CIN CIN

I recently had the pleasure of taking a private cooking class with Chef Vincenzo Clemente at his restaurant in Palermo. The class started with a tour of a local market where all the vendors knew Vincenzo by name, as this is where he buys the food for his restaurant — FRESH on a daily basis.
In this hands on class, we made a variety of traditional Sicilian dishes, all of which are on the menu. By the end of my week food tour in Sicily, I truly came to appreciate the quality and preparation of Vincenzo’s caponata — the most authentic I tasted anywhere, and I must have had caponata every day. Also had a wonderful ribbon fish dish in a saffron broth, and simple yet delightfully flavorful and perfectly cooked linguine con verdure (linguine with vegetables). His mother made us dessert: a semifreddo with raisins and some spectacular sweet sauce, perhaps enhanced with a local dessert wine.
The restaurant itself is understated in atmosphere, something I learned to be typical of Sicilian restaurants… it’s all about the food not the ambiance (the opposite of Los Angeles).
Originally from Sicily, Vincenzo spent over a decade working as a chef in Baton Rouge, LA, and returned to Palermo a few years ago to raise a family and open his wonderful restaurant. He speaks English fluently, so taking a cooking lesson is an easy pleasure even if you don’t know a word of Italian. If you are passing through Palermo, this is a restaurant you simply cannot miss. And if you can plan in advance… contact him about a private cooking lesson. You won’t be disappointed.