Pietro Zito doesn’t like being called just a chef; he feels more comfortable with being defined as a farmer-chef. He learnt from his parents his love for his local region, and he now puts it into practice in the kitchen. At his restaurant in Montegrosso, to the north of Bari, the kitchen at Antichi Sapori is governed by some simple basic rules: Love for traditions, respect for raw materials, seasonality and excellence in ingredients.

There are no concessions to trends, just a continuous passionate search for what is really genuine about his local region. Pietro himself wanders around farms in search of the very best cheeses, or around fields gathering herbs. In keeping with this, he has set up “Orto mio”, a little garden alongside the restaurant where, together with his father, he grows plants and herbs that have almost been forgotten in the region.