In the sweet, lemon-scented air of Sicily, you don’t need to be impossibly rich to enjoy the high life
The White Lotus Monday 9.00pm Sky Atlantic
MATT CHARLTON - 26 October 2022
The drama series The White Lotus arrived in our lives mid-pandemic like a humid beam of holiday sunshine. After a period whe n few of us had been able to travel, the Sky Atlantic comedy drama let us luxuriate in the high-end imagery of the eponymous fictional Hawaiian resort, while taking solace in the fact that most of the characters – rich, privileged, sheltered, damaged and obnoxious – were completely miserable. A bit of schadenfreude with a tropical cocktail on the side…
Now series two is introducing us to another location in the luxury hotel chain – this time on the picturesque east coast of Sicily. We again get to bask in sunshine, passive-aggressive guests and overzealous staff – along with returning star Jennifer Coolidge as heiress Tanya McQuoid. The makers of The White Lotus have set series two in Taormina, an hour or so’s drive north of Catania airport, having requisitioned the recently opened Four Seasons San Domenico Palace (fourseasons.com/taormina), one of the first luxury international brands to set up shop here.
The 14th-century convent turned-grand hotel enjoys a spectacular location overlooking the Ionian Sea, with imposing Mount Etna to its right and Taormina’s ancient Greek theatre to its left ancient Greek theatre to its left. The air here is sweet: background notes of the sea and a mix of bougainvillaea, wild lemons and sweet pastry enhance your pleasure in enjoying one of the most picturesque towns I’ve ever visited. The main streets are wide and clean, and the food, if you know where to look, is absolutely out of this world… only enhanced by the town’s elevated views over the spark ling Ionian Sea. La dolce vita indeed. Sicily is famously self-reliant, living o n local, seasonal produce grown in the volcanic soil at the various altitudes of Etna.
The Four Seasons hotel has taken this to heart and offers a tour of the mountain, accompanied by the head chef. You will be introduced to a local shepherd to taste freshly made ricotta paired with bread that’s just out of the oven. From there, you will spend some time foraging for wild vegetables and herbs, followed by lunch and a wine-tasting. Upon returning to the hotel – because, obviously, you need to eat more – the kitchen staff will prepare the vegetables and herbs you’ve collected for dinner. It somehow tastes even better knowing you’ve had a hand in it. But it’s off the main drag in Taormina that you’ll find the tastiest, most authentic Sicilian cuisine. The town is all about its avenues and alleyways, which you’ll find up or down steep flights of stone steps… often stopping suddenly at a dead end, in a piazza, or sometimes even in a secret garden such as at the lovely Naumachia di Taormina, where a chunk of Roman history hides behind the main street.
Pasta is the name of the game in Taormina. The day after my tour of Etna, I find myself pushing through the main street and around the corner to an unassuming restaurant and my appointment with an Italian grandmother. I am in Ristorante Malvasia – a local favourite – wearing a chef ’s hat. Taught, under stern instruction, how to knead the dough and then roll the long macaroni – using the nonna’s slightly less-than traditional implement of an umbrella spoke – I step back, believing I’ve had my go at preparing the meal we’re to eat. Not a bit of it: I am to make the whole batch, apparently. I didn’t come to be a spectator, it seems. This eventually results in Pasta alla Norma – which, if Sicily were a country, would be the national dish. It consists of fried aubergine , tomato and basil sauce, long macaroni made from flour and water, topped with ricotta salata (salted cheese): deceptively simple. Of course, every chef and cook in Sicily has the “correct ” recipe, but the Malvasia’s version is one of the best I’ve tested (not that I’m biased). Sicily is an island defined by food, with influences not only from Italy, but from Tunisia and Morocco, too. From the golden beaches of the southern tip, via the craggy edges of the east, you will be led by your appetite. So even if the guests of The White Lotus are having a miserable time, at least their stomachs will be happy.
The drama series The White Lotus arrived in our lives mid-pandemic like a humid beam of holiday sunshine. After a period whe n few of us had been able to travel, the Sky Atlantic comedy drama let us luxuriate in the high-end imagery of the eponymous fictional Hawaiian resort, while taking solace in the fact that most of the characters – rich, privileged, sheltered, damaged and obnoxious – were completely miserable. A bit of schadenfreude with a tropical cocktail on the side…
Now series two is introducing us to another location in the luxury hotel chain – this time on the picturesque east coast of Sicily. We again get to bask in sunshine, passive-aggressive guests and overzealous staff – along with returning star Jennifer Coolidge as heiress Tanya McQuoid. The makers of The White Lotus have set series two in Taormina, an hour or so’s drive north of Catania airport, having requisitioned the recently opened Four Seasons San Domenico Palace (fourseasons.com/taormina), one of the first luxury international brands to set up shop here.
The 14th-century convent turned-grand hotel enjoys a spectacular location overlooking the Ionian Sea, with imposing Mount Etna to its right and Taormina’s ancient Greek theatre to its left ancient Greek theatre to its left. The air here is sweet: background notes of the sea and a mix of bougainvillaea, wild lemons and sweet pastry enhance your pleasure in enjoying one of the most picturesque towns I’ve ever visited. The main streets are wide and clean, and the food, if you know where to look, is absolutely out of this world… only enhanced by the town’s elevated views over the spark ling Ionian Sea. La dolce vita indeed. Sicily is famously self-reliant, living o n local, seasonal produce grown in the volcanic soil at the various altitudes of Etna.
The Four Seasons hotel has taken this to heart and offers a tour of the mountain, accompanied by the head chef. You will be introduced to a local shepherd to taste freshly made ricotta paired with bread that’s just out of the oven. From there, you will spend some time foraging for wild vegetables and herbs, followed by lunch and a wine-tasting. Upon returning to the hotel – because, obviously, you need to eat more – the kitchen staff will prepare the vegetables and herbs you’ve collected for dinner. It somehow tastes even better knowing you’ve had a hand in it. But it’s off the main drag in Taormina that you’ll find the tastiest, most authentic Sicilian cuisine. The town is all about its avenues and alleyways, which you’ll find up or down steep flights of stone steps… often stopping suddenly at a dead end, in a piazza, or sometimes even in a secret garden such as at the lovely Naumachia di Taormina, where a chunk of Roman history hides behind the main street.
Pasta is the name of the game in Taormina. The day after my tour of Etna, I find myself pushing through the main street and around the corner to an unassuming restaurant and my appointment with an Italian grandmother. I am in Ristorante Malvasia – a local favourite – wearing a chef ’s hat. Taught, under stern instruction, how to knead the dough and then roll the long macaroni – using the nonna’s slightly less-than traditional implement of an umbrella spoke – I step back, believing I’ve had my go at preparing the meal we’re to eat. Not a bit of it: I am to make the whole batch, apparently. I didn’t come to be a spectator, it seems. This eventually results in Pasta alla Norma – which, if Sicily were a country, would be the national dish. It consists of fried aubergine , tomato and basil sauce, long macaroni made from flour and water, topped with ricotta salata (salted cheese): deceptively simple. Of course, every chef and cook in Sicily has the “correct ” recipe, but the Malvasia’s version is one of the best I’ve tested (not that I’m biased). Sicily is an island defined by food, with influences not only from Italy, but from Tunisia and Morocco, too. From the golden beaches of the southern tip, via the craggy edges of the east, you will be led by your appetite. So even if the guests of The White Lotus are having a miserable time, at least their stomachs will be happy.