Sicily Tour
A Taste of the island of Sicily
The island of Sicily was a port with a strategic location for Mediterranean trade routes since before the Middle Ages. It has been under the rule of many ancient powers and each has left its mark on society, natural surroundings, and cuisine! Starting in Palermo, we travel around the island, staying in two classic old city hotels, an oceanfront family inn, and a 16th Century convent in Ragusa.
Wonderful Sicilian families, Judy's friends, generously share their knowledge and homes with us. We will visit ruins and wineries, local markets, take cooking classes, explore salt flats, grind chocolate in a stoneground mill, and shape pistachio paste into delectable sweets. We will meet local Slow Food cheese producers, wheat growers, fishermen, and chefs to get a stimulating view of what Sicily has to offer.
Starting in the historic city of Palermo, we will explore the city on a guided tour, visit incredible churches and market stalls. On another day we will have a cooking class with a real Duchess who is a wonderful traditional cooking teacher, and eat in her fabulous palace. We will visit bakeries and eat fresh cannoli in an old convent. We will focus on Slow Food Presidium products as we follow Judy’s food map of Sicily.
We will go truffle hunting with a master, visit an old cheese maker in a hut in the middle of the fields and taste his fresh ricotta. We will have a cooking class, an olive oil tasting, and a granita tasting by a famous pastry chef in Noto.
We’ll see the Festival della Madonna in Sambuca di Sicilia to watch the procession, and explore the quaint town famous for its ceramics.
We’ll tour the salt flats, have a wine tasting in Marsala, then visit the temple of Selinunte.
In Catania, we will tour the best fish market in Sicily and we’ll explore Modica to see the architecture and visit the best bean to bar chocolate maker who makes Sicilian chocolate.
At a local cooking school we’ll have a traditional Sicilian cooking class taught by the young students, with our friend Chef Mario Traina.
We will visit the pistachio growers at the base of Mount Etna, which is gorgeous!
Prepare to have lots of Cannoli, Caponata, Timballo, Busiate, local fresh sheep’s milk cheese and the special Zabbina, Trapani’s red pesto, couscous and pistachios! Those are the ‘must haves' on any Sicilian culinary tour!
Minimum 8 students, maximum 14
Price per person $6,545 USD double occupancy (2024)
May 15-25, 2024
November 10-20, 2024
Tour Includes:
Hotel accommodations
Three meals a day
Dine-in selected restaurant and street food stalls
Guided market tours
Sicilian delicacy tastings
Lectures, Cooking classes & demos
Visit a chocolate mil
Visit cheese producer and sample hot ricotta with whey
Meet Slow Food Producers of wheat, honey, and salt
Entrance fees to ruins with guides
Visits to churches, craftsman, and winemakers
Transportation while on the tour
Tour does not include: Airfare, transfers to and from first and last hotels, hard alcoholic drinks, laundry and gratuities.