no Kitchen Orphan

Ciccio Supremo

I am a woman with expectations, never lied about it. One who tries a lot, likes a lot, complains a lot.
Talking of which, my passion for food has proved to be a challenging territory both personally and professionally.
When it comes to restaurants and food concepts, I realize that I have over time become picky, if not suspicious. It must be London, where so much is happening every day; restaurants, bars, pop ups launch, and it's all about the design, the food, the drinks, the experience, the chef in charge, the chef behind, the people....So many stories are made up (mostly for our fault, the PR people...) and I have recently gone back to appreciating the simpler, reassuring certainties of my favorite places rather than adventuring myself to be eventually disillusioned by the banality and poor substance of many.

So, my short trip to Italy a week ago turned out to be the most reassuring experience of recent times. Going to the usual places, those trattorie where you know you'll never be disappointed, where the chef or the owner is always around to come and say hi and share some of his "wisdom".
However, I had on my "to try" list a few new spots too. Such as Locanda del Colonnello in whimsical Modica, where chef Accursio Craparo has developed a peasant menu focusing on traditional dishes of the territory, and the most iconic Sicilian Cibo da Strada (Street Food) becomes an Antipasto, which is brought to the table simply in a bread bag.
But then something else was on the list. A very special invitation to dine at Ciccio Sultano's 2 Michelin star Ristorante Duomo in remote Ragusa Ibla. One that could have had all possible developments and conclusions.
Ciccio Sultano, I had experienced before, is a man by the intriguing character. He represents what, as a young lady from the North, I have always loved about men of the South: that natural mix of warmth-charm-culture-sense of humour, with a touch of grumpiness. And in this specific case with the huge bonus of supreme cooking skills.
As usual, I am not going into the details of each of the 14 amongst amuse-bouche, starters, pasta and desserts I have tasted (images below). I can only say it has been one of those moment in life when all my senses all of a sudden have reminded each other that oh! they could work together and generate such a state of... scrummy accomplishment. Grazie chef...