Sicily is famous for its delicious, unique cuisine. Influenced over the centuries by settlers from across the water like Greece, Africa, the Middle East and, of course, Italy, what has emerged is an island with a cuisine all of its own.

The Sicilians are rightly proud of their culinary traditions, in which rich Middle Eastern spices mix with vibrant Mediterranean flavours, so most of the restaurants here serve local dishes, prepared with the very freshest local ingredients.

With the kind of bullish self-assurance the islanders are famous for, the locals are happy to export their produce around the world but are reluctant to import food (why would they when they considered what they raise on the island to be the best?). The result is that Sicily is pretty much the ‘home’ of local cooking. Even the island’s Michelin-starred chefs prefer to buy their produce from the excellent local food markets rather than importing from abroad.

Despite being part of Italy, you can’t really begin to understand Sicily itself until you have eaten here, drunk its wine and relaxed in the welcoming, friendly atmosphere of its many restaurants. And there’s no better place to do just that than in the luxury resort of Taormina.