Tour Overview
Sicilian cuisine is the result of Greek, Arab, Spanish, and French rule over the centuries. There are elaborate
antipasti, numerous deep-fried foods including arancini (rice balls) and panelle (chickpeas fritters), exuberant
pastas, layered rice dishes, stuffed and skewered meat and fish preparations, and honey- or almond-based sweets.
Pasta with sardines and wild fennel, or with cauliflower and raisins, are among the island's classic first
courses; and while they may sound odd at first, these combinations work beautifully. Bottarga, made from the
dried, salted, and pressed eggs of Sicily's prized tuna, is shaved over pastas and salads; summer tomatoes are
dried in the sun to create an intensely savory paste; and almonds are finely ground and transformed into myriad
cookies and sweet treats.
Calabrese cuisine too has been shaped by many foreign influences, with Greek, Arab, and Albanian flourishes
evident in many of the local specialties. Characteristic dishes are laced with chili pepper (the local varieties
have astounding sweetness and personality), sweet-and-sour notes mingle in savory preparations, and desserts are
often deep-fried and drenched in honey. Fresh pasta is rolled out into thin sheets called sagne (similar but
more robust than northern Italy's lasagne), and strips of semolina dough are wound around a knitting needle to
shape chewy, memorable fusilli al ferretto (knitting-needle fusilli). There is pork anduja, a fiery fresh salami
that is added to pasta sauces or slathered on bread, and the aged sheep's milk cheeses and caciocavallo are
among the best you'll find in Italy.
See a video recipe below of Artic Char (decidedly not a Sicilian fish!) prepared with a quintessentially
Sicilian sweet and sour sauce flavored with capers, raisins, and pine nuts, taken from
our video membership site. In Sicily, fresh swordfish would be the fish of
choice in this preparation. You can find the
printable PDF version of the recipe here 
This recipe is from our video membership site. View 3 more recipes by
visiting each of our other 3 culinary tour pages; each tour page has a video recipe from that region.
Bonus: Sign up for a culinary tour and get a FREE one-year video site membership. Here are
the links to each page:
The agriturismo is located 1 and ½ hours away from the Catania airport near the Baroque town of Palazzolo Acreide. The decor is modern, with an airy and
clean aesthetic, and the structure is powered almost entirely by solar panels. All rooms have a private bathroom
and air conditioning. The infinity pool is surrounded by olive trees, cactus pears, and flowering bushes. Deluxe
rooms on this property have private outdoor space. We’ll spend the first three nights of our tour here. We will also spend one night in a beautiful hotel with stunning sea views near Taormina, on the way to Messina, where we will be taking the ferry the following morning to Calabria.
The agriturismo is located on a hill overlooking the Ionian sea where olive, apricot, peach, and cherry trees
thrive; breakfasts feature the local produce in homemade tarts, cookies, and jams. There is a medieval lookout
tower on the property that can be visited, a large private pool, and ample opportunity for a stroll in nature or
quiet contemplation. All rooms have a private bathroom, air conditioning, and outdoor space. We’ll spend the last
four nights of our tour here. The closest airport is Lamezia Terme, and the closest train station is Trebisacce.
The majority of people who take tours with us spend a couple of days in their city of arrival in Italy -
whether Rome, Milan, Palermo, Naples, or other - and then join us when the tour starts. This is a good way to
plan your trip, since it will give you a day or two to beat the jet lag (depending on what time zone you are
coming from). Some folks will be driving, others flying in to nearby airports, others taking the train.
The closest major airport to our agriturismo in Sicily is Catania, about 1 and ½ hours away. We can arrange a
car pick up at the airport for an additional fee on the first day of the tour.
On the last day of the tour, we can arrange for a car to take you to the train station in nearby Trebisacce or
to the nearby airport in Lamezia Terme or even as far as Rome or Naples if desired.
Check-in is at 3 pm on the first day of the tour, and after you settle into your room, we'll start off with a
welcome reception: a glass of sparkling wine, some finger foods to nibble on, and the opportunity to meet your
fellow travelers. This will be followed by a hands-on cooking class and welcome dinner.
The next morning, we'll enjoy a cooking lesson, followed by lunch, an afternoon
of sightseeing and culinary discovery, and dinner in a nearby town.
After four nights exploring Sicily, we’ll transfer to Calabria via ferry and private bus (included in the
cost).
This will be the pace of our nine days together: cooking in the mornings, lunching together, and discovering
beautiful towns in the afternoons. We'll include wine tastings, olive oil tastings, cheesemaking, encounters
with local food artisans, even a chocolate tasting on our daily itineraries, so every day will
bring a new adventure!
Since we'll be exploring small medieval towns, there will be some walking involved,
including some stairs or moderate hills; we suggest comfortable walking shoes.
Italian food is extremely varied and deeply regional. From making fresh pasta by
hand to kneading focaccia dough, roasting and braising meats, poaching fish, whipping up amazing desserts, and
more,
each class at the estate will focus on key Italian culinary techniques and will culminate in a full Italian
meal.
Our hands-on cooking lessons will be led by tour hosts Micol
and Dino, and will touch
on every aspect of Italian cuisine: antipasti, fresh pasta (gnocchi, tagliatelle, and more), risotto, fish and
meat, vegetables, handmade
bread and focaccia, and classic desserts. By week's end, you'll
have perfected many essential culinary skills and learned dozens of Italian dishes. We'll even bring our
sourdough starter along and teach you to bake crusty bread and focaccia!
Restaurant Dinners:
We have selected restaurants in nearby towns where you can enjoy a taste of the local cuisine. Some restaurants
will be elegant, some may even have a Michelin star, others will be family-run and cozy, but all will provide us
with a memorable gastronomic experience. The only prerequisite is to bring your appetite (and perhaps pants with
an elastic waistband, according to a past tour participant!), because the meals will be generous and wine is
always included!
Sicily
Sicily
Sicily
Sicily
Sicily
Sicily
Sicily
Sicily
Sicily
Sicily
Calabria (left) Sicily (right)
Calabria
Calabria
Calabria
Calabria
Calabria
Accomodations
Accomodations
Accomodations
Accomodations
Accomodations
Accomodations
twitter 
facebook