SEPT 4TH — 7TH , 2025
Catania, Sicily, Italy
SEPT 4TH — 7TH , 2025
Catania, Sicily, Italy
Cuisine & Wine
Our Philosophy
Ricci Weekender unites food, wine, and music as a single language.
We celebrate Sicily — its land, its people, its flavors, its rhythms — by inviting chefs to reimagine local traditions with creativity and respect.
Our wines come from small, independent growers who work naturally, letting soil and season guide the way. No shortcuts, no pretenses — just purity in the glass.
Every plate, every bottle, every note of music is an invitation to connect: with Sicily, with each other, and with the simple joy of sharing.
Culinary Experiences
Three episodes. One table.
Ricci Weekender spans four days; the culinary journey unfolds across Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Each episode invites chefs to celebrate Sicily’s produce with creativity and respect.
Unlock the Gold Pass and join our Culinary Experiences
Full info
Venue: Materia Spazio Cucina
With Bianca Celano and Emilia Strazzanti
The journey begins with food and wine — authentic flavors, bold pairings, and stories that reflect our soul.
This opening chapter is guided by two Sicilian women who have turned their passion into a meeting place for chefs, brigades, and guests.
Bianca cooks with Sicily in her heart. Her cuisine is built on carefully chosen ingredients and the memory of her large family gathered around the table. She reinterprets those traditions with a contemporary touch, creating contrasts that shine a light on forgotten Mediterranean flavors.
Emilia bridges London and Sicily. Returning home to the island, she fell in love again with its ingredients, their history, and the legacy of her nonni. Her cooking carries sweetness, tradition, and conviviality — a cuisine rooted in people, memory, and the land itself.
Through these chefs, Ricci keeps alive the true essence of Mediterranean hospitality: food as a way to gather, share, and celebrate.
Full info
Venue: Mercati Generali
With Sarah Cicolini & Bar Brutal
This chapter unfolds between Rome and Barcelona, where two worlds meet: bold contemporary Italian cooking and the culture of natural wine.
Bar Brutal is one of Spain’s pioneers of the natural wine movement. Since 2013, inside Barcelona’s historic Can Cisa celler, it has been a crossroads for more than 3,000 natural wine labels, seasonal cuisine, and creative collaborations spanning from the Tate Modern to festivals worldwide. We are thrilled to welcome them back to Ricci!
Alongside, Sarah Cicolini of Santo Palato in Rome reimagines Italian traditions with fearless precision. From her celebrated offal dishes to contemporary takes on classics, Sarah’s cooking speaks of heritage, technique, and conviviality — a perfect match for natural wines from Italy and beyond.
Through Ricci, we bring together places, people, and flavours to celebrate a shared table without borders.
Full info
Venue: Mercati Generali
With Ed Wilson & Friends
This chapter takes us back to London and the Kent coast, where Ed Wilson and his wife and business partner, Josie Stead, have created two distinct yet connected worlds of food and hospitality.
In East London, Brawn is a much-loved neighborhood restaurant where seasonal produce and conviviality meet. By the sea in Margate, Sargasso is a seafood haven, shaped by tides, wind, and the raw energy of the north Kent coast.
Ed’s discerning taste shines through in the thoughtful dishes at Brawn, but his curiosity reaches far beyond the kitchen — into design, music, wine, and the art of hospitality. Over the years, he has championed lesser-known wine regions and producers, building a creative community around his tables.
For more than 15 years, Ed has travelled regularly to Sicily to meet the winemakers who inspire his work. His bond with the island deepened in 2018 when, together with Gilles and Diego, he helped bring Ricci Weekender to life. Catania — with its vibrant markets and layered history — became the natural home for this vision.
Today, Ed curates Ricci’s food and wine program, inviting friends and fellow restaurateurs who share his love for Sicily. Each year, they prepare dishes that honour the island and its generous spirit.
Here, food, wine, and music weave together seamlessly — the true essence of Ricci, and of Mediterranean hospitality.
Wines
Every love story begins with a glass of wine.
At Ricci Weekender, music, cuisine, and natural wine come together as the perfect trio. Our wine list celebrates some of the most exciting independent producers in Sicily — growers who work with respect for the land, the vines, and the traditions that make this island unique.
You’ll find their bottles poured at every Ricci bar throughout the weekend.
Ricci Weekender 2025 – Wines from:
Vini Barraco
Davide Bentivegna – Etnella
Alice Bonaccorsi
Calogero Caruana
Manfredi Franco
Sergio Genuardi
Grottafumata
I Custodi delle Vigne dell’Etna
La Selvaggia
Giuseppe Lazzaro
Manciaciumi
Marabino
Nuzzella
Barbara Schapke
Alessandro Viola
Aldo Viola
FOOD & DRINK
Food Options at Venues
Palazzo della Cultura (Thu–Fri) → Food available at Bar Bricci (just 50m from the venue)
Mercati Generali (Sat–Sun) → Food by Tonita Acireale
After Party → Please note: no food service available
🍷 Drinks & alcohol not included in passes — available at venue bars.
🥂 Curated local & natural wine list all weekend.
Gold & Silver Pass holders: please email dietary restrictions, allergies or intolerances to emilia@strazzanti.com