This fall, I attended the Fuoco Food Festival in Sicily, the coolest food festival I’ve ever been to. Founded by La Gazzetta dello Sport food and wine editor Daniele Miccione, the Fuoco Food Festival showcased the talent of 35 Italian chefs, each of whom cooked over an open fire. The chefs showed off their cooking chops using only primordial methods (spits, cast iron cauldrons, terra cotta pots, etc) to prepare dishes made from ingredients produced by local artisan producers that showcase the particular local terrain.
Needless to say, I ate so, so, so so well, and sipped some interesting wines and intriguing locally brewed artisan beers. Of course, I ate some of the Sicilan classics like arancini, cannoli and caponata, and managed to snag some lemon granita at the airport. However, the chefs’ dishes were delicious, proving that you don’t need a lot of the proverbial smoke and mirrors to put forth outstanding food…quality ingredients and lots of fire go a long way.
Pretty much everyone I know is smitten with Sicily, and I’m loathe to admit that this was my first visit to the eclectic Mediterraean island. I immediately “got it” and I wasn’t even back in Milan 24 hours when I booked a flight to Palermo (more on Palermo to come!), It’s high time I started exploring the island’s diversity, and I’m already thinking about where I want to visit next…the list seems endless and I don’t know where to stary: Catania, Taormina, Ortigia, Noto, Mount Etna, Favignana, Marsala, Pantelleria, Favignana and Cefalu, to name just a mere few. Then of course, there are all of the Aeolian Islands: Vulcano, Salina, Stromboli, Filicudi, Alicudi, Panarea and Basiluzzo. This world is such a beautiful place, is it not? It never ceases to amazing me. And Sicily is just one small part of it. Sigh.
Anyhoo, I wrote about the Fuoco! Food Festival for Food Republic, and I also took over Food Republic’s Instagram account from the festival, and I wanted to share my photos below. I hope you enjoy them!
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