OUR STORY

The Trapanese Cous-Cous Restaurant was born from a passion for the art of good cooking: simple ingredients, love for the ocean, a culture and tradition of belonging, and the western tip of Sicily.

Originally, Cous-Cous was made to travel, and for centuries it has been “incocciato” (the unique method of preparing cous-cous by hand) with nothing more than water and salt, renewing its spirit each time. 

Its North-African origins (in modern-day Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia – countries that no longer contest cous-cous’ origins since uniting as Maghreb countries to gain the coveted UNESCO heritage status for this treasured food) allowed Cous-Cous to conquer palates across three continents (Africa, Europe, and Asia), yet it is the Trapanese fish soup that is most recognized worldwide. 

Indeed, Trapani (in western Sicily) is the city that allowed Cous-Cous, by way of the Mediterranean, to have Italian citizenship and the world’s admiration, especially with the Cous Cous Fest in San Vito Lo Capo. 

Initially cooked only with mutton and many vegetables (tomatoes, carrots, turnips, potatoes, hot peppers and chilies), Cous-Cous gained its place in Italian cuisine thanks to the Trapanese fishermen who returned home from fishing expeditions on the African coasts with new recipes for durum wheat semolina from their African brethren. Unable to afford meat, these fishermen and their families prepared a delicious fish soup to accompany their Cous-Cous. 

And so, with the kiss of the Mediterranean and Tyrrhenian seas, Cous-Cous alla Trapanese was born and Cùscusu (in Sicilian dialect) entered the canon of Italian cooking.  

First travelling only by sea, Cous-Cous was spread by the wind to new ports and harbors. Soon, new recipes and preparations followed, as well as transformations into maftul, then tabbouleh, then cashcà. No matter how many changes it undergoes, we know that Cous-Cous is first and foremost defined by the experiences, the laughter, the faces, wrinkles, hands, and stories of those who prepare it. 

Cous-Cous is a powerful dish, and one must listen to what it tells its chef. Cous-cous is a welcoming kitchen; it is the warm Sirocco wind, the rediscovery of a long-lost road. It is a celebration of listening, of silence, and the memories of smells and tastes. 

Cous-Cous, with its Evocative Trapani Cuisine, is all this and more.
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