andiamotrips - campania, italy with karen phillips

I've spent time in many kitchens over the past 12 years or so, but this one,  well this one was special. I spent several hours  deep in the heart of Naples housed in a courtyard… I spent a cool rainy afternoon at Made in Cloister.  So what made this particular kitchen visit special ?    Does a kitchen need to have a Michelin star to be special?   Does an experience need to include a sit down meal with an appetizer, first course second course dessert choice of wines from an extensive wine menu.    I do not believe so.   I   spent time in the kitchen in the company of Chef Sabrina Russo the executive chef of Made in Cloister .    Russo, the  mind and hands behind the project Food for Soul which is a project headed by 3 Michelin star chef Massimo Bottura whose goal is to cut down on food waste and turn unused/unwanted produce, meats, and breads into meals that can be cooked and given to the needy.   Chef Russo has been responsible for the Naples’s chapter of this amazing project

  Karen, have you spoken to Giuseppe lately?  Do you know he opened up a restaurant?  Really?   I asked my friend Luca.   Where? In the city... It has been a couple of years since I had seen Giuseppe.   A couple of crazy years, so, no- I was unaware that after last summer in Ischia, my friend, maître sommelier Giuseppe Di Ruocco had recently opened up a restaurant in Fuorigrotta in Naples.   Bothanica. Bothanica is a green oasis in the heart of the city, not far from downtown Naples.   Not far from the soccer stadium, right next to a very busy hospital.   But you soon forget all that as you turn down the dirt road that takes you into a place world’s away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Naples is like that.   It has hidden pockets of peace that let you take a little break form the city without leaving the city. It is in this little pocket where Di Ruocco and Mario Maselli opened up Bothanica e few months ago.   Bothanica – a concept where Di Ruocco could express hi

  Chef Luigi Costigliola and Restaurant Manager Luca Costagliola Ok, but why is the restaurant named Bugiarda? I asked with a smile and giggle.      That was one of my questions during my pre pre-dessert chit chat with Chef Luigi Costigliola and  Restaurant Manager Luca Costagliola in Hostaria Bugiarda ’s cool cozy dining room last Sunday afternoon.   You see, bugiarda in Italian means liar – and I had just spent the last couple of hours with these two cousins who  took me on an enogastronomical journey full of flavors, creativity, some surprises-but no lies. A journey which began soon after Luca showed me to my comfy corner booth and asked me what I’d like to drink.   You decide, please , was my response, but let’s try to keep it in Campania.   Montenuovo Rosé Campi Flegrei  Piedirosso, Cantine Babbo     Luca poured a glass, I sipped as Luigi sent out his welcome- pane e panelle – a fried chickpea sandwich on a homemade bun.