Cambia-Menti
At Cambia-Menti, sustainability starts in the soil- but for Ciccio Vitiello, it does not end there. It extends to the people who work with him, the guests who sit at his tables, the history of his territory and the generations that will shape its future.
Ciccio Vitiello is a chef and pizzaiolo whose work is rooted deeply in the territory around him. At Cambia-Menti, his restaurant and pizzeria, he looks at gastronomy as something much broader than what eventually arrives on the plate. His approach connects agriculture, seasonality, technology, history and hospitality, with a strong belief that the most sustainable solutions are often the ones that have existed for generations.
His garden is at the centre of this philosophy. A closed-loop, regenerative system provides a significant part of the restaurant’s produce, while plants, soil, water and even so-called weeds are treated as interconnected parts of one living ecosystem. But Cambia-Menti is also an experiment in human sustainability: a restaurant where hierarchy is deliberately reduced, the well-being of the team is treated as a responsibility of leadership, and the experience of the guest is built around feeling genuinely cared for. For Vitiello, changing minds means looking at what we have inherited, understanding it differently and carrying its most valuable lessons into the future.
Ciccio Vitiello: Cambia-Menti’s garden is a closed-loop garden. The plants help each other. For example, the tagete flower grows with the zucchini, basil grows with the tomatoes, and chives work alongside the eggplant. If we look at the garden, we also see weeds growing in it. In our imagination, we think weeds are something negative. In fact, they help keep moisture in the ground, which allows us to save a huge amount of water. You can immediately notice that there is no chemical treatment being used to remove them.
We use drip irrigation. A satellite system scans the garden with a company called Neonia. It scans the territory and goes 13 centimetres below the ground. With an electromagnetic wave, it activates the drip irrigation system because the satellite tells us how much water is in the soil, how much water comes from the sky and how much water needs to be added.
The garden is not made only from the ground. The garden is made from the sky. By understanding the atmospheric conditions, we can understand how to manage the garden. It is a synergy garden, a regenerative garden, where plants help each other.
There are also composting worms. Worm castings are a natural fertiliser, so we put the worms into the soil. Everything that comes from the ground returns to the ground.
Ciccio Vitiello: Exactly. All the crops that have finished their cycle go into the composting worms. With humidity, fermentation begins, and that fermentation returns to the ground. Everything that comes from the ground returns to the ground.
Ciccio Vitiello: We can cover almost 80% of the restaurant’s supply from the garden. People ask, “But how can you do that if your covers are high?”
Our numbers are not high – by choice. We could satisfy another 35 or 40% of the demand, but we don’t do it, because then our sustainability would fall. We want to keep everything under control. With the booking system, we know how many people are coming and when the garden is ready. This allows the team to organise itself properly. And this is where sustainability becomes human sustainability.
Ciccio Vitiello: Because my team is my people. We are us.I am the first one who works with them. The boss figure can’t exist anymore. I try to be a good leader, but a good leader takes responsibility. And the responsibilities of a leader are not only numerical. They are human.
The first question we should ask a member of our team is: “How are you?” Are you alright? What happened today? You don’t seem okay today.
We know them. We live with them. So we know when someone is not well or when someone has had a bad day. We should ask them if everything is fine and if we can help. It is normal that we all have personal problems. We try to leave them in a transparent bag outside the workplace and pick them back up when we leave. But our sensitivity cannot be something negative. It has to be something positive. If we are sensitive, we can perceive everything around us. And what the team experiences is automatically experienced by the guests who come to Cambia-Menti. This is a clear example of how we respect everything and everyone — especially nature.
Ciccio Vitiello: We have a big responsibility: to make people feel good. Making people feel good and making them eat well go hand in hand for us. We want to bring a product to the table that is consistently excellent, because you need to build a relationship with the customer. Not simply to make them come back, but because they should feel that they are in safe hands. They need to know that at Cambia-Menti they will have an excellent pizza, feel good, be well looked after and feel valued. We even write in the reservation notes: “Is it a special occasion?” Tell us. Let us know. That way, we can make the occasion even more special.
Ciccio Vitiello: Yes. It is essential to feel pampered.
Ciccio Vitiello: Think about McDonald’s. A child always has a little present inside the Happy Meal. The gift makes children want to go back, and they drag the adults with them. Someone might say, “I would never go to McDonald’s.” But the child brings them. We have a great strength here: children are our biggest fans.
Maybe it is also because of my name. Ciccio, Ciccio, Ciccio, Ciccio. Ciccio Bello.
When children arrive, we give them sheets to draw and colours, so they don’t have to stay in front of a screen. They become an integral part of the table. It is about conviviality. Cambia-Menti has a mission. It is about introducing people to the whole Cambia-Menti tribe and everything that is part of Cambia-Menti. This is absolutely key. After their second visit, customers start calling the staff by name.
We introduce ourselves every time we take an order, so that guests know who they are speaking with and who their point of reference is. The restaurant is divided into stations. There is always a Chef de Rang and a Commis. The only question team members can ask each other is: “Do you need anything? Do you need help?” That’s the only question. We have eliminated hierarchy. There is no more Chef, Pizzaiolo, Sommelier, Director, First Pizzaiolo. No. We are a team.
Ciccio Vitiello: Sometimes I say that we haven’t invented anything. We are simply reviewing things with new processes and new technologies. We take what comes from the past and make it as positive as possible. In my opinion, Generation Z, which is often seen as