Italian Cooking Vacations: Gourmet Sicily Cooking Tours in Italy

Gourmet Sicily
Palermo, Madonie Park, Taormina

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About the location: Enliven your senses and enlighten your fancy with our gastronomic tour of the amazing island of Sicily! Explore extraordinary ruins and enchantingly beautiful scenery, while visiting some of Sicily’s most charming towns and select attractions. Our tour lets you uncover the gems of the “largest island in the Mediterranean,” while treating you to a variety of pre-arranged and all-inclusive cooking classes, gourmet meals, wine tastings, and guided excursions. During the tour, you will learn to prepare traditional Sicilian dishes, sample vintages at local canteens and local vineyards, relax each evening in idyllic accommodations—and even have the opportunity to climb Mt. Etna! There is no better way to experience the splendour of Sicily—and on this trip you will savour every moment.

Your lessons will take place in an authentic Siclian Baglio, near Marsala, on the famous Mt. Etna, and at a country farmhouse. Your teachers will range from noted chefs to cooks who will impart their knowledge of traditional local cuisine to you. Truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn Sicilian cooking from true Sicilians!

Gourmet Sicily Itinerary

Day 1

  • Arrival at Palermo airport.
  • Transfer at pre-arranged time to Palermo city or to the charming nearby village of Castellamare and check in to a charming four-star hotel.
  • Dinner on your own and overnight.

Day 2

  • Morning: Breakfast at the hotel.
  • Transfer to a Baglio for a cooking lesson. A Baglio is an 18th century country villa recently restored and converted into a charming and exclusive little hotel surrounded by palm trees, olive trees and vineyards. The chef at Baglio will teach guests how to prepare some of the most representative recipes of the culinary tradition of the province of Trapani, perhaps such items as “cous cous alla trapanese” or “sarde baccaficu.” All participants will help prepare the dishes for the meal. At the end of the cooking lesson lunch in the baglio.
  • Transfer to Erice, a nearby medieval town, located at the top of the homonymous mountain set 751 meters above the sea level and overlooking the whole Western region, the Mediterranean Sea and the Egadi Islands. Walking tour of its characteristic historical centre.
  • Transfer to Monreale, an ancient village near Palermo, famous for its wonderful Norman Cathedral and the adjoining cloister, architectural masterpieces of King Roger II.
  • Return to Palermo and back to the hotel. Dinner on your own and overnight.

Day 3

  • Morning: Breakfast at the hotel.
  • Departure to Agrigento to visit the beautiful Valley of the Temples, one of the most representative sites of Greek civilization in the Mediterranean area. Visit the Temple of Hercules, Juno, Castor and Pollux and the wonderful Temple of Concord.
  • Lunch on your own in Agrigento.
  • Afternoon: Travel to Piazza Armerina, a small town in the south-central part of the island, and visit to the Villa Romana del Casale, a Roman country villa of the 3rd century, famous for its mosaics.
  • Transfer to a charming Farmhouse between Piazza Armerina and Caltagirone, where they produce oranges and lemons. Check in at the farmhouse, with some time for a rest. Tonight, a typical dinner at the farmhouse. The cuisine is based on authentic food such as pasta, ricotta, salsiccia, local meat and vegetables.
  • Overnight at the farm

Day 4

  • Breakfast at the hotel.
  • Depart to Siracusa, which during the Greek Age was one of the more powerful cities on the island. Visit the archaeological zone of the Greek Theatre, the Roman Amphitheatre, the Ear of Dyonisus and the Latomie. Walk through the historical center on the Ortigia Island to admire the Cathedral, the Aretusa fountain and the ancient streets. Afternoon: transfer to Taormina. Check in at the hotel.
  • Dinner on your own and overnight.

Day 5

  • Morning: Breakfast at the hotel, and afterwards, take an excursion to Mt. Etna with a lunch at Tenuta S. Michele, an ancient estate located on the slopes of the volcano Etna. The farm, which belongs to the noble family of the Baron Scammacca del Murgo, is surrounded by extensive vineyards and has a panoramic view of both Mt. Etna and the sea. Mt. Etna is the highest volcano in Europe. The climate and the volcanic soil help give wines a unique mineral taste typical of the region around Mt. Etna. In Tenuta San Michele they produce some of the best wines of the area: Etna Rosso, Etna Bianco and the extraordinary Murgo Brut. Wine tasting and guided visit to the wine cellar with a member of the family.
  • Return to Taormina for free time. Walk through the historical center of this beautiful town, famous for its Greek-Roman Amphitheatre and its enchanting view of the Ionic Sea and Mt. Etna. Taormina has been an exclusive Sicilian hotspot, since the beginning of the 19th century, and is where many noble and rich families of Northern Europe spent winter due to its mild climate. Nowadays, Taormina is famous for its “dolce vita” life style, its beautiful beach, and its shops.
  • Dinner on your own and overnight.

Day 6

  • Morning: Breakfast at the hotel.
  • Transfer to Polizzi, a small village 70 kilometres away from Palermo, surrounded by cheerful countryside and green pastures in the Madonie Mountains’ Natural Park. This internal region between the Northern Coast and Central Sicily has a wealth of ancient small villages, where many people still live according to the honored Sicilian traditions. You will have a half-day cooking lesson in a farmhouse or a local restaurant, where you will learn the preparation of some of the most popular and essential recipes according to the local tradition.
  • Lunch to follow based on your efforts.
  • Afternoon: Visit to Polizzi Generosa, an ancient village rich in historical and artistic attractions, with a visit to the Park’s Museum. During the walk through the town’s medieval streets, you will have an opportunity to sample some of the typical sweetmeats.
  • Check in at a recently renovated farmhouse hotel.
  • Dinner and overnight.

Day 7

  • Morning: Breakfast at the hotel.
  • Transfer to Palermo for a full-day visit of this ancient town that has been a crossroads for civilization in the Mediterranean for ages and ages. Here, you will see signs of its ancient “grandeur”: the Norman Palace and the Palatine Chapel, the church of San Giovanni degli Eremiti, the Cathedral, Quattro Canti square, etc. A walk through the streets of the historical center will bring you to the town’s popular Vucciria market.
  • Cooking class and farewell lunch at a typical restaurant where guests will enjoy superb and refined dishes based on typical recipes from local culinary traditions.
  • Check in to your hotel, and dinner on your own.

Day 8

  • Breakfast at the hotel, then transfer at pre-arranged time to the Palermo airport.

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