[Escape to Italy 04] • Spring in Sicily

Three very different women arrive on the stunning island of Sicily for a cookery class promising incredible food, breathtaking scenery and a taste of Italian culture. It is hosted every year in the spring by Chef Isabella, in her little stone villa in the old town of Taormina.

Thirty-five year old Kate hopes a short break will take her mind off her infertility problems. Can time away help her come to terms with the fact that she may never be a mum?

Martha is in Sicily against her will. The break was a 50th birthday gift from her children, all of whom have now fled the nest. With the family gone and nobody left to mother, she has no idea what to do with herself. Can she rediscover some of her zest for life while in Italy?

Olivia is a travel writer, in Sicily to write a feature on the growing popularity of Isabella’s famed cookery class. She is intrigued to find out what makes previous guests rave about the short break. Is it the food, the location and the incredible scenery?

Or is there an alchemy about Chef Isabella, and her instinctive way of knowing that her students require more than cultural or food knowledge, but a means to balm their souls...