Solidity and fantasy, classicism and Mediterranean. It is an eclectic cuisine, that of Vincenzo Guarino, a chef who has never lost time in his life: a native of Vico Equense, he joined Marchesi all’Albereta (chef Cracco) and Quisisana for two years, before moving to Switzerland at the court of another sacred monster, Frédy Girardet, performing stages from Roca and Scandinavia. The result is a bricolage of knowledge and tastes, elegance, great technique and style, so impeccable on bottoms and cooking, always at high school, as it is facetious in tearing a smile. As multifaceted as the public at large hotels, who have projected it into gastronomic empyrean. After the Sorrento peninsula and the Chiantishire, it is the turn of the shores of Lake Como, which bathe the Mandarin Oriental in Blevio. Location that suggested new harmonies with a Lombard accent: at the restaurant L’Aria the cuisine is Mediterranean, but with lake fish inserts, see the trout with almond and wasabi milk or the pike-perch like Milanese cutlet, and cheeses from Valtellina, as well as shrimp and pigeon. But the structure is still in progress: the jobs for the new bistro kitchen and the new rooms are already on the agenda, and there will also be a pizza outlet. “This is a chain that boasts 22 Michelin stars, relies heavily on F&B and gave me carte blanche on everything. As for the Med Cook, with Luisa Del Sorbo I have for years a relationship of friendship and esteem, as well as work. I appreciate the idea of uniting southern Italy and southern Europe, so as to know each other’s differences, create exchanges and relationships. At the Mandarin, sustainability is considered an essential value, not only in restaurant purchases: for example, plastic has been banned in favor of biodegradable materials”.