andiamotrips - campania, italy with karen phillips

I honestly didn't expect a visit to the garden last Saturday afternoon, but the chef told me to grab my jacket and follow him outside. One of the first things I noticed when Chef Giovanni Solofra took me to the restaurant's organic garden was it's size. Chef Solofra is not only the Executive Chef of Savoy Hotel & Spa in Paestum (Sa), but is also a 2 Michelin starred chef of Ristorante Tre Olivi located inside the hotel. Here's a look.

Ciao, guys! For part 2 of the In the Kitchen Campania Christmas series, Chef Mario Avallone of La Stanza del Gusto in Naples, Italy shares one of his Christmas holiday memories.

  The holiday season has kicked off and what better time to start thinking about what is going to be popping up on our tables this period. In Campania a popular item is pizza, of course. I’m not talking about a pizza margherita or marinara. The other evening at  Foorn Soccavo , in Naples, Italy, I hosted  Le Pizze delle Feste  -an event to discuss these robust  pizza pies  with a group of Neapolitans. Over a glass or two of wine, we tasted 4 pizzas, a sfogliatella riccia, and a panettone while sharing stories, recipes, and memories. By my side was the talented  Chef Giovanni Erculanese . Here’s a bit of what went down. The first pizza that we tried was the  pizza di scarola  or pizza with escarole. Pizza di Scarola is a traditional Neapolitan dish that originated in Naples, Italy during the 18th century. It was initially considered a meal for the less financially fortunate, as it was made with the simple ingredients; The basic ingredients are...

Curious about the traditions and recipes of the Campania region? So am I ! Enough to speak with two of the region's top chefs- both based in Naples, Italy. To start things off, I asked Chef Marco Ambrosino about some of his Christmas memories. Here he shares a particular one, recipe included, from his island of Procida.

  I recently had the opportunity to visit Alois Winery  , a family winery located in the Caserta province.   This winery, located in Pontelatone, not far from the Caserta palace, has been around for over 30 years.  It is a winery that focuses on the production of three grape varieties tied to the territory- Pallagrello Bianco (white ), Pallagrello Nero and Casavecchia (red).   The drive from my house to the winery takes about 50 minutes or so.   On my way there, I realized that I hadn’t been in 8 years.   8!   Wow.   Did I remember the way?   Maybe better to use Google Maps.   I arrived without problems. The harvest was just over, but no problem.   I decided to visit the vineyards another time.   My eyes were attracted to the bottles.   A certain set of bottles in particular.   Their Crus-their wines produced from particular vineyards.   Trebulanum® Casavecchia di Pontelatone DOC – Casavecchia Morro...

I'm so excited to announce my first in a series of events where the focus is the food and wine of the Campania region.  If you are in the Naples area on the 6th of December, check this out.  Proceeds will go to support my In the Kitchen Campania crowdfunding campaign. Details: December 6th, 8 pm Reservations are necessary 081 353 4113 Foorn Soccavo Via Risorgimento, 8-12,  80126 Napoli NA

  The Dream Over the past 14 years, I have travelled the Campania region visiting over  100 of the region's   restaurants .  I have enjoyed sharing my gastronomic  adventures on my blog, Andiamotrips, as well as on various social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook.  My focus has always been to share through words, photos and videos to  those, like me, who  want to discover the traditions, stories, and recipes of this vast and varied region.  Over the years, I realized that one of the best ways to learn about Campanian cuisine was to observe those who have made it their profession.  To visit those who work day to day  in the kitchen . I have often dreamt about how I could share this passion of mine with the world.  How it might be exciting to go one step further, go that extra mile.  Now I strongly believe that I am ready to take that dream to a new level by creating a video travel diary documentary series ...

