Sicilian Cooking Class in Taormina: Market to Sea View Kitchen

Make six types of fresh pasta by hand, then eat it steps from the sea.

A four-hour cooking class in Taormina where you visit a local market, then prepare three traditional Sicilian dishes—an appetizer, fresh fish main, and six handmade pasta shapes—with Chef Mimmo at a seaside restaurant in nearby Giardini Naxos. The class includes wine and cheese tasting, lunch, transfer from the market, and a certificate of participation; children from age 6 are welcome, and the guide speaks English and Italian.

The Experience

Start in Taormina's small local market, where you'll walk through stalls of seasonal produce—eggplants, capers from the Aeolian Islands, Pachino cherry tomatoes, fresh seafood—and meet the ingredients you'll cook with. This is not a tour through the market; you're there to understand what you're about to make. After 15 minutes absorbing the colors and aromas, a transfer takes you to Ahoy Bistrò Siciliano in Giardini Naxos, a restaurant set directly above the Bay of Naxos with views across the water.

Once there, Chef Mimmo walks you through preparing three dishes with your own hands. You'll make caponata Siciliana—the sweet-and-sour eggplant dish that defines Sicilian cooking—then move to six different types of fresh pasta, rolled and shaped by you under the chef's guidance. The main course is fish alla ghiotta, fresh fish cooked in tomato sauce with capers and olives. Before you cook, there's a tasting of local wines paired with focaccia, cured meats and cheeses. The whole process takes about four hours, and the pace is built around learning, not rushing.

When the cooking is done, you sit down at the restaurant and eat what you made, still close enough to the beach to hear the water. A small Sicilian cannoli and a glass of limoncello finish the meal. At the end, you receive a certificate of participation and a transfer back to your starting point in Taormina.

What’s included

• Cooking class with Chef Mimmo.
• market visit in Taormina with multilingual guide.
• transfer from market to restaurant and back.
• apron for cooking.
• wine tasting with focaccia, cured meats and cheeses.
• lunch of the three dishes you prepare.
• coffee or tea break.
• Sicilian cannoli and limoncello.
• certificate of participation.
• mineral water throughout.

Good to know

Stroller friendlyInfant seats availablePets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by Mulinciana Sicilian Cooking Class Taormina

Is this one for you?Start at a local market to touch the ingredients you'll cook, then prepare and eat your own dishes at a table overlooking the bay—the whole arc from discovery to table is what makes Sicilian cooking stick.

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Top questions

What exactly do I cook during the class?

You prepare three dishes: caponata Siciliana (an eggplant appetizer), six different types of fresh pasta made by hand, and fish alla ghiotta (fresh fish with tomato, capers and olives). Each one teaches a different technique in Sicilian cooking.

Is the market visit part of the cooking class, or separate?

The market visit opens the experience. You spend time in a small local market in Taormina discovering seasonal ingredients and the local atmosphere, then transfer to the restaurant kitchen where Chef Mimmo teaches you to cook. Both are included in the class.

How long does the whole thing take?

The class runs four hours from start to finish, including the market visit, cooking, and the meal you eat afterward.

Is the meal included, or do I pay separately?

Lunch is included. You eat the dishes you've cooked, along with wine tasting, cheese and cured meats, coffee or tea, and Sicilian cannoli with limoncello at the end.

Can I bring children?

Children are welcome from age 6. Younger infants can come in a pram or stroller, and specialized infant seats are available at the restaurant.

What language is the class taught in?

Chef Mimmo guides the class in English or Italian, and the market tour is conducted in multiple languages.