Join us in New York City to celebrate Santa Lucia on Sunday, December 11, 2022 at 2PM at Pasta Eater restaurant.

Celebrate La Festa di Santa Lucia or Saint Lucy in New York City

Featuring Guest Chef Giuseppe Sciurca from Sicily

When: Sunday, December 11, 2022 at 2PM until 5PM
What: Feast of traditional Sicilian food, short folk music concert, and presentation about Santa Lucia
Where: Pasta Eater at 9 E 17th Street, New York, NY 10003
Price: $100/person, includes full Sicilian feast menu, wine, entertainment, raffle ticket, tax, and gratuity

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MENU

**Antipasti**
Panelle e crocché (Chickpea fritters and potato croquettes)
Arancine alle Carne (Rice balls with ragu)
Arancine ai Spinaci (Rice balls with spinach)

**Primo (Choice of…)**
Risotto ai funghi (Mushroom Risotto)
Risotto di Zucca (Pumpkin Risotto)

**Insalada Mista** (Mixed Salad)

**Secondo (Choice of…)**

• Gateau di patate, ragù di carne con piselli e melanzana fritta (Savory potato torte with meat, peas, and eggplant)
• Gateau di patate, ragù di Beyond Meat con piselli e melanzana fritta (Savory potato torte with Beyond* meat (*vegetarian), peas, and eggplant)

**Dolce**
Cuccia con Ricotta
(Sweet farro with ricotta, orange zest, and candied fruit)

**Beverages**
A selection of red and white wines are included.

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THE PROGRAM

Along with the full menu above, the afternoon will include a short concert of Sicilian folk songs and folk music inspired by Sicily.

Allison Scola of Experience Sicily will lead a presentation about the history and cult of Santa Lucia.

Your reservation cost also includes entrance into a raffle for artisanal products from Sicily and gift cards from Experience Sicily boutique tours & creative travel planning. We’ll pass out raffle entry tickets during the afternoon so you can enter.

Transportation/Arrival Details

The closest Subway stop to Pasta Eater is Union Square.

Street parking is available on Sundays. There are also a number of paid parking facilities within walking distance. Consult your GPS or navigation app for suggestions.

About Chef Giuseppe Sciurca

Hailing from the village of Petralia Sottana in the province of Palermo, Sicily, chef Giuseppe Sciurca cultivated his passion for cooking from his mother Angela starting at a young age. Under her tutelage he mastered typical Sicilian dishes ranging from those sourced from her home in the Madonie Mountains to the coastal towns of the nearby Tyrrhenian Sea. After working in the restaurant industry for about five years, Sciurca opened his first establishment, La Lupa Ghiotta, in Termini Imerese. In 2014, he launched Napèe, a restaurant that not only fused typical Sicilian cuisine from the mountains and the sea with modern sensibilities, but also featured zero kilometer (i.e., hyper-local) ingredients. After representing the Madonie region at the 2015 EXPO in Milan, in 2016, Napèe played host to the actors and crew for the recording of the feature film “L’ora Legale” by Sicilian comedic duo Ficarra and Picone. Sciurca closed Napèe, and after a successful trip to the United States in 2017, he founded Cosmo Nature-Tourismo, Cultura e Ambiente, an company with the mission to promote Sicilian culture through food, wine, hands-on cooking experiences, fruit and vegetable cultivation in his garden, and countryside excursions. Along with his partner and collaborator Valeria Signorino, Sciurca creates remarkable experiences for tourists to Sicily and Sicilians alike. Among many of his notable projects is revisiting the tradition of the Pupi di zucchero, expertly crafted sugar figures ritually eaten by children for generations for the Day of the Dead.

Experience Sicily is thrilled to welcome back Giuseppe Sciurca and Valeria Signorino after successful collaborations in both Sicily and New York including our Stirring Sicily cooking and wine tour (2017, 2019, and 2022) and our Valentine’s Day Sicilian Style (2019) and Carnevale with Two Chefs from Sicily (2020) dinner events presented in collaboration with chef Antonino Elia of Lititz, Pennsylvania, who we must graciously thank for introducing us.

ABOUT THE FEAST OF SANTA LUCIA

In the days leading up to the Feast of Santa Lucia, December 13, many Sicilians refrain from eating pasta and only eat un-ground wheat grain, or “farro,” that is prepared as a dish called cuccìa. Devotees observe this ritual to remember the severe famine that struck Siracusa and Palermo in 1646.

During that time of Spanish domination, the faithful prayed to their patron saint, Lucia, seeking relief. Finally in May during a mass, a squawking quail flew into the duomo in Ortigia (NB, the name “Ortigia” comes from the Ancient Greek word “ortyx,” which means quail.). At the same moment, a messenger entered the church announcing that ships had arrived carrying wheat grain. All hailed it a miracle, attributing the relief to Santa Lucia having answered their prayers.

Now, annually for her feast day in December devotees process her precious silver statue through the streets and only eat cuccìa and arancine as homage to the patron saint of eyes, sight, light, and wheat.

Join us at Pasta Eater for this special event!

Register Now!