked me to cook a Moroccan meal alongside Julia. Okay, twist my arm! So I went up and I cooked a Moroccan meal with Julia, who was charming.
“Julia was a terrific, wonderful lady. … Just to tell you who she was, she went into the kitchen and she said thank you to my husband for washing the dishes. Oh, my husband was in love with Julia right there!
“And the other funny thing I found out later – in Moroccan cuisine, you use a lot of cilantro. … I made the tagine, the couscous. I found out afterwards she did not like cilantro at all. She never said anything!”<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
![\"Image](\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/letters-science\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/255\/2026\/07\/Kitty-Morse-Bittersweet-book-237x300.webp\")