About this tour
Learn to cook authentic Sicilian dishes in Mariella's Catania home. This three-hour class traces the island's culinary heritage—Greek, Roman, Arab—through hands-on preparation of pasta, an appetiser or dessert, and a family recipe. You'll work with seasonal ingredients sourced from local markets, then sit down to eat what you've made alongside regional wine. Mariella, a lifelong Catania resident, shares techniques passed through generations alongside stories of how trade and conquest shaped what Sicilians cook today.
Highlights
- Prepare fresh pasta and one additional dish from family recipes
- Cook with seasonal, market-sourced ingredients only
- Taste two glasses of local Sicilian wine with your meal
- Optional neighbourhood fish market visit beforehand
- Learn techniques for cooking traditional Italian meals at home
- Vegetarian options available with advance notice
What to expect
You'll arrive at Mariella's home in central Catania and begin with hands-on cooking. Depending on the season and what's available that day, you might prepare hand-rolled pasta, a seafood starter, or a dessert—Mariella chooses ingredients fresh from the market each morning. She'll walk you through her family methods and explain why certain flavours matter to Sicilian cooking. An English-speaking guide translates throughout. Once you've finished cooking, you'll sit at the table and eat together with local wine, tasting the results of your work.
Good to know
Menu changes seasonally based on market availability. Inform Mariella of any dietary needs or allergies when booking. She speaks limited English but always has an English- or Japanese-speaking companion present. Public transport is nearby. If you've chosen the market tour add-on, note that it meets at a different location than the cooking class.
Tour sold and operated by Viator via Viator. Descriptions on this page are original BugBitten summaries written by our team — not copied from the operator. Prices and availability are confirmed at checkout.