About the location: Sicily is an island rich in culinary tradition that produces some of the finest quality food the Mediterranean has to offer. We invite you on this cookery to see, taste and try all this richness through hands-on experience in the kitchen and visits to the producers and towns from which the recipes originate. Located between Noto and Siracusa, surrounded by century-old olive trees, your home for the week is a grand old farmhouse of the 1800s, lovingly restored and situated in the Iblean hills where olive and carob trees have been cultivated and harvested for generations. The rooms, with wood ceilings and cotto floors, balance modern comfort with simple and refined furnishings that perfectly evoke the feeling of a Sicilian masseria. They are situated separately from the restaurant and the cantina, in order to guarantee maximum privacy and quiet, and have all modern amenities such as air conditioning, hair dryers, mini bar and safe. Your host Katia was born in Modica, and grew up just 20 minutes away—in Ispica—and her partner and husband Ronald was born and grew up in Limassol, Cyprus (another beautiful Mediterranean island). They got married in Sicily on a beautiful sunny April day in 2003 and decided that the southeast region of Sicily is a place they love and where they really wanted to be, after having lived for several years in the UK working as university researchers in ethnic relations and artificial intelligence, respectively.

About the cookery courses: Classes will be in the wonderfully spacious kitchen of the farmhouse, which also boasts an amazing herb garden, or at a lovely Rustic Farm located just 1 km from the sea. The vegetables come from a nearby organic farm, while fish and meat are also all from local producers. Your chef Salvatore was born in Ragusa and still lives there. His family has always been involved with restaurants and cooking, and for him it is both a passion and also his main occupation. He has trained with some of the best known names in Italy such as Rossano Boscolo, Sergio Mei (Italian Cook of the Year 1998) and Jack Bruno of Palermo before becoming the director of his own family's catering company, which is one of the most sought after companies for weddings in the region, and a partner in the Vecchio Mulino restaurant in Ragusa. Through his cookery courses, he is able to combine an informal approach to the introduction of Sicilian cooking, based on a solid understanding of the main ingredients and fundamental techniques, alongside an uncompromising attention to detail. This makes him an ideal teacher to both those who simply require an introduction to cooking as well as those who wish to further their existing knowledge. You are sure to come away with a better understanding of Sicilian cooking and a great range of recipes and skills to try out back home!
 

• Six nights accommodation with private bath

• Four hands-on cookery courses

• All breakfasts, lunches, dinners, all with drinks included, and any tasting sessions

• Transportation during program

• Arrival and departure transfers from/to Catania airport

• Entrance fees anywhere it is required

• Fees and material for the cookery course

Day One
Arrival at Catania airport and transfer to the accommodation. A welcome dinner in the evening provides the first taste of Sicilian food and wine and a small introduction about the plans for the rest of the course. Overnight.

Day Two
Breakfast at the masseria and then straight into the kitchen with the chef for your first cookery course. The class begins around 9 a.m. and typically lasts for 3-4 hours with lunch afterwards. In the afternoon, visit Mulino Cavallo, where the current owners have maintained the traditional water mill and the old dwellings used up until the beginning of the 19th century by their family. You can see how they still use the mill to produce excellent whole meal durum wheat flour. Then, we go for a walk at the Cava Ispica to visit the archeological site of the Parco Forza and visit an organic winery near the coast to taste their wines.
Tonight's dinner will be at your host's favorite restaurant-pizzeria for a "giro pizza", literally a "round" of pizzas mdash; going through different kinds of pizza, including the restaurant's trademark seafood pizza. Return to your accommodations and overnight.

Day Three
Breakfast followed by your second cooking lesson. After a rest (and an appraisal of your achievements), take off for an exploration of the coast starting from the Vendicari Nature Reserve visiting the newly restored Tonnara and then move to Noto, which beyond the magnificent architecture, hides many culinary specialties such as wonderful honey, sweet wines and almond-based sweets. Return to Modica in time for dinner on your own. Overnight.

Day Four
Today is dedicated to visit the COS biodynamic winery to understand their wine-making process and choice of producing organic wines in terracotta jars.
After lunch we go to Ragusa Ibla to visit the old Baroque town. Tonight you will enjoy some of Modica's rustic delicacies such as scacci and arancini as well as a variety of cheese accompanied with some delicious wines. Overnight.

Day Five
After breakfast, depart to the beautiful historical city centre of Siracusa, Ortygia. Here you will be free to wonder around the fish market and explore the city center where you can see the Temple of Apollo, the Duomo with its magnificent Baroque façade and Doric temple columns (which was originally a Doric temple), the legendary Arethusa Fountain and the Norman Maniace Castle.
You may also want to do some shopping in Ortygia! After lunch at a local restaurant, return to Modica for an afternoon culinary lesson at the school followed by dinner. Overnight.

Day Six
This is the last day in the kitchen for your fourth cookery course. Today you pay tribute to one of the most important products of South-East Sicily, chocolate! Modica is famous for its chocolate and chocolate-based sweets, whose routes can be traced back to Mexican traditions brought to Sicily via the Spaniards.
You visit the world-famous chocolate lab of Bonajuto, for a private tour and a chance to taste their latest creations. Following, there is time for you to explore Modica further and for any last-minute shopping in the historical city center.
Tonight, sit round the table for your farewell dinner!

Day Seven
Transfer back to Catania airport. Arrivederci!