  Your journey in life changes you.   Your passions eventually become your professional projects expressing your talent and dreams. So, after more than 14 years of storytelling on my blog Andiamotrips I have chosen to start a new professional chapter and to create, in first person, a digital documentary series that explores the cuisine of Italy’s Campania region.   The project will be launched in preview with a crowdfunding campaign on the website www.eppela.com at the personalized address www.eppela.com/inthekitchencampania starting from November 9 with which it will be possible to participate and support the development of the project. In the Kitchen Campania is a digital documentary series that explores the cuisine of Campania. I chose to include the phrase in the kitchen because in Campania that is the focal point of the house. A place where friends and family can feel free to discuss just about anything. In this series I will meet with chefs in their kitche...

Ciao, guys! I've been hinting about it for days, and maybe some of you have figured it out. I have an exciting announcement. After over 14 years of narrating the places and players of food, wine and tourism in Campania and Italy, I decided to create my own video culinary journal, to discover the places and personalities of the region.  It’s name? In the Kitchen Campania.  The project will be supported with a crowdfunding campaign that will go live on the 9th of November on the crowdfunding site  www.eppela.com . The  site is in Italian, but my  project will pre presented in 2 languages.  Feel free to go to the Eppela site and pre register, that way you will be ready on the 9th of November. So what do you say?  Ci vediamo in the kitchen!

  After a successful first edition last year, the Monteruscello Fest is back. It will be held in Piazza Agro City on 11 and 12 September and this year will be dedicated to the theme "we are one", just to underline how all the main social actors of the territory, institutions, citizens, entrepreneurs are on the side of the overall growth of this neighborhood and how Pozzuoli is, in fact, only one: from the sea to the border with Quarto. This year, the event will last two days, instead of just one and will feature 200 operators in the food sector. As always, among the stands there will be chefs,  pizza restaurateurs, pastry chefs all ready to guarantee a particular gastronomic offer. The intent is first and foremost beneficial: to support the Telethon Foundation program dedicated to Diseases Without Diagnosis implemented by Tigem (Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine), thanks to the donations of those who want to participate in the event that is entirely non-profi...

In just a couple of weeks, the 7th Edition of Ischia Safari kicks off  This fund raising event has reached it's 7th edition  featuring chefs, pizzaioli, pastry chefs, and artisans from the food and beverage sector with one objective in mind.  That objective is to raise money to train young people in the hospitality industry.  This year, the  funds raised will be dedicated to  an institute in Emilia Romagna that the Saperi e Sapori  A ssociation , promoter of the event , has identified  with the support of local chefs .  The dates for this not to miss event are the 17th-19th of September.   Nino Di Costanzo and Pasquale Palamaro "The commitment is as always at the highest levels"  – explain the Ischian starred chefs Nino Di Costanzo and Pasquale Palamaro , the two creators among the promoters and organizers of the event -. Already last year we witnessed the resumption of the event that for two years had been sto...

 Ciao, guys! Maybe you've noticed that the blog posts have been few and far between this year.  No need to be concerned, though.  Those of you who have been following me for some time may know that I can also be found on other platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Youtube . (Find the links here on Linktree ). You may know that I have opened up a travel shop on the Thatch Travel App where I design travel guides and offer custom services. What you may not now, however, is that I have recently opened up a newsletter/website on Substack.  You can follow me there and/or subscribe (for free) to my newsletter, notes, videos and all kinds of fantasticaaa fun!  Here is the link -   Hope to see you there as well!

  Chef Marco Ambrosino For me, waiting to try a new restaurant can be exciting.   As it was in the case of  Sustanza Restaurant which opened up about a couple of months ago. The restaurant is part of an ambitious project to bring a life back to Galleria Principe located across the street from the very popular Archaeological Museum in downtown Naples. A galleria rich in Neapolitan history   dating back to the late 1800s housing among many things, what is known as a caffè letterario - a literary caffè.   You may remember that I wrote about Scotto Jonno – part 1 of the project on my blog here.   That blog post ended by me making a promise to myself.   A promise that I would return when the restaurant opened on the second floor.   I chose the evening of the 22 nd of June and was greeted by Chef Marco Ambrosino and the dining room staff as I exited the elevator.     I was given a quick tour of the restaurant which included two small di...