Workshops
Themed and guest-led culinary experiences
WHEN
October 13 – October 18, 2025
PRICE
Single Room: €3,730 Double Room: €6,710
Costs include accommodation at Case Vecchie or one of the nearby cottages, shuttle from/to Roccapalumba train station, indicated lessons, meals, wine and excursions. Lunch and dinner are served with wines from the Tasca d’Almerita estate. Typical meals and cooking lessons include three or four courses.
info
Airfare and private transportation to and from Case Vecchie are not included in the cost. At the time of booking, please let us know if you would like to book a ride to and from the estate. Planned activities and schedules may change at short notice due to seasonal rhythms of life in Sicily.
Weave and Feast
with Annemarie O'Sullivan & Tom McWalter
Spend a week exploring the intangible heritage of basketmaking on the beautiful island of Sicily. Known for its gastronomic identity, Sicily also has a rich history of basketmaking. Going hand in hand, baskets were the original containers for harvesting, storing, and producing food.
Each day we’ll invite you outside to walk the land and to spend time in the garden, observing and testing plants. We’ll make our own small rush cheese molds and visit a local cheesemaker to fill them. We’ll learn about traditional Vs modern cheesemaking. We’ll weave pasta making boards and enjoy playfully exploring the imprint these can make on our pasta dough.
We’ll gather and prepare plant materials and learn some simple basketmaking skills, making connections with how humanshave used the plants for food, fibres, and dyeing. Each day we’ll be making ink from local plants and on our final day we’ll create a stunning tablescape which includes a painted tablecloth. We’ll be building towards a final feast which celebrates these extraordinary plants in all their forms.
Annemarie O'Sullivan
I am an Irish basketmaker and designer based in the South of England. I make baskets and woven objects, which are a response to the materials I gather from the land. I grow around twenty different types of willow and often combine these with coppiced wood. I am passionate about seeing the making process through from source to finished piece.
My work draws on the sturdiness of agricultural baskets, the curves of the landscape and a deep respect for ancient crafts. I am inspired by the simple connections that I have with basket-makers from the past. My work is fueled by the richness of intangible heritage and endangered crafts.
I use weaving and binding techniques, which have been used for thousands of years to create small-scale domestic objects, baskets and lighting, through to larger-scale woven forms. This connection with nature draws me to site specific, beautifully crafted works, which are steeped in history and landscape.
Collaboration is a key part of my work. I love to share ideas with makers from other disciplines. I like to work in a playful way, but the end product always has a high level of craft. My work has been featured in The New York Times, The Financial Times, The Irish Times, Country Living and more.
Example Program
Monday, October 13
3:00 pm | Arrival and settle into accommodations
7:30 pm | Aperitivo & dinner at Case Vecchie
Tuesday, October 14
9:00 am | Breakfast
9:50 am | Garden tour
10:30 am | Introduction to Juncus/fine rush and making cordage
1:00 pm | Lunch
3:00 pm | Making ink from local plants
4:00 pm | Visit the winery Tasca d’Almerita, optional walk back through the vineyards
7:00 pm | Aperitivo & dinner at Case Vecchie
Wednesday, October 15
8:00 am | Optional early morning walk to collect Asphodel
9:00 am| Breakfast
10:30 am| Weaving small rush cheesemolds
12:30 pm| Aperitivo and lunch
3:00 pm | Continue weaving rush cheesemolds
6:00 pm |Making ink from local plants
7:00 pm | Aperitivo & dinner at Case Vecchie
Thursday, October 16
7:45 -11:00 am | Visit Filippo the local shepherd for cheesemaking
Fill our own cheesemolds with ricotta
11:30am | Brush making
12:30 pm | Sicilian Cheese Tasting and lunch at Case Vecchie
3:00 pm | Making Ink from local plants
4:00 pm | A playful weaving session: pasta making board
7:00 pm | Aperitivo & dinner at Case Vecchie
Friday, October 17
9:00 am | Breakfast
10:30 am | Sicilian Cooking Lesson, Pasta making
12:30 pm | Aperitivo and lunch
3:30 pm | Painting our tablecloth and Creating a table scape for our banquet
7:30 pm | Aperitivo & Banquet at Case Vecchie
Saturday, October 18
9:00 am | Breakfast
10:00 am | Goodbyes and departure
Bookings
The whole experience, from the accommodations (food, the beautiful location) to all the people we encountered was top notch. The kitchen crew was awesome in every way! I will definitely recommend to friends. David was great, enjoyed his casual style and expertise.
J.N.
David Tanis Workshop
I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and thought the standard of the course was exceptional. I have taken other cooking classes in other countries, and this course was by far more authentic, serious, in-depth and has inspired me.
J.S.
David Tanis Workshop
Everything about the week was worth the effort to get there and the planning was well worth it. It was a week of gourmet eating. The participants were all enthusiastic about being there and that helped make the overall "experience".
S.M
David Tanis Workshop
I loved everything, beyond beautiful surroundings, fabulous food, wonderful instruction and opportunity to learn about Sicilian cooking, as well as the knowledgeable and very helpful staff. The flowing wine and other guests, who just happened to be amazing also added to my exceptional experience!
B.W
Tomato Paste Workshop
We've been telling everybody what great experience we've had at Case Vecchie: breadmaking, Sicilian cooking lessons, daily walks to the winery, visit to the flour mill and ricotta maker and the sheep, your beautiful grounds filled with fruit trees and vegetable gardens and the chicken coop.
Y.W.
Breadcamp
My stay at Casa Vecchie absolutely confirmed for me that my future is in food, I cannot thank them enough for solidifying that for me. My stay at Casa Vecchie absolutely confirmed for me that my future is in food, I cannot thank them enough for solidifying that for me.
J.C.
Pasta Workshop
That was such a great experience and it was so much fun to be with all of you during the week. Please extend my thanks to the entire team who made things so fantastic. I can't wait to get started in my own kitchen!
C.H.
Pasta Workshop
That was such a great experience and it was so much fun to be with all of you during the week. Please extend my thanks to the entire team who made things so fantastic. I can't wait to get started in my own kitchen!
C.H.
Pasta Workshop
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