How to host with Casa Lawa

Five years ago, Lukas Lewandowski bought a house from a grape grower on the slopes of Mount Etna. Raised in Poland, he worked in fashion throughout his twenties, living mostly in Amsterdam. He now runs his Sicilian home—Casa Lawa—as a guest house and retreat space.

Chefs line up to host there, creating summer retreats centred on seasonal produce like cherries and watermelon. The space itself is unforgettable. If you had to pick a theme, you might say ‘joy’. It’s an eclectic mix. Industrial steel bookshelves, huge sideboards in pastel colours, thick patterned rugs, a giant Fatboy sofa, tiger statues, a covetable lamp collection. Stripes, stripes, and more stripes. All of this working beside traditional elements: volcanic rock, wooden beams, stone flagged floors.

This is as far away as you could be from the one tone minimalist design that has become somewhat ubiquitous in our lives, from air b’n’bs, to coffee shops, even seeping into our own homes. Casa Lawa overflows with personality, comfort, and a hint of absurdity. Under the shadow of Mount Etna, it retains its Sicilian charm, while embodying Lukas’ unique taste.

We spent a day with Lukas and his team. Between a colourful breakfast, a wonderland-ish autumnal tablescape, and some ‘healing’ martinis, we got his take on how and why he loves to host.

Q&A with Lucas 

Do you like to dress up when you’re hosting or keep it casual?

I feel like when people come to Casa Lawa, they are naturally inspired to dress up. In Italy generally, people put a lot of effort into themselves when they go out for dinner, they want to look good. I think that’s wonderful! Whereas you go some places, and people just look like they came from the gym. I like it when people make a bit of an effort, yes.

Your home is full of wonderful crockery, glassware, cutlery and fabrics. Is that where you start when you think about laying a beautiful table?

I love all these things, but really I get most of my inspiration from nature. Flowers, seasonal produce–these make the best displays and they give you a sense of time and place too.

The colours also inspire me, even for what I wear. Right now, we have deep purple and bright orange plums, red and yellow apples. I like to think of creative ways to make a setting look magical. Today we are hanging apples from apple trees that we harvested last week! I love it. The orchard looks mythical, a little spooky.

Are there certain dishes you always turn to for hosting?

I love to have a good store of dressings, infusions, that kind of thing. So you can knock something up quite quickly that tastes amazing. It’s nice to make something that is fun to present, like salt-baked fish. And I love classic dishes: pasta al limone, pasta arabiata, polenta cake, chocolate mousse. I’ve also become obsessed with making gelato, sorbet, and cocktails. You can get so creative with flavours.

What ingredients are you loving at the moment?

I’ve always loved figs, but since I moved to Sicily I’ve discovered the power of fig leaves. We make ice cream, syrups, and teas. We wrap fish in them. It’s a great flavour to infuse. Tonight I’m making you a fig leaf martini! I infuse the gin with fig leaves and mix with white vermouth. I made a fig leaf oil with your lovely delicate Greek EVOO which came out a beautiful colour. But you could just do a few drops of straight olive oil.

Fig leaf gives this delicious coconut-like flavour, and a gorgeous colour to the gin. The cocktails look medicinal, like they will heal you!

Do you find hosting stressful?

Not really-I love it! But it can get overwhelming. I have so many ideas, sometimes I can take too much on, and then you have to know how to ask people to help you. You have to be ok with letting go of control a little bit, because actually people like to help, and it becomes a team effort and that’s what being together is all about.

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Have you ever had any hosting disasters?

I often want to host outside as we have all these beautiful spaces–the orchard, the poolside, the archway. And you think you can count on the weather in Sicily…But at the first wedding we hosted here, we set the whole table up under the arch using fresh fruit and flowers. Then the rain came and it sort of destroyed everything!

Rain is meant to be good luck for the couple, but it was definitely unexpected and challenging. Everyone was outside holding umbrellas. I also forgot that there was something in the oven and the smoke alarm went off! Ultimately, we moved inside as much as possible. It was still a great party, and super memorable.

Running Casa Lawa means you’re usually the host. Where do you go when you want to be the guest?

There’s an old monastery called Palazzo San Daniele in Puglia. I was doing a retreat there in May, so I guess I wasn’t totally a guest. But I felt very looked after. Every idea we had, they went along with, they were so accommodating. We did an aperitivo workshop in the orchard, a beautiful dinner, a movie night, and a yoga class in the chapel. The staff were so wonderful, it felt like visiting family.

When I’m genuinely relaxing, not working, I like to be at my friends’ houses. In Amsterdam, I know there will always be something waiting for me at Julia Khan’s place. Having friends like that gives me a real sense of belonging, especially because I travel a lot. And of course my mum’s house! She’ll cook me things from my childhood, Polish dishes like dumplings, bigos and soup. These are the places I love to go back to.

What do you bring as a gift to people when you’re a guest?

Right now I’m bringing olive oil! People love it. It is a change from wine and in Sicily, as it’s an olive oil-producing region, I can get the fresh harvest in time for Christmas to give to friends in London, New York and Amsterdam. Super green, peppery.

I don’t like to waste things, so when I wrap the bottles, I just use old pieces of newspaper, tied up with colourful string. You can make them look quite sculptural. And maybe give them something interesting to read too!

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For most people, Casa Lawa is a retreat. For you, it’s life! Where feels like a retreat for you?

I go to Ortigia. It’s my oasis. There are two small hotels where I stay and a rocky beach spot I always go to. But I also love city trips. I spend so much time in the countryside; cities give me new energy and fresh input. Especially when it comes to modern art, and trends. It’s a good balance to the inspiration I get from nature and the seasons.

If Etna erupted and you only had minutes to gather your favourite things in your hands, what would you take?

Something to protect me! Ganesha. I got it in India. A few years ago a couple with Indian heritage got married here, and their families were so happy to see this statue. It was amazing to have people see things in my house that had so much meaning and depth for them. So much that it kind of rewired my own relationship with it. I have a lot of reverence for it.

What do you hope remains with people after they’ve been hosted at Casa Lawa?

I’ve noticed that people leave this place a different person to the one they arrived. It might be on a micro level, or it can be huge; people have even changed their careers. Casa Lawa makes people believe that you can live differently, if you’re brave enough to really examine what you want. Right now, there is so much pressure to be on the treadmill of life, always going up. It can be suffocating. You don’t have to live like that. And this place reminds people of that.