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TUNISIA
From a seafood feast in Kelibia to spice shopping in Nabeul,
Tunisia’s northeastern Cap Bon peninsula offers up
a fiery fusion of culinary experiences
WORDS: JAMES MARCH
Chef Gobji Mohamed is apologetic as he
beckons me into Kelibia’s Marché Aux
Poissons. “Bad conditions last night, so there
isn’t as much fish as usual,” he says. “The
fisherman couldn’t go out as far.”
He’s right about the weather, as the howling
wind against my hotel balcony shutters
testified. Nonetheless, resting on long beds of
ice inside the chilly, white-tiled market hall is
a smorgasbord of glittering fish, freshly
caught overnight from the restless waters
off northern Tunisia’s Cap Bon peninsula
and delivered to Kelibia’s historic port about
a half a mile away. We amble by densely
packed sardines, bright baskets of pale orange
langoustines and angular silver swordfish,
while Gobji meticulously pokes and prods at
almost every variety in search of the freshest
and the finest. It’s a routine he’s been going
through almost every week since he moved
back to his hometown 10 years ago, following
stints in Morocco and Paris.
Two hours later and we’re standing beside
a crackling seafood barbecue on a smooth
wooden boardwalk outside El Mansourah,
Gobji’s shorefront restaurant. The morning’s
low leaden clouds have given way to pale blue
skies and this cinematic setting is a world
away from the port’s symphony of blaring
horns, rumbling male chatter and whirring
engines, despite being just a 10 -minute drive
north. The restaurant sits on a rugged, rocky
promontory flanked by golden beaches, while
Kelibia Fort, a 16th-century stone citadel,
looms above on a nearby hillside. The wind
still lingers from the previous night’s storm, as
50 NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.CO.UK/TRAVEL
