Friends in Marseille, mark your calendars. From August 21 to September 6, Marseille will be buzzing with the rhythm of one of North Africa’s most famous dishes: couscous! For two weeks, you can enjoy the Kouss-Kouss Festival, a culinary event that celebrates a culture rich in flavors and colors.
A festival celebrating couscous and Mediterranean cuisine
Since its inception in 2018, the Kouss-Kouss Festival has explored the many facets of this iconic dish of Mediterranean and North African cultures. More than just a dish, couscous tells a story of cultural transmission, travel, and sharing, with recipes that vary by region, family, and tradition.
And in Marseille, there’s no way the celebration will be limited to just a few restaurants! The Kouss·Kouss Festival takes over the entire city and brings together more than 200 venues: restaurants, up-and-coming eateries, community-focused cafeterias, food shops, markets, cultural venues, parks, and public spaces. It’s a wonderful way to discover the richness of Marseille’s culinary scene while exploring the many interpretations of couscous.
As they do every year, the city of Marseille and the Tourist Office are treating you to seven fun, free evenings. Centered around sharing, flavors, and the Mediterranean, these events are a highlight of the Marseille summer! Note: It’s first come, first served!
Herbs, spices, and wild plants on the menu
After dedicating previous editions to chili peppers, bluefish, seeds, and chickpeas, the festival continues its exploration. For this 9th edition, the spotlight is on aromatic and wild herbs. Mint, cilantro, thyme, basil, sage, and wild fennel will be featured alongside lesser-known plants such as sea fennel and glasswort.
Through this theme, Kouss·Kouss aims to go beyond a simple culinary discovery. The festival also focuses on the traditional uses of plants, foraging, the passing down of knowledge, and our relationship with the natural world. It’s a way of looking at those small botanical touches that can completely transform the character of a dish.
A grand culinary celebration throughout Marseille
For more than two weeks, lovers of Mediterranean cuisine will have plenty of opportunities to taste, discover, and share. The Kouss·Kouss Festival is based above all on this idea of convivial, communal cooking, bringing together chefs, producers, cooks, locals, and visitors.
And that’s precisely what makes the event so charming: rather than being confined to a single location, the festival takes place across different neighborhoods of Marseille and invites everyone to discover new spots and new recipes.
Over the years, Kouss-Kouss has thus become much more than a food festival: it’s an event that celebrates the diversity of culinary cultures, the joy of eating together, and Marseille’s creativity.
To discover the participating restaurants, guest chefs, and the full schedule for this 9th edition, visit the official Kouss-Kouss website. Program and information for the 2026 Kouss·Kouss Festival
