Ditirambo Nights Logbook – Part One
Caruso, a Belmond Hotel Amalfi Coast – Wednesday 11 June 2025, 7:00 p.m.
The Night One of the Three
By Emilia Filocamo – 8th june 2025
Wednesday 8 June, 9:45 a.m. – 4 days before the event.
Armando Aristarco, Executive Chef at Caruso, a Belmond Hotel Amalfi Coast, already has the menu in mind—but he’s not ready to reveal it. After all, in the finest magic shows, the trick is never explained; mystery is part of the spectacle.
He’s sitting in front of me, seemingly distracted, but it’s the kind of distraction that smells like creation. He’s already composing, pairing, blending. I won’t ask him about his culinary philosophy—too predictable, and by now, quite familiar. For Armando Aristarco, cuisine is a journey. And how could it not be, for a chef who has travelled so extensively before returning to his roots?
Cooking is all about departures and homecomings, luggage and destinations, farewells and unexpected arrivals. It’s about souvenirs and scents that awaken memories, about textures and echoes. And in this case—at Caruso, a Belmond Hotel Amalfi Coast—it’s a journey from one coast to another. As if two distant shores, respectful neighbours for centuries, had finally decided to bridge the gap and meet halfway in an ideal embrace. That meeting place is Caruso.
And so begins the logbook of a very particular journey—one that departs from the Amalfi Coast, specifically from Ravello where Caruso stands, and makes its way to the Cilento Coast: authentic, gently mysterious, wild and ancient. The occasion is a project launched three years ago celebrating the Mediterranean Diet. The event, now in its second edition, is called Ditirambo Nights.
The table is the meeting point, the Caruso Grill its stage—an elegant trattoria within the hotel. Here, two or more producers from Cilento or the Amalfi Coast come together to share their stories and challenge each other, playfully, through the products that define them. With Armando Aristarco’s creative genius, these ingredients are transformed into a menu that celebrates their labour and the Mediterranean Diet—an emblem not only of Cilento, where it was born, but of an entire region and a whole country. A symbol of good living, physically and mentally.
Cilentan ritual music will accompany the evening, brought to life by the ballads and folk tunes of Maestro Angelo Loia and his ensemble. The name “Ditirambo” nods to Greece—fitting, given we’re in the heart of Magna Graecia. This is an event that celebrates the joys of food and life, the passion that arises from the right harmony—whether musical or culinary. A note is an ingredient; an ingredient is the right note in a composition that becomes a dish.
The 2025 edition of Ditirambo Nights promises new perspectives—journeys across sea, land and, as we’ll see in the next pages, even sky.
Wednesday 11 June is The Night of the Three: three producers, three ways to interpret a culinary journey across Campania, stitching coast to coast.
The protagonists:
Pietro D’Elia, with his crispy peperone crusco from the Vallo di Diano
Giulio Giordano, with the prized anchovy colatura from Cetara
Adolfo Grimaldi, with the famous Giffoni hazelnuts
The Caruso Grill becomes more than a bridge between the coasts—it reaches inland, from the Picentini Mountains to the Vallo di Diano, before arriving in the colourful fishing village of Cetara, among its nets and lobster pots.
Armando, this is the second edition of Ditirambo Nights. What fascinates you most about this experience, and what do you take away each time from meeting the producers?
At the heart of Ditirambo Nights is our connection with the producers—a relationship that’s absolutely essential, and one we’re committed to celebrating and enhancing. Behind my cooking, there’s always them—their products. That’s what brought me back to Italy. When I worked abroad, I chose my ingredients from a catalogue. Now, I get them directly from the producers’ hands.
On the evening of 11 June—the so-called “Night of the Three”—you’ll be working with three producers: Giulio Giordano with anchovy colatura, Pietro D’Elia with peperone crusco, and Adolfo Grimaldi with Giffoni hazelnuts. Can you give us a glimpse into the menu and the kind of journey you’re offering guests?
Ditirambo Nights is part of a larger project called Agorà, dedicated to the Mediterranean Diet. I can’t reveal too much—part of the magic lies in the surprise—but just imagine what could come from the meeting of peperone crusco and anchovy colatura. As for the hazelnut, I’m saving it for dessert—where a product of such excellence can truly shine.
At Caruso, you move fluidly between the fine dining of Ristorante Belvedere and the Mediterranean Diet homage at the Caruso Grill. Your culinary philosophy balances tradition and innovation with ease. Is there a Cilentan product you consider truly gourmet?
At Caruso, the Mediterranean Diet is a constant presence—from breakfast to dinner, and even at the spa. At Caruso Grill, it wears a sporty, comfortable look. At Ristorante Belvedere, it’s dressed for the evening. What remains unchanged is the soul.
Let’s take the three ingredients for 11 June—peperone crusco, anchovy colatura, and hazelnuts. Think about their flavours, aromas, textures. Can you link each of them to a specific moment in your life or career, and explain why?
The peperone crusco takes me back to my time in Milan, when my mentor Andrea Aprea would prepare his famous risotto with it. The anchovy colatura reminds me of the end of summer, visiting my grandfather. Every September, he’d prepare anchovies in salt. I remember the pungent aroma hitting me on the stairs, wafting up from the cellar. And hazelnuts? They remind me of my teenage years—of joy and indulgence. I think of Duplo bars, and how disappointed I was when the hazelnut wasn’t whole. The perfect hazelnut was a little victory.
10:10 a.m. – Interview ends.
The Duplo anecdote isn’t just a nostalgic reference. Chefs, as we know, often use a single ingredient or a corner of a plate to express something much deeper than what’s being served. In this case, that hazelnut speaks of hunger for life, for surprise, for triumph. And a broken hazelnut? It represents the refusal to settle for less—typical of someone who believes in their ability to achieve the dream, whole.
Armando Aristarco returns to the kitchen. Meanwhile, the Cilento coast is already swimming metaphorically towards Ravello, with a vessel full of peperoni cruschi. It’ll stop in Cetara just long enough to gather a little colatura. And from the heights of the Picentini Mountains, a scatter of dark-hearted, sweet hazelnuts is rolling downhill, ready to join them in Ravello.