Experience package
The Cuisine of Western Sicily – From the Field, the Sea and the Hands
Private tour of western Sicily
Categories
Traditional Cuisine and Local Catch
Eight days to discover western Sicily through what reaches the table.
- Duration
- 8 days / 7 nights
- Period
- April to October
- Formula
- private tour
- Areas
- Custonaci, Erice, Favignana, Marsala, Mazara del Vallo, Paceco, San Vito Lo Capo, Trapani
The story of the trip
We will not just follow recipes. We will try to understand where they come from.
We will enter shops and workshops, get to know the catch, salt, wine, oil and family traditions.
We will put our hands in pasta and semolina and meet those who keep turning simple products into cuisine.
The programme
+Day 1 · Erice | Recipes from the land
Arrival and visit to Erice.
Pastry tradition, almonds, convent preparations and a visit to an artisan workshop. Tasting of local wines and products.
+Day 2 · Trapani | Busiate and the catch
Visit to the city and the port.
Cooking class. We will prepare busiate and one or more recipes linked to the available catch.
Lunch with what we have prepared.
+Day 3 · Paceco and Nubia | Salt
Visit to the salt pans.
We will discover how salt is born and why it has been fundamental for cooking and preservation. Lunch in the area.
+Day 4 · Custonaci and Bonagia | Land, oil and tuna trap
Meeting the world of extra virgin olive oil.
Then Bonagia and the seafaring culture.
Tuna trap, fishing, rais and the memory of the sea.
Food experience on the catch.
+Day 5 · San Vito Lo Capo | Couscous
Today we will enter the Mediterranean through a dish.
We will get to know fish couscous, semolina, broth and the relationship between fishing and cultural influences. Dedicated lunch. Macari in the afternoon.
+Day 6 · Favignana | The island’s cuisine
Ferry to Favignana.
Visit to the former Florio Establishment.
Catch, tuna, tuna trap and the island’s food traditions.
When possible, a meeting with a fisherman or an experience at sea.
Lunch dedicated to local cuisine. Return to the mainland.
+Day 7 · Marsala | Hands and wine
Marsala will let us bring together cooking, preservation and wine.
Hands-on experience dedicated to a traditional preparation or to couscous, depending on set-up. In the afternoon, a visit to a historic winery with tasting.
+Day 8 · Mazara del Vallo | The sea decides the menu
Kasbah and port.
A meeting, when possible, with the local fishing fleet.
The Red Prawn (Gambero Rosso) and other species will let us talk about seasonality and fishing.
The final lunch will start from the available catch.
Eight days earlier we would simply have talked about “Sicilian cuisine”. Now we will know that behind those words there are land, sea, seasons, families, fishermen and hands.
The price includes
- • 7 nights with breakfast
- • Private vehicle on the mainland
- • Cooking class
- • Food experiences listed
- • Activities in the salt pans
- • Experiences linked to tuna traps and the catch
- • Return connection to Favignana
- • Former Florio Establishment
- • Winery visit
- • Meals included
- • Assistance by Sicilia da Scoprire
The price does not include
- • Travel to reach Sicily
- • Transfers not included
- • Tourist tax
- • Meals and drinks not listed
- • Insurance, tips and extras
Accommodation
7 nights in selected properties in Trapani/Erice, San Vito Lo Capo and Marsala, depending on set-up.
Important to know
The programme favours seasonality and the actual availability of products. Activities at sea are subject to weather and sea conditions. Meetings with local people depend on their availability. The order of the days can be changed without altering the narrative thread of the journey.
Would you like to enjoy this package?
Tell us the dates of your trip and the number of travellers: we will check the availability of the experiences, the accommodation and the private services and prepare a proposal built around the needs of your trip.