Scrumpdillyicious: Bye Bye Blues: Sicilian Michelin Star Cuisine

The first female chef in Sicily to earn a Michelin star, chef Patrizia Di Benedetto’s great love for cooking began in the family kitchen. “In Sicily, every woman is a good chef. We learned how to cook from our grandmothers and mothers when they cooked for family and friends,” she says with a twinkle in her eye. “Meals in Sicilian families can last half a day with lots of eating, talking and drinking.” Patrizia drew on the lessons she learned from the women in her family who had an intimate knowledge of traditional Sicilian cuisine, and then developed her expertise by attending courses, both in Italy and abroad. And that is how Bye Bye Blues became a safe haven for dedicated gourmets, where the very best of rich Sicilian culinary pride combines with the essential way the dishes are presented and the decidedly contemporary manner that the home-style, time-honoured recipes are prepared. Zero km ingredients and fresh fish, provided daily by local fishermen, are the true secrets of a wholesome cuisine, outstanding in quality.

A sophisticated white-walled modern restaurant that serves both the Palermitani elites and visiting gastronomes, chef di Benedetto specializes in innovative takes on classic Mediterranean dishes, but with the intense flavours of traditional Sicilian cuisine, like Black Cavatelli Pasta in a seafood sauce with sea urchin mousse, sensational Mazara Red Prawn Carpaccio with tuna roe mayonnaise, luscious Mixed Raw Fish Crudo with green tea salt and lemon marmalade with orange blossom honey, and impressive 5 or 6-course degustation menus for those with healthier appetites, which are all served on beautiful raku ceramics chef di Benedetto imported from Japan. The extensive wine list spotlights the finest selections from Sicily and Italy, as well as iconic wine regions of the world, including a tempting Champagne collection, supervised by Patricia's husband and sommelier Antonio Barraco. Arriving for a dinner on a warm evening while in Palermo, chef di Benedetto greets all guests as they arrive, then heads back to the kitchen to create her culinary wonders. “My cooking originates from the intense flavours and aromas of Sicily, exalted by modern culinary techniques. My 'filled with memories' dishes become protagonists of the changes we are witnessing in many of our habits and in the way we eat. A surprising pairing, an unexpected ingredient, an unusual preparation — but the memory lingers of a dish cooked with love, food that is good for the soul."

Michelin Chef Patrizia Di Benedetto and somellier husband Antonio Barraco

We began our evening with a glass of Fench Pommery Brut Royal Apanage Champagne

Light and fresh, only twelve carefully selected crus are used to make this elegant champagne, with a noticeably greater presence of the finest Grand Crus from the Pommery vineyard

Homemade crisp and flavourful grissini

Surgiva aqua minerale frizzante in an elegant silver holder

watched over by our resident red puppy

Sfincione amuse-bouche, a traditional Palermo street food much like a Sicilian style pizza

Amuse bouche of grilled offal

Crispelle Siciliane con Acciughe e Ricotta: Anchovy and Ricotta Fritters

Vigna di Milo Caselle Etna Bianco Superiore

A well rounded and balanced wine produced from the Carricante grape on the eastern slopes of Mt Etna

Nestled in an ice-filled wine bucket

Lovely fresh Sicilian bread

Green tea salt and Sicilian olive oil for the bread

Whimsical ceramic animals are placed on each table

Carpaccio di gamberi rossi, insalatina tiepida di patate e fagiolini, julienne di calamari, maionese di bottarga e olio alla menta: Red prawn carpaccio with tuna roe mayonnaise and olive oil infused with mint