The Calabrian Table Tour Itinerary

June 2nd - June 9th, 2013
October 13th - October 20th, 2013

Eating Through Calabria with Tania and Cherrye

Day 1

Folk Music Feast

You will arrive at Lamezia Terme International Airport and be met by us, Cherrye Moore and Tania Pascuzzi, your bilingual hosts, as well as Andrea Fornari, a Calabrian native who will serve as an additional interpreter and translator throughout The Calabrian Table Tour.

We will transfer via charter bus to northern Calabria. There we will check into our mountain chalet that is surrounded in flowering, green gardens with a dramatic backdrop of Pollino’s swooping hills and mountains.

We will have time to unpack, settle into the hotel and explore the agriturismo’s gardens before meeting for a group aperitivoand Q&A session.

In the early evening we will transfer to a nearby farm where we will meet Nicola, a retired engineer who has dedicated his life to preserving the history of the Poll. He and his wife, Caterina, will welcome us to their 16th century farm and show us the Convent of Colloretto.

After our tour we will join Caterina in her kitchen and enjoy our first hands-on cooking class in the Pollino Mountains where we will make homemade pasta and salsiccia.

We will end Day One with a private feast, complete with live Calabrian folk musicians from Morano Calabro who will perform in traditional costumes.

Day 2

Zotërote flini arbërisht? Calabria’s Albanian Influences

We will have breakfast at our agriturismo, then set out to explore the heart and soul of Pollino’s Albanian culture. These traditions, along with their native language that is still taught in schools, has been around since the mid-1400s and plays an important role in northern Calabrian culture and cuisine.

We will visit a local village, where the Albanian heritage still thrives and meet a local nun who will show us the ancient trade of weaving traditional cloth into Albanian costumes.

We will have the chance to visit the famous Ragnanello Gorge, the deepest gorge in Europe.

For lunch, we will feast on Albanian dishes that feature the sweet paprika that is commonly used in these villages.

In the late afternoon we will take a guided walk through Morano Calabro-one of Italy’s 100 most beautiful villages-and step back in time to explore the historical center.

We will end the day with dinner at one of the town’s most renowned restaurants that features the famous stocco fish from the Pollino Mountains.

Day 3

Hike and Harvest

We will spend the morning on a mild walking excursion through the Pollino Mountains where we will have the opportunity to hunt for mushrooms, chestnuts and wild berries that are typical of this mountains. During our hike, we will encounter the rare and beautiful Lorica pine, a tree that is found only in this part of the world.

We will step back in time and stop for a picnic breakfast a sacco, complete with local bread, frittata, salamis, local cheeses and wine, all set with a backdrop of pine trees and mountain views.

In the afternoon we will visit a local cheese factory.

For dinner, Our host, Adriana, will prepare the meal that won her first place in a national culinary competition, a meal that features the mushrooms, chestnuts and berries we harvested during our hike.

Day 4

Pollino, Polenta and Preserves

We will enjoy a breakfast of homemade jams, honey and traditional sweets before pushing up our sleeves and starting our full-day, hands-on cooking class with Adriana.

This nationally-known cook will teach us to make frascola, a traditional polenta dish only found in the Pollino Mountains. She will teach us how Calabrians prepare fruits and vegetables and we will watch her transform them into jams, conserves and sott’olio jarred specialties.

We will enjoy the rest of this festive day by eating our creations al fresco with Adriana and her family.

If we still have room, we can enjoy an antipasto or light meal before retiring for the evening.

Day 5

Chic Calabrian Cuisine with Caterina

After breakfast, we will say goodbye to our friends in the Pollino Mountains and head to the aquamarine waters of Calabria’s west coast.

On our way, we will stop in the coastal village of Pizzo Calabro.

We’ll have the chance to stretch our legs with a guided walking tour of this 14th Century fisherman’s village and visit the 17th Century Chiesa di Piedigrotta tufa cave.

We will dine on an exclusive seafood lunch with Caterina, an up-and-coming chef who prepares innovative, prize-winning recipes that put a modern twist on traditional Calabrese cuisine. Caterina’s husband, Antonio, will personally select a variety of DOC wines to complement our meal.

After lunch, we will have an exclusive visit to a local gelato maker where we will learn about the production of the famous Tartufo di Pizzo gelato.

We will continue on to Tropea where we will settle into our bed and breakfast, located in an ancient palazzo in the historical center of this 16th Century medieval village.

In the evening, we will meet at our favorite pizzeria in Tropea, where the pizzas are cooked in an antique wood brick-fired oven.

After dinner we can take a leisurely stroll and enjoy the panoramic views from this medieval town.

Day 6

Rustic Farm Cooking in Caria

After breakfast, we will travel into the green hills of Caria to join our friend Leo at his farm that is surrounded by vineyards and olive groves for a day of rustic cooking.

There we will meet two local signoras who will teach us how to make pane di casa, a type of homemade bread, pignata, slow-cooked butter beans famous in this area and fileja, the signature pasta of the province of Vibo Valentia.

We will enjoy the Calabrian feast our group prepared, then walk off our big lunch with a guided tour of Tropea.

Day 7

Preparing Pesce with Pasquale

After breakfast we will enjoy a vibrant morning at a local food market.

Here we will will immerse ourselves with the locals as we explore diverse foods from a variety of local producers.

We will stop for a light lunch at one of our favorite trattorias, a modest, family-run restaurant where we will enjoy an array of their homemade antipasti, grilled organic meats and seasonal vegetables.

After lunch we will travel to Santa Domenica where we will spend an unforgettable afternoon cooking fresh seafood dishes in the private home of chef Pascquale.

A local signora will join us and make fried-dough fritters cooked in the ancient cast-iron pot tradition, for us to enjoy while we cook and prepare a fabulous Calabrese seafood meal from the day’s catch.

We’ll enjoy our farewell dinner with Pasquale on his terrace overlooking the turquoise waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Day 8

Nivedemo Calabria!

After breakfast we will transfer to the Lamezia Terme International Airport and you will sayNivedemo Calabria.

*This is a brief synopsis of the Calabrian Table Tour. A more detailed itinerary, including hotel and restaurant information will be sent to tour members in their initial packet. For any questions about the itinerary, please email either Cherrye at cherrye@my-bellavita.com or Tania at tania@initalytours.com.

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