One of the dishes served during the gourmet event.

Rita Russotto, who runs Ristorante Satra in Scicli in Ragusa, Sicily, along with her business partner and fellow chef, Manuel Distefano, teamed up with Ta’ Frenċ Restaurant’s head chef Mario Schembri and his kitchen brigade for a dinner, themed A taste of Sicily earlier this month.

“I discovered an unexplored place – Gozo – that is still virgin, with people who are warm, sincere, clever, efficient and happy to please,” she observed following the event.

She is largely self-taught and combines tradition with innovation and a deep respect for the identity of her immediate surroundings. Enrico Russino, who has been providing fresh herbs to Ta’ Frenċ for more than a decade, also provides her with all the aromatic herbs that make her cuisine stand out.

I discovered an unexplored place – Gozo – that is still virgin, with people who are warm, sincere, clever, efficient and happy to please

Russotto is also keen to use ingredients that have fallen into disuse or to give new interpretations to contemporary recipes.

One example is the Gaturro, a type of Sicilian polenta with roughly ground grain that she has relaunched as an arancino, instead of using rice.

Service for the six-course Ta’ Frenċ dinner was five star, with a constant flow of food and wine at regular intervals.

The meal included a fava bean soup, red mullet on sweet and sour onions, pine nuts and capers; lamb served with mashed Jerusalem artichoke, mustard greens and caramelised pastinaca; and fresh prickly pear ice cream accompanied by an almond and jasmine pudding with candied fig and a sprinkle of almonds.

The wines and a grappa were supplied by N.M. Arrigo Ltd.

The following day, Russino, owner of Gli Aromi di Russino in Scicli, led a workshop in which guests could taste two types of olive oil bottled for Ta’ Fren Tas-Salvatur, made from olive trees planted opposite Ta’ Frenċ 10 years ago, and Giarratana, with Frantoio olives from trees that have been growing in Tond Iblea for between 150 and 450 years.

He then encouraged guests to sample different types of dried herbs, all available from Ta’ Frenċ, including wild fennel, perennial basil, wild thyme and dried capers that are grown on Russino’s farm, which is also an eco-tourism destination.