The Sicilian Pantry
While staying in Palermo, we were able to join one of Chef Michael’s cooking classes at the Sicilian Pantry. This family-run business offers virtual or in-person cooking lessons to learn about traditional Sicilian dishes. Michael, the owner and chef, is professionally trained and has traveled all over Europe working as a chef. Love brought him to Sicily – where he now lives with his wife! Chef Michael is incredibly knowledgeable and makes you feel right at home from the start of your class.
Market Tour
The 4-hour experience begins at 10:00am with a tour through Palermo’s Ballarò Food Market. Chef Michael picks out fresh produce that you’ll use in your class. The menu varies by what food is in season! You receive the menu a few days in advance and they are able to take into account dietary preferences. (For example, one person in our group didn’t eat meat so they made a slight variation of one of the dishes we did).
Cooking Class
The best part about this cooking class is that you actually get to do most of the cooking! Chef Michael guides the group through prepping all of the courses and explains the significance of each dish while you’re making it. We started by prepping some homemade cavatelli pasta – using just flour & water! We learned the technique to roll them on the ridged board to give them their unique shape.
After prepping the pasta, we worked on dessert so it would have time to set. We had to juice the fresh watermelon we picked up at the market to create this gelo di melone. This watermelon pudding is made with fresh watermelon juice & sugar, topped with chocolate chips and pistachio. It was such a refreshing summer dessert!
Once the pudding was in the fridge cooling, we got started on our main course – Involtini di Carne (Stuffed meat rolls)! We prepped the stuffing that would fill the thinly sliced meat. Chef Michael showed us how to roll the involtini so we could skewer them to be cooked.
Lastly, we made our starter dish – panelle (chickpea fritters)! This is best enjoyed warm after frying so we were able to dig right in. I could not stop eating these salty chickpea fritters – they were so good! Chef Michael opened a bottle of wine for us and we were able to toast to completing our dishes. Then we headed into the dining room to enjoy the remaining 3 courses.
Enjoying the Meal
The star of the show was definitely the cavatelli pasta, served with Chef Michael’s homemade red sauce and fresh ricotta on top! Then we enjoyed the Involtini. These stuffed meat rolls were something I’ve never tried before but they were awesome. We later found variations of this classic Sicilian dish throughout our trip when going out to eat.
Chef Michael was generous with the wine throughout our lunch and we were able to go around the table and share some information about ourselves. Lastly, we enjoyed our watermelon desserts and finished off the meal with a shot of Chef Michael’s homemade limoncello.
Review of Cooking Class in Palermo, Sicily
If you are considering doing a cooking class during your trip to Sicily – don’t miss out on the Sicilian Pantry! It was a highlight during our stay in Palermo, and was some of the best food we ate on the trip. Chef Michael and his staff are extremely welcoming, helpful and fun! My biggest advice for taking this class – come hungry!!
Booking
It is incredibly easy to book a cooking class at the Sicilian Pantry. You can reserve a time directly on their website and it costs 79 euros per person. The cooking class starts at 10:00am with the market tour, and finishes around 2:30pm after lunch. The four-course meal at the end of your class is worth the 79 euros alone!
Comment on this post if you’d enjoy taking a cooking class in Palermo, Sicily!
