The ancient fishing village of San Vito Lo Capo, located between the Gulf of Castellammare and the city of Trapani on the northern coast of Sicily, hosts an annual Cous Cous Festival each September. Dedicated to exploring the culinary and cultural aspects of the tasty Mediterranean dish, the festival celebrates the cultural legacy of the Arabic peoples who ruled Sicily for more than 150 years.

A Bit of History
Cous cous originally arrived in Sicily with the Arabs from Morocco and other areas of Northern Africa who landed on the island in 827. By 903 they ruled all of Sicily and would continue to do so until the Normans began their conquest of the island in 1060. Despite the change in rulers the cultural and culinary stamp of Arabic culture would remain.

Cous Cous
Cous Cous is a food from Morocco of Berber origin. It consists of spherical granules which are made by rolling and shaping moistened semolina wheat and then coating them with finely ground wheat flour. Traditional couscous requires considerable preparation time and is usually steamed (Wikipedia.org). Cous cous is a communal meal, that comes served from a large round platter. Another variety of cous cous, Israeli cous cous, or by its Arabic name, maftoul, is larger--almost pearl-size--nuttier-tasting than its familiar Moroccan counterpart.

The Festival
San Vito Lo Capo's Cous Cous Festival's principal event is a cous cous cook-off with the best cous cous Chefs from Israel, Morocco, Egypt, France, Algeria, Tunisia and Italy participating to determine who indeed is the cappo of cous cous (the best chef) in the Mediterranean.

The festival also includes four evenings of music, featuring free performances by Sicilian and African World Music artists Sudd MM-Anita Vitale, Roy Paci & Aretuska , Dam, Khaled, Agricantus, and Sasao Meravigliao in the Piazza Santuario in the heart of the ancient town.

Source Cous Cous Fest