San Vito Lo Capo (gro) For the 19th time, the International Cous- Cous Festival is rising in San Vito Lo Capo (Trapani province). It begins on Friday, September 16, and lasts 10 days. At the center of the festivities is the food, is the North African cous cous, and in all its variations. At the same time, it is a celebration of cultures and a celebration of international togetherness. Renowned chefs come from all over the world, as far away as New York, also from Betlehem in Israel and Ramallah in Palestine. The cous cous festival in the picturesquely located seaside resort is also a celebration of peace. Stars and starlets, music, shows and international dance groups (pictured) are part of the program. Italian television (RAI) broadcasts a nightly talk show from the piazza Santuario, the central square of the town .
Hard wheat, millet or barley.
There are about 30 recipes for the cous cous. But these are only the most important ones. The base is coarse semolina, usually from durum wheat, but can be, depending on the region, also from barley or millet. In North Africa, also in Lebanon and other Arab countries, the soft steamed but still firm semolina is garnished with vegetables and meat, to which are added several different spicy sauces. In Sicily, instead of meat, fish is usually added to the steamed semolina. The “Cous Cous Trapanese” with its wonderfully spicy fish sauce is a household name throughout Italy. Cous cous has been around for many hundreds of years, introduced by the Arabs who ruled Sicily for 250 years in the Middle Ages.
Like a small town in North Africa.
The cous cous is a perfect match for San Vito Lo Capo. The seaside resort at the foot of Monte Monaco with probably the most popular beach in Sicily has a very Arabic feel. With its white, flat little houses and the chessboard-like street network, San Vito could visually be a small town on the North African coast. A culinary “peace platter,” however, is likely to be found only at the Cous- Cous Festival in Sicily.
The whole range of the cous-cous world.
At the festival in San Vito Lo Capo, the whole range of the dish called cous cous, brought to the world by the Arabs, can be experienced. Because it has established itself as an oriental specialty around the globe and has long been served even in the very finest temples of catering. No wonder that every time there are also so-called star chefs among the actors of the festival. For example, El Aayouny, the young chef of the “Danieli” in Venice, represents his home country Morocco this time. From the United States comes Mary Sue Milliken, a young, highly talented chef who has achieved international success with “modern Mexican cuisine” and from Palestine arrives Georg Suheil Srour, the culinary artist who provides the exclusive private club in Ramallah with exquisite dishes.
Everyone can join in the meal.
At the annual Cou-Cous Festival in September, San Vito Lo Capo is sheer bursting at the seams. But where else do chefs from all over the world cook in public!!? And where else is every feast participant invited to eat with, to enjoy with. No recipe remains a secret. On the contrary, every culinary artist is eager to pass on his recipe, especially when it turns out that what has been created arrives. Because the chefs cook for each other. After ten days, at the end of the festival, the best cous cous cook is chosen and awarded.