Sicilian cuisine, like all regional cooking in Italy, begins with fresh, seasonal ingredients, so this tour starts with a drive south to the town of Giarre and its bustling, colorful market. Follow your guide down the aisles lined with the morning’s catch, mounds of vegetables and fragrant fruit and herbs whose sellers supply many of the area’s restaurants and hotels. From here you’ll turn inland to the village of Zafferana Etnea, between the volcano and the sea. Inside the Etna protected parkland is the resort complex of the Hotel Esperia Palace and the Parco dei Principi whose owner and head chef Seby Sorbello greets you. A native Sicilian famed around Italy for his sophisticated approach to the island’s culinary traditions, Sorbello is your instructor for a hands-on lesson, with cooking tips and lots of good humor. Your time in the kitchen is rewarded when you sit down to feast on a multi-course, authentically Sicilian lunch with wine. The meal ends with the classic cannoli, a tube-like pastry shell filled with sweetened ricotta.
Explore Sicilian gastronomy, from the market to the kitchen and dining room of a four-star hotel.