Sicily is a history lesson on a plate. The best way to understand the island's colourful history is to immerse yourself in its cuisine. Sicily is fascinating, delicious and paradoxical. It has been influenced, beautifully, by the parade of Phoenicians, Greeks, Normans, Moors, Romans and Spanish who have left their mark in temples, cathedrals and palaces but also in language, social attitudes and, above all, food.
Together we'll travel from grilled mackerel with bitter chicory in Palermo to sublime pastries in Erice; from fragrant olive oil in Agrigento to seductive almond ice cream in Noto. We'll have cooking lessons in a country farmhouse, taste passito wine on Mt. Etna and experience a chocolate epiphany in Modica. Join Gail to taste Sicilian history!
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| FACTS: |
| • | 12 days |
| • | Start in Palermo and finish in Catania, Sicily |
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| HIGHLIGHTS: |
| • | Tasting panelle with Chef Clemente in Palermo |
| • | Joining in with the olive harvest |
| • | Staying in an elegant country house near the Valley of the Temples |
| • | Tasting with master confectioner Corrado in Ragusa |
| • | Cooking with Eleonora on Mt. Etna |
| • | Barrel samples with award winning vintners |
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| ACCOMMODATIONS: |
| Hotel Murgo, Mt Etna |
| De Stefano Palace Hotel, Ragusa |
| Mandranova Country House, Agrigento |
| Hotel Elimo, Erice |
| Excelsior Palace, Palermo |
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| ITINERARY IN BRIEF: |
| Day 1: |
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Arrive in Palermo, Sicily |
| Day 2: |
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Palermo |
| Day 3: |
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The Salt Road |
| Day 4: |
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Country House Stay |
| Day 5: |
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The Olive Harvest |
| Day 6: |
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Sicilian Cheeses |
| Day 7: |
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Sicilian Chocolate and the Baroque |
| Day 8: |
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Sicilian Sweets and Noto |
| Day 9: |
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Cooking on Mt. Etna |
| Day 10: |
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Taormina |
| Day 11: |
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Honey and Passito |
| Day 12: |
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Depart Catania |
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Gail Hall is a food activist and owner of Seasoned Solution's Loft Cooking School which focuses on the use of local and regional Alberta ingredients. Gail organizes and hosts Culinary Tours and provides food consulting for the agriculture, food service and hospitality industries. She regularly takes groups of discerning gourmets on food adventures worldwide. 
