Peggy’s Picks for Holiday Gifting

PMCA Gift Certificates Give the gift of future travel with a gift card to be applied to any Peggy Markel Culinary Adventure. We couldn’t think of a better present. Upcoming programs in 2023 include Morocco, southern Spain, sailing in the Gulf of Naples, and three different culinary adventures in Sicily! “Cooking …

The Intense Volcanic Flavors of Pantelleria

I like trips with strong elements. It does half the work for you. This spring I created, along with Linda Sarris, a new short creative program, A Deeper Look-See at the Island of Pantelleria, to introduce an intimate group of guests to the wonders and flavors of Sicily’s “perla nera”.  …

A Deeper Look-See at the Island of Pantelleria

In some ways, a Deeper Look-See was of the sea. Our new “piccolo programma” was launched on the island of Pantelleria, a small outlying volcanic island off the southwest coast of Sicily. Visiting remote places you haven’t been to in a while is charming. It’s like seeing an old friend. …

Conde Nast Traveler Features Peggy Markel

“I love to take people down dirt roads to places where they might not expect to find a true taste of a place.” Like ingredient sourcing in tiny Rajasthani villages or going on a camel safari along Morocco’s west coast and buying sea bass for fish tagine from a lone fisherman.

Chef Fabio Picchi

Saporito. That’s how we could describe Tuscan food. It’s full of delicious salt, black pepper and red onion spiciness. Think Porchetta: A deboned pig, filled with herbs, salt and garlic, a condiment affectionately known as “sale aromatico” The roasted pork with herbs is sliced and put between two pieces of …

Recipe: Fave Crude e Pecorino

This is a spring salad that I would eat every year at Cibreo, my favorite restaurant in Florence. Fabio Picchi, chef/owner, would practically shell the fave into the bowl in front of you. It’s a simple salad but one that I eat with reverence now that Fabio has passed. February …

“Ghriba” Moroccan Tea Biscuit Recipe

I’ve always loved these crackled almond tea cookies from the time I’ve spent in Morocco and when I saw this recipe from Susan Spungen of Susanality, with the delicious spin of adding raw chopped pistachio and edible rose petal sugar, I knew it was time to test them out again.  …