A Sicilian culinary retreat: Love is a Pink Villa in Sicily
2nd - 9th May 2026
Learn the secrets of Sicilian cuisine at one of the Mediterranean’s most exclusive private villas, and indulge in the island's full citrus and almond extravaganza with acclaimed pastry chef Claire Ptak of Violet Cakes in London.
Join Claire Ptak to hone your pastry skills and discover the secrets of Sicilian cuisine with Rocca delle Tre Contrade's beloved in-house chef, Dora. A detailed programme will be added in due course. In the meantime, for more information, please don't hesitate to contact us.
“The local women from the Tre Contrade kitchen [Dora and her assistants] stepped in to teach us how to make arancini, cannoli, almond semifreddo, and the heavenly cakes that were always available for guests to snack on. A profound camaraderie grew between the head chef - Dora Maugeri, a tiny force of nature - and Puglisi [Michelin-starred chef in residence], but also with the students.”
Food & Wine magazine, September 2020
About Claire
We are extremely happy to announce that Claire Ptak will be joining Chef Dora for this culinary retreat. Claire is a baker, food writer and food stylist, and runs the renowned bakery 'Violet Cakes' in London's East End, where she serves local residents as well as preparing her creations for big events and even royal weddings.
Claire will be holding several pastry master classes during our culinary week, covering pastry making, baking and gelato making, and tapping into local seasonal ingredients, such as citrus fruit, orange blossom, pistachios, almonds, strawberries, sheep's milk ricotta and Etna pears.
A California native, Claire Ptak worked as a pastry chef for Alice Waters at Chez Panisse before moving to London. Here she quickly became a food stylist for celebrity chefs such as Yotam Ottolenghi, Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver, before renovating a derelict building in East London and setting up her shop and café 'Violet Cakes' in 2010.
Her fourth cookbook, 'The Violet Bakery Cookbook' was shortlisted for the Fortnum and Mason Best Cookery Book 2016. Claire regularly contributes to The Guardian and The Observer and her work has also been featured in Vogue, Bon Appetit, Observer Food Monthly, Wall Street Journal and The New York Times.
About Dora
Rocca delle Tre Contrade's brilliant, enthusiastic chef, Dora, is from the local town of Giarre. She has been cooking practically ever since she could walk, when she would follow her grandmother into the kitchen to "help". A few years later, she began working with her mother in the family’s Sicilian rotisserie.
Always with a smile on her face, Dora has a flair, generosity and passion for food that is contagious. Her cooking is a multi-sensory spectacle of authentic tastes, flavours and aromas, and watching her transform the fresh produce that is brought in every day from the nearby markets and from Rocca delle Tre Contrade's own kitchen garden, is a sight to behold.
Her specialities include exquisite raw seafood dishes, which unbeknown to most have actually been served for generations along these shores, mouthwatering roast vegetable dishes, fish and meat secondi, arancini al ragù (the archetypical Sicilian street food), and cannoli with fresh sweetened ricotta.
“Dora stepped in to teach us how to make arancini, cannoli, almond semifreddo, and the heavenly cakes that were always available for guests to snack on.”
Food & Wine magazine, September 2020
your Accommadation at Rocca delle Tre Contrade
Rocca delle Tre Contrade occupies a stunningly panoramic position atop its own hill on Sicily’s east coast. Uninterrupted 360-degree views take in the sparkling Ionian Sea to one side and the fertile flanks and lava peak of Mount Etna to the other. The views of this former aristocratic estate are further enhanced by the intense greens and citrus flashes of the villa’s grounds, which feature lemon groves, fruit orchards and vegetable gardens. The magnificence of Mother Nature is rivalled only the amenities on offer, which include delightfully refurbished, generously proportioned interiors, 12 luxuriously finished en-suite bedrooms, a spectacular 25-metre, south-facing infinity pool (ranked one the 100 most beautiful pools in the world by Condé Nast Traveller), a clay tennis court, and a spa area, including a steam room (hammam) and a well-equipped gym.
Close by is Mount Etna, Europe’s largest active volcano (a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site), Taormina, Catania, and a host of other fascinating towns, many of which are also designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The culinary excellence and welcoming hospitality of Rocca delle Tre Contrade has been mentioned by Food & Wine magazine (US), The Daily Telegraph (UK), The Times (UK), BBC Good Food magazine (UK), Elle magazine (UK), House & Garden (UK) magazine, Bon Appetit magazine (US), Foodism magazine (UK) and The Sophisticated Traveller (AUS).
*Please note that the closest airport to Rocca delle Tre Contrade is Catania International Airport in Sicily
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