This spring, Sicilian villa Rocca delle Tre Contrade, which can be exclusively booked through luxury villa travel specialists The Thinking Traveller, will host a week-long full-immersion experience for culinary enthusiasts and amateur cooks, led by Michelin-Star Bay Area Chef Michael Tusk, owner of San Francisco’s most critically acclaimed restaurants, Quince and Cotogna. Back for its second year, the culinary week has been a sensation alongside the series of immersive culinary escape programs hosted at the villa, which has included, among others, a week with Danish chef Christian Puglisi.
From April 15-22, 2023, culinary enthusiasts will be able to immerse themselves in Sicilian food culture with a series of dedicated, hands-on workshops under the guidance of Michael Tusk, his team from Quince & Cotogna and Rocca delle Tre Contrade’s own in-house villa kitchen team. The course will include dedicated masterclasses on cheese making, pasta making, raw seafood, seasonal produce, focaccia making and low intervention wines. Guests will be able to go foraging and taste Sicilian street food, while an introduction to the most well-known traditional Sicilian recipes will add a further dimension to traveller’s adventures.
“The food I cook is inspired by two things in particular: local produce and travel. Few places have inspired me more than the island of Sicily, with its unique blend of Italian and Middle Eastern flavors and traditions,” says Tusk. “I cannot wait for the opportunity to cook at Rocca delle Tre Contrade this spring, just in time for local peas, favas, artichokes and last-of-the-season blood oranges."
With a maximum of 18 participants, guests will also embark on exclusive visits to small boutique wineries in the emerging Etna wine region and enjoy a special tour by night of Catania, taking in the city’s fascinating history, its ancient mythology, and the lives of ordinary people through local food traditions.
Guests will have time to enjoy the infinite, luxurious charms of the villa, relax in the gardens, stroll through the lemon orchards, swim in the pool, recuperate in the spa or even play a set or two of tennis.
“We are extremely proud to have Michael with us here in Sicily for this extraordinary and unique weeklong workshop. We love his authentic approach to cooking and have a shared vision about local ingredients and pure flavors and are looking forward to letting our guests experience it firsthand,” says Jon Moslet, Owner of Rocca delle Tre Contrade.
Guests will stay at Rocca delle Tre Contrade, which occupies a stunning panoramic position on Sicily’s east coast with views of Mount Etna and the sparkling Ionian Sea. The villa, which sleeps 24, features an impressive demonstration kitchen, and its grounds boast lemon groves, fruit orchards and vegetable gardens, as well as a spectacular infinity pool, tennis court and spa area.
The one-week course is bookable exclusively through The Thinking Traveller and costs from €6,900 per person (based on two sharing) including all meals, accommodation, and transfers. (www.thethinkingtraveller.com/tusk).