Sicilia · Private chefs · London
Sicilian private chef in London
A chef born in Sicilia, cooking the island's food in your kitchen: sweet and sour, saffron and citrus, ricotta and pistachio.
The cooking
Three thousand years of visitors, one island kitchen
Sicilian cooking is the most layered in Italy. Greeks planted olives and vines; Arabs brought citrus, almonds, saffron, sugar cane and a taste for pairing sweet with sour; the Spanish brought tomatoes and chocolate. Fishermen and shepherds supplied the rest. The result is agrodolce sauces, raisins and pine nuts in savoury dishes, and breadcrumbs toasted in oil and scattered over pasta like cheese.
It is not one cuisine either. Palermo cooks differently from Catania, and both differ from the baroque pastry towns of the south-east. A Sicilian chef brings the food of their own corner of the island, not a generic version of it.
Signature dishes
What a Sicilian chef cooks
Caponata
Aubergine, celery, olives and capers in a sweet-and-sour tomato sauce, served at room temperature.
Pasta con le sarde
Bucatini with fresh sardines, wild fennel, raisins, pine nuts and saffron under toasted breadcrumbs.
Arancine
Rice balls filled with ragù or ham and mozzarella, fried to order. Feminine in Palermo, masculine in Catania.
Pasta alla Norma
Catania's pasta with fried aubergine, tomato, basil and grated ricotta salata.
Involtini di pesce spada
Thin swordfish slices rolled around breadcrumbs, citrus zest and pine nuts.
Sarde a beccafico
Butterflied sardines stuffed and baked with bay leaves and orange.
Cannoli
Crisp shells filled with sheep's-milk ricotta at the last moment, so they never go soft.
Cassata
Sponge, ricotta and marzipan under candied fruit: the island's celebration cake.
Sample menu
A Sicilian dinner party in four courses
An example only. Your chef writes the real menu with you, around your guests, allergies and what is good that week.
Through the year
Seasonal notes
Winter in Sicily means blood oranges, purple cauliflower cooked with anchovy, raisins and saffron, and the Christmas sweets: buccellati, rings of pastry filled with figs, nuts and spice. Summer shifts the table to aubergines, tomatoes, peppers and granita.
In London a Sicilian chef cooks with what is in season here and imports only what matters, such as wild fennel, good saffron or Bronte pistachios. If a dish needs an ingredient that is out of season, they will tell you and suggest another.
How Venti works
A dinner party with nothing to do
Tell us the occasion
Date, number of guests, allergies, budget. By message, any time of day.
Meet your chef
We match you with a chef born in Sicilia and send you their menu to shape together.
They cook, you host
The chef shops, cooks, serves and leaves your kitchen clean.
Venti is opening in London this winter. We are matching our first chefs for this winter, so join the waitlist to be first in line for a Sicilian dinner.
Questions
Frequently asked
What does a Sicilian dinner party at home include?
You agree a menu with a chef from Sicilia, usually four courses: antipasto, primo, secondo and dolce. The chef shops for the ingredients, cooks in your kitchen, serves your guests and leaves the kitchen clean. Wine and drinks are your choice.
Which Sicilian ingredients should allergy sufferers know about?
Sicilian cooking uses tree nuts (almonds, pistachios, pine nuts), fish and dairy often, and many desserts rely on ricotta. Most savoury dishes can be adapted, so mention any allergy when you first tell us about the dinner.
Can the chef cook around allergies and dietary needs?
Yes. The 14 major allergens are confirmed with you before the menu is final, and dishes are adapted or swapped where needed. Tell us early about any allergy, intolerance or dietary rule.
How does booking work, and how many guests can we have?
Venti is not open yet: we are matching our first chefs for this winter. Join the waitlist and tell us the date, number of guests, allergies and budget. From a dinner for two to a larger party, we confirm what works for your kitchen and the chef before anything is agreed.
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