Culinary art plays a vital role in cultural blending across West Africa. In Benin, Ivorian cuisine is especially popular among the diverse resident communities. This cultural exchange has given rise to well-known restaurants and maquis (informal eateries) that specialise in traditional Ivorian dishes. Some of these meals have also made their way onto the menus of establishments offering both African and European cuisine.

“Ivorian dishes are in high demand. Sometimes, they fall outside our usual offerings, but we’ve had to adapt our menu to meet customer preferences,” says Edith Adah, the owner of a restaurant on the outskirts of Cotonou, in an interview with Dialogue Migration.

Online food services are no exception, as many now include Ivorian dishes on their menus. Some even specialise entirely in Ivorian cuisine, offering meals at unconventional hours to meet growing demand.

A tour of various eateries in Benin’s economic capital—a city that never sleeps—reveals a fusion of Ivorian and Beninese culinary traditions. “These dishes appear on our menus because, as Africans, we carry our tastes across borders. Meeting customer expectations means regularly offering dishes like attieké, alloco from Côte d’Ivoire, or tchep from Senegal,” explains Gaspard Avamey, manager of a maquis near Fidjrossè Plage in Cotonou.

This restaurant, located in the heart of Cotonou’s Akpakpa district, specialises in Ivorian cuisine and enjoys an excellent reputation. Founded by an Ivorian woman, it attracts civil servants, businesspeople and other visitors who come to sample the authentic flavours of Houphouët-Boigny’s homeland. It also serves as a gathering place for the sizable Ivorian community living in or passing through Benin. For them, it is more than just a restaurant – it is a comforting reminder of home, a place to reconnect with their roots, socialise with fellow Ivorians and celebrate their shared culinary heritage.

For others, particularly the Beninese patrons we spoke to during the day, visiting the restaurant is about satisfying a craving, discovering new flavours or reliving the experience of a dish they enjoyed on a previous trip to Abidjan or elsewhere in Côte d’Ivoire.

Community bonding through gastronomy: diversity and common ground

Many community events in Cotonou incorporate a culinary element. Focusing on themes of sharing and cultural discovery, these gatherings aim to foster intercultural connections through one of the most universal languages: food.

The appeal of tasting dishes that are deeply rooted in a community’s identity is undeniable. What often begins as simple curiosity can quickly grow into genuine appreciation, or even a heartfelt preference.

Take attieké, for example – a traditional Ivorian dish made from fermented, steamed cassava semolina. Celebrated for its distinctive flavour and the economic ecosystem surrounding its production, attieké has become popular in Benin, particularly in Cotonou. Today, it is produced locally using either traditional methods or as attieké-gari, a variation based on gari, a similar cassava derivative. The latter is particularly common in the suburbs of Cotonou, where it is often sold by Nigerian vendors.

In several key areas around Cotonou, vendors selling raw attieké flour can be seen alongside restaurants and maquis offering a variety of dishes made from it.

Similar dishes have also become popular, such as placali, a fermented cassava paste typically served with seed sauce, okra sauce or kplala, a leafy green sauce. In Benin, a similar dish is known as agbélou.

Maquis specialising in traditional Ivorian cuisine tend to focus on iconic dishes such as kédjénou, a slow-cooked stew, foutou banane (plantain fufu) and rice with seed sauce. Many of these establishments are owned and run by Ivorian nationals who have lived in Benin for several decades, bringing with them authentic flavours.

Their customers extend beyond the Ivorian community. Beninese diners and people of various nationalities are often drawn to these meals — some for their distinctive taste, others for the chance to explore exotic dishes or relive culinary memories from a visit to Côte d’Ivoire and some simply to discover the diverse flavours of the wider West African region.

Gastronomy, integration and identity co-creation

African gastronomy reflects a rich heritage spanning economic, cultural and social dimensions. It is a dynamic force that promotes integration and shared identity within communities.

The increasing number of Ivorian restaurants and maquis in Benin clearly demonstrates the popularity and cultural influence of Ivorian cuisine. The local production of attieké, whether prepared in the traditional Ivorian way or adapted by Beninese chefs, illustrates how culinary practices cross borders and become embedded in local food culture.

This cross-cultural integration extends beyond main dishes. Beverages and desserts such as bissap (hibiscus juice) and déguè (a millet semolina and milk dessert) are enjoyed in countries including Benin, Mali, Senegal and Egypt. These shared tastes create bridges between nations, highlighting the power of food to transcend borders and foster a sense of regional identity.

During a discussion on migration, Dr Anoumou Kouassi Rodolphe, a lecturer and researcher at the Centre d’Excellence Régional sur les Villes Durables en Afrique/Regional Center of Excellence on Sustainable Cities in Africa  (CERViDA-DOUNEDON) and a professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Lomé, spoke about the McDonaldization of food in African cities. He described this phenomenon as a form of identity fusion, reflected in evolving eating habits, and views it as a kind of co-creation of identity.

Other dishes originating from Côte d’Ivoire, such as alloco (fried plantains), have also gained popularity in Benin. These dishes are not only found in Ivorian culinary establishments, but are also increasingly being served in Beninese restaurants and eateries in other countries. Similar examples include Senegalese dishes such as thiebou dieune or tchep and chicken yassa, which are widely appreciated across the region.

Ivorian cuisine is now firmly embedded in Benin’s culinary landscape. Its dishes have carved out a prominent place within the country’s rich food culture, serving as a vivid symbol of mutual acceptance and peaceful coexistence between the two peoples.