GORDON'S IN THE SOUP

Oh dear, oh dear! Yes, I just checked and he really did say it: Chef Gordon Ramsay, during episode 1 of his roadtrip cookery programme Gordon, Gino and Fred Go Greek, first commented that Greek cooks are as good as their French and Italian counterparts and then said that actually, Greek cooking is better than Italian. This, as you can imagine, has not gone down exactly well in Italy and it stupefied Ramsay's travel companion Gino D'Acampo too, whilst French maître d'hôtel Fred Siriex appeared to agree with Ramsay, citing the longevity of the Greeks. (Has he ever been to Ispica, I wonder?)

There are plenty of amusing comments in the outraged newspaper articles this event has inspired and some of the comments on social media make good reading too, referring to Ramsay's rather unconventional -  and therefore scandalous to Italians - interpretations of traditional Italian dishes.

Me? I love both Greek and Italian cuisine but I have never been lucky enough to eat Greek food in Greece. Therefore I would say I have a slight bias towards the country I live in but other than that I'm keeping out of it!

It was the Greeks who brought grapes, figs, olive trees and pomegranates to Sicily, among other culinary plants and of course they planted vineyards. Some say that even pasta may have originated in Greece but nobody knows for sure.

I did think of adding a poll to this post but then remembered that such ventures sometimes end in the resignation of Prime Ministers and the withdrawal of a country from a trading bloc so perhaps it is best to leave well alone. I would love to read your preferences in the comments, though.

Meanwhile it doesn't seem as if Gordon is going to eat humble pie so he might just have cooked his goose in Italy.

SUMMER TIDES - 5

The saddest news I have to report tonight is that, when the migrant boat involved in last week's tragedy was finally brought to Pozzallo, 45, not 27 or 30, bodies were found, jammed into the hold.  Four men have beern arrested by Sicilian police on suspicion of people trafficking.  Last Wednesday the front page of La Sicilia carried the headline "Mare Mortum".

On Sunday night around 100 migrants, including women and children, arrived on Ispica beach. It was the usual story: an inadequate boat carrying them had managed to elude patrols, brought them within sight of the beach, forced them into the water and then made a fast getaway.  Let us hope that no one drowned.

It is estimated that 2,600 migrants were saved by the Italian Navy and other Mare Nostrum operatives over the weekend. Premier Renzi has again said that the operation must continue but with EU support:

"It is not possible, in 2014, to let a ship full of children sink because we don't know whose jurisdiction it is in.  We save them."

The week has seen several protests in Sicily by both residents and migrants: The inhabitants of Siculiana [Agrigento] protested against the sheer numbers of migrants arriving in their small town but things seem to have calmed down for the moment now that the Mayor has had a meeting with Interior Minister Angelino Alfano, who listened to her concerns. Mr Alfano promised that the number of arrivals in the town would be carefully regulated and gave assurances regarding public health. He also said that the EU at last appears to be realising that Italy, and especially Sicily, cannot take sole responsibility for the migrants after they have been rescued.

Yesterday in Caltagirone, where 110 unaccompanied migrant minors have been living in overcrowded and quite insanitary conditions, the situation exploded. The young migrants destroyed furniture and broke glass in their centre, then set up street blocks nearby. Who can blame them? They say they cannot maintain personal hygiene in these conditions, that they do not have enough drinking water [temperatures in Sicily are reaching 40 C now ] and that their meals are served cold. They also say they do not have enough clothing and are not given any spending money - to which, as asylum seekers, they are entitled - or phone cards. They only want to be listened to but at the moment have no access to anyone who might understand their problems.

As I write, Sicily waits: a Libyan politician said last week that at least 3 million migrants are preparing to leave Libya in an attempt to reach Italian shores during the summer.

A SPOT OF LIFE EXTENSION

Carni e pisci, a vita ti crisci - Meat and fish prolong your life.

- Sicilian proverb

If the above proverb has any truth in it, my friend Carol and I did a little life-prolonging when we had a meal at Bar Cicara on Saturday night:

First, this generous plate of antipasti came with our drinks:

When we ordered our meal we were asked if we wanted another platter of antipasti but we passed on that.  It was just as well that we did as they don't believe in small portions when it comes to the main course, either.  We both had steak:

And talking of long life, Corriere della Sera today reported that the oldest living person in the world is now 115-year-old Dina Manfredini of Iowa, USA. Born in Modena [Emilia-Romagna] in 1897, Mrs Manfredini  is also one of the last four living people to have been born during the reign of King Umberto I.  Although she left Italy at the age of 23, she still occasionally speaks Italian to her local priest.

But if you want to live a mere 100 years, the place to come to is, as I've written before, Ispica!

LIFE EXPECTANCY HIGHER IN SICILY

According to statistics released last week Sicilian women may now expect to live until they are 83 and men until  they are 78. This represents increases of 1.3% and 1.6% respectively as compared with 2004.

Circulatory disease is the main cause of death in Sicily for both sexes and the figure, at 43%, is higher than the national average. The second most common cause of death is cancer, presenting as breast cancer in women and colon or rectal cancer in men.

If I may make a totally personal and medically unfounded observation on this point, I have noticed quite a high instance of colonic illness even in my immediate circle and it is my theory that, despite the Arabic influences of their past, the fact that Sicilians have not adopted more of the spice cookery of the Mediterranean may play a part here.

However, there is hope for those who live in Ispica [a little town about 10 minutes from Modica]:

"Chi viene a Ispica compierà 100 anni - Those who come to Ispica will live to the age of 100."

I hope that residence is not a qualification and that my occasional visits will suffice.

CONGRATULATIONS - HERE IS YOUR FINE

"The inhabitants of Ispica", goes a local saying, "will live to be 100".  And when they reach that great age they receive, not a telegram from their head of state, as in the UK, but a nice fat fine from their city of origin, it seems.

Signora Michela Concetta Leontini, who celebrated her hundredth birthday on 10th January, was dismayed to be handed, a few days later, a fine of over €6,000 for non-payment of a rubbish collection tax in Ispica for the years 2005 - 2010. She has not lived in the house referred to for 72 years, having left Ispica for Ragusa in 1939 and Ragusa for Rome, where she still lives, in 1950.

The house is not only uninhabited but has never had running water, electricity or gas.  Signora Leontini intends to contest the fine at Ragusa County Court.

THREE BLUE FLAGS FOR RAGUSA

The Blue Flag Programme, which is run by the non-profit Foundation for Environmental Education [FEE] and, in Italy, the Consorzio nazionale per batterie esauste and Enel Sole, has announced its 2011 awards and I am happy to be able to report that six Sicilian beaches are among the 233 Italian locations which will be able to fly the famous flag this year. These are:

Lipari [Messina]
Fiumefreddo di Sicilia - Marina di Cottone [Catania]
Ispica [Ragusa]
Pozzallo [Ragusa]
Marina di Ragusa [Ragusa]
Menfi [Agrigento]

The two new entrants are Lipari and Ispica.  The Province of Ragusa, as you see, has done very well.

Blue flags are awarded to beaches in 41 countries in Europe, South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, New Zealand, Brazil, Canada and the Caribbean and beauty, water quality, services, safety, child and disabled access and environmental awareness are all taken into account when nominations are being considered.

In Italy as a whole Liguria tops the table with 17 flagged beaches,  Tuscany and Marche are in joint second place with 16 each and Abruzzo is third with 14.  

Pozzallo