Sicily, a land of abundance, with Chef Cortney Burns
3rd - 10th October 2026
A week-long immersive exploration of the island’s seasonal bounty through traditional preservation, contemporary techniques and hands-on culinary craft.
Coinciding with the culmination of Sicily’s autumn harvest, Chef Cortney Burns will team up with Rocca delle Tre Contrade’s own chef, Dora Maugeri, to reveal how to capture the season’s abundance. Over a vast and varied career, Cortney has specialised in the art of preservation, mastering both ancient techniques and contemporary practices that enhance the flavours and nutritional values of modern dining, while Dora is a custodian of Sicily’s culinary secrets.
An introduction to the week
Diving into the gastronomic larder of the Mediterranean’s largest island, you will experience an inspiring week of exclusive hands-on masterclasses, unearthing essential cooking methods through traditional local recipes and innovative techniques.
As Sicilian culture continues to capture the global imagination, this retreat offers direct access to the island’s most coveted recipes, producers and culinary secrets. Cortney’s week in Sicily coincides with the release of her new book “Cultured”, a definitive guide to culinary alchemy in all its forms. The book mirrors the spirit of the retreat: learning to reconnect with food at its source and building an abundant, flavour-packed pantry to draw from for months to come.
Rocca delle Tre Contrade regularly hosts chefs from around the world that find inspiration in the island’s wealth of ingredients and heritage. Chef Cortney Burns has worked with and inspired many of them. Driven by a lifelong affinity for the self-sufficiency and resourcefulness of island culture, her arrival in Sicily feels like a homecoming. The preservation techniques she has perfected seamlessly cross paths with Sicilian culinary practices that have survived for millennia. As the autumn harvest reaches its peak, this retreat reveals how to make the most of the intoxicating flavours nourished by the Mediterranean soil and sun – the very flavours we long for the rest of the year.
Through Cortney’s award-winning knowledge, you will spend a week exploring the bridge between traditional and contemporary methods. Her goal is to shift the mindset from viewing preserved foods as mere condiments to respecting them as essential flavour layers that transform the simplest dishes into something extraordinary.
Using the abundance of Rocca delle Tre Contrade’s fertile grounds, as well as the yield of trusted regional producers, local fishermen and natural winemakers, you’ll soak in a profound level of practical knowledge to carry back to your own kitchen. Hands-on masterclasses in fermentation, curing, candying, drying, infusing and condensing will take place across vineyards, coastal stretches, Etna’s slopes, olive mills and in the comforts of one of Europe’s most luxurious private villas.
Open to all levels of cooking, this retreat demystifies preservation, demonstrating the ease but also the vitality of incorporating these time-honoured traditions into your everyday life. In an era of mass convenience and detachment from our food sources, Cortney offers a refreshing antidote. Tactility, cultural storytelling, exclusive experiences, and working with your hands are at the heart of this Sicilian journey.
The satisfaction of mastering these secrets is bolstered by a sense of conviviality which Rocca delle Tre Contrade’s retreats naturally foster. You’ll share this unique week with an intimate group of equally passionate individuals, all seeking to reconnect with the art of making food from scratch.
Meet your host, Cortney Burns
When Cortney stood at the crossroads of deciding her future career, she resolved to become either a chef or a doctor. Though she pursued the culinary route, there is no doubt that her approach to cooking is grounded in food’s ability to nourish, nurture and even to heal.
Cortney eventually spearheaded the team at San Francisco’s iconic Bar Tartine. There, menus were developed in lockstep with the seasons, but infused with ingredients carefully preserved from months prior. Gradually, Cortney’s well-stocked larder became the cornerstone of her culinary identity, establishing her as a world leading expert in the field of food preservation. Her work with Nick Balla at Bar Tartine earned them a James Beard Foundation Award in 2015 for their acclaimed book, ‘Bar Tartine: Techniques and Recipes’. She has also worked with Michael Tusk at Quince and Dan Barber at Blue Hill Farm.
Cortney’s ‘Nourish Me Home’ and ‘Cultured’ cookbooks are the outcome of years of experimenting with various techniques adapted and evolved by cultures around the world. She discovered that time itself is an ingredient, a philosophy shared with Sicilian cooking whose most iconic dishes rely on foods aged using salt, oil, sugar and the dehydrating strength of the sun.
With an eloquence honed from a career in leading kitchens and consulting world-class hospitality venues, Cortney distils complex culinary chemistry into stimulating masterclasses. Whether deconstructing the elusive depth of umami or working with the rhythms of the seasons, here is an opportunity to engage with the foundations of cooking through observing, tasting, making and playing.
Meet Dora
Rocca delle Tre Contrade’s resident chef, Dora, will bring her own expertise to the table, honed by a lifetime of Sicilian cooking.
Ever since she could walk, Dora, was drawn to the kitchen by the aromas of her grandmother’s recipes; sponge cake cooling by the window and slow-simmered pork ragù. Today, she passes those same enduring dishes directly into the hands of the villa’s guests.
Having cooked at the villa since its restoration, Dora’s culinary intuition and deep passion for Sicilian flavours are woven into the estate’s very fabric. She transforms produce from local markets and the villa's abundant gardens into dishes that bring guests back year after year. In fact, the demand for her secrets was so great that her most celebrated recipes were recently published in a book dedicated to the villa’s history and legacy.
Her familiarity with local time honoured techniques means that whatever passes through Dora’s hands becomes extraordinary – from salted anchovies, homegrown capers to the daily catch of island fishermen. Alongside Cortney, she will share her most iconic recipes, blending her intuitive heritage with the week’s focus on seasonality and craft. Welcoming, generous and endlessly knowledgeable, Dora is the heart of the villa’s kitchen, and a master of the Sicilian table.
“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
Highlights and Experiences
Working with hero ingredients like tomatoes, lemons, wine and cheese as well as the unsung players of Mediterranean cuisine like caper leaves and anchovies, Cortney will reveal the core methods of preservation. From the villa’s own grounds to local food markets and farmers, you will be exposed to the highest quality raw ingredients that Sicily offers. Your learnings will be revelatory though easily adaptable to your home cooking, guaranteeing that the lessons from the week endure long after your return. At the end of your stay, you’ll be able to take home some of the week’s preparations, alongside a signed copy of Cortney’s new book, ‘Cultured’.
Days will be themed according to the natural elements and their complimentary preservation methods. You’ll enter the world of sweetness by perfecting the formula of fruit preserves and making fresh limoncello, before diving into the power of salt and understanding the processes to cure capers and tuna, while unpacking the secrets of umami. You’ll unearth the endless ways to relish the taste of sun-blushed tomatoes all year long, complemented by excursions to forage herbs, make cheese and harvest olives.
To make the most of Sicily’s diverse microclimates and powerful elements, the week involves inspiring excursions to the Ionian Riviera and Mount Etna’s volcanic vineyards, punctuated by collaborative hands-on sessions in the villa’s professional kitchen.
Once the sun sets on a day of breadmaking, infusing aromatics or concocting herb oils from scratch, convivial dinners will take place around the villa’s dining table decorated with seasonal flora from the garden.
Housekeeper Patrizia may well share her secret decorating inspirations, while Cortney and Dora prepare a wholesome menu crafted in harmony with the day’s shared knowledge. Expertly paired local wines will flow, selected from the villa's extensive cellar.
The week’s itinerary is designed to be stimulating yet balanced, leaving plenty of time to enjoy the breadth of Rocca Delle Tre Contrade’s grounds. Enjoy swimming in the panoramic infinity pool, tennis matches on the clay court, strolls through fragrant lemon groves, downtime in the hammam and gym, or curl up with a book and fresh coffee in the library.
Cortney has chosen the following themes that will be explored during the retreat:
Orchard Alchemy
Understanding fruits, sugar and the power of the sun, we will learn how to capture the intensity of Sicilian staple crops at their peak. Grapes, figs, quince and lemons will be in season and will form the foundation of both sweet and savory dishes, their natural flavours and architectural depth intensified through the element of fire.
Salt and the Fermented Sea
Exploring coastal preservation traditions, born from centuries of using sea salt to preserve and concentrate maritime flavours. Learn how to weave punchy capers and anchovies into everyday dishes, adding layers of complexity, while mastering recipes using salted cod and fresh tuna, two of the island's most important staples.
The Fruit of the Sun
With the very last tomatoes ripened on the vine, we will transform them into long-keeping pantry gems. Echoing the Sicilian art of concentration and aging, our slow-simmered recipes will include estratto di pomodoro, while we talk about sun-drying and oil-preserving techniques. The goal of this workshop is to eat the sun, playing with the versatility of tomatoes across multiple textures and strengths.
The Flavour Library
Discover the depth of the island’s seasonal vegetables through masterclasses in pickling, agrodolce (a sweet and sour reduction) and oil infusions. From freshly harvested olives and dried oregano to foraged herbs and fermented vinegars, we will build a pantry that celebrates aromatics in all their forms, incorporating them into the day’s dishes.
Bread as regional expression
As the cornerstone of so many culinary cultures, time will be dedicated to the art of breadmaking, exploring sourdough and ancient Sicilian grain varieties. Lessons will include making a perfect rustic loaf and authentic pizza from scratch. These learnings will be complimented by Sicily’s longstanding dairy traditions, exploring the craft of sheep’s milk ricotta alongside fresh and aged cheesemaking.
your Accommodation 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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