The widespread cuisine in Sicily - The mothers of the village of Motta Camastra

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Nobody cooks the way mum cooks. This is the mothers of Motta Camastraabout 6 kilometers from Alcantara Gorgesthey understood it well.

In the small village inhabited by just 600 people, the last restaurant has now closed and the local women, in the wake of Mothers of the village of Tricase Porto in Puglia, they decided to revitalize the town chosen, among other things, by Francis Ford Coppola during the filming of The Godfather, giving life to the widespread cuisine of the Mamme del Borgo.

Widespread cuisine and the revaluation of the territory

The concept of widespread cuisine in Sicily began to make space in 2016, the year in which the Mrs Mariangela, resident of Motta Camastra, discovers Apulian mothers on the internet and decides to become part of the project.

By organizing a women’s group and involving the women of the town, it creates the path for stations where territory and home cooking describe Sicily in its simplicity and naturalness.

He tries his hand, initially exclusively for fun and curiosity, in this adventure that works, which attracts tourists but also locals, in search of the authenticity and sociability that only a family dinner can offer.

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Local products, dishes cooked on the spot and all Sicilian recipes to be enjoyed together as if you were a big family, is what makes the experiment a winning bet.

Hot baked ricotta and excellent caciocavallo and pecorino. Baked peppers and stuffed aubergines. Homemade macaroni made according to tradition (i.e. with a brass iron) alla Norma. Meatballs with lemon leaves and mutton accompanied by tomato and onion salad. Pancakes filled with ricotta and covered with sugar. Everything strictly zero kilometer.

The wine? Country red.
Plastic is banned. The glasses, for example, are from compostable material because the environment is also a priority in the broad context of an ethical/solidarity cuisine.

The mission that animates the widespread cuisine of the village mothers is to offer local and home cooking involving the local community by simply opening the doors of one’s home following a path that allows strangers to be part of the community without any artifice or forcing.

Motta Camastra reinvents itself

The village has thus reinvented itself, creating a moment of conviviality and revaluation of the territory developing, at the same time, an important employment opportunity for those who live in an area where work is scarce, and usually poorly paid, and who choose not to abandon it but rather reinvigorate it and make it known.

Il widespread kitchen project of Motta Camastra wants to go beyond food.

The objective of the mothers (and of Mammo, because a man is also involved in the project) also aims to revalue the territory.

In fact, it is advisable to arrive in the village by 7pm, just in time to participate actively in the kitchen or be accompanied on a walk to discover the village which, as the sun goes down thanks to the yellowish lighting, transforms, almost looking like a film set in which we all become actors of a very particular evening.

There are those who leave Motta and those who decide to stay to give it a chance, who fight not to let it die by doing something that, in the end, comes rather naturally to Sicilians: welcoming and sharing.

Do what you can
With what you have
Where you are

The mothers of the village of Motta Camastra

The dinner with the mothers of the village is generally a traveling event.
You move between stationsthat of appetizers and first courses and that of second courses and dessert, creating the perfect combination of village life and local cuisine.

Due to the pandemic, this 2020 started late and there was only one station, but for 2021 mothers are ready to start again with more stations, continuing to invest time, passion and dedication, in this idea which concludes a day at the river park well. ‘Alcantara and accompanies the discovery of rural and tasty Sicily.

The dinners do not have a fixed frequency, to find out the next date, generally from May to November, keep an eye on the Facebook page of the mothers of the Borgo and above all, book your place at the table in advance.
The cost of dinner is €25 per person.