With the Icona's Costa Ragusa Resort , the first property in the Icona's Collection under Mangia's Hotels & Resorts opened on Sicily's south-eastern coast in August 2026. Responsible for the gastronomy of the luxury resortis Executive Chef Andrea Graffagnino. He brings together regional produce and traditional recipes with modern techniques and international influences, channelling the culinary offering into three restaurant concepts (IBLÆ, AMA and TAVOLA A4): Sicilian cuisine, Japanese accents and communal dining at the table.
Andrea Graffagnino: A Return After Twenty Years
The Sicilian-born chef returns to his homeland after twenty years in Rome, Denmark and London. His career has taken him through the kitchens of, among others, Four Seasons and Belmond Hotels. Rome, he says, taught him respect for tradition, Denmark sharpened his eye for seasonality and plant-based produce, while London awakened his appetite for experimentation. Graffagnino describes the move to Sicily as the culmination of years spent developing his own culinary voice abroad. With Mangia's, he now leads a resort in which the kitchen is a central part of the guest experience.
IBLÆ, AMA and TAVOLA A4
At the Icona's Costa Ragusa Resort, Graffagnino oversees the entire gastronomic offering. IBLÆ represents ambitious Sicilian fine-dining cuisine. AMA combines Japanese influences with Mediterranean seafood. TAVOLA A4 focuses on communal dining at the table. Each restaurant follows its own culinary identity, with Sicilian cuisine forming the connecting foundation for all three concepts.
Ingredients from the Monti Iblei
Regional ingredients from the Monti Iblei, the hill country around Ragusa, play a central role. These include Ragusano DOP cheese, ricotta, almonds, olive oil and seasonal vegetables. The resort also maintains its own kitchen garden, where Graffagnino himself grows and harvests produce.
Palermitan Influences and Signature Octopus
Graffagnino draws inspiration from his grandmother's recipes and from the traditional cuisine of Palermo, shaped by Greek, Arab, Norman and Spanish influences . His approach to reinterpreting traditional dishes is exemplified by one of his signature creations: grilled octopus, inspired by Palermitan street food. Gently cooked first, then grilled and served with a bisque made from local crustaceans, accompanied by a lemon gel in place of the classic fresh lemon wedge. The crustacean bisque concentrates the flavours of the Sicilian Mediterranean, while the lemon gel replaces the traditional lemon slice as an acidic accompaniment.
Ispica Carrot, Spatola a Beccafico and Modica Chocolate
The Ispicacarrot, which reminds him of his childhood and also grows in the resort's kitchen garden, is served roasted, as a cream or raw and marinated. Depending on the dish, it takes on a different role: as a warm side, as an element alongside a fish course, or as a fresh accent. With Spatola a Beccafico, a preparation of swordfish with breadcrumbs, raisins and pine nuts, Graffagnino draws on a time-honoured Sicilian cooking tradition classically associated with sardines, here transposed to a fish widely found in Sicilian waters.
Modica chocolate, with its characteristic grainy texture, is showcased in desserts alongside Marsala and coffee. The granular consistency is achieved traditionally through cold-processing of the sugar, which remains crystalline and lends Modica chocolate its distinctive structure. Through his cuisine, Graffagnino unites international experience with regional heritage, shaping the identity of the resort in the process.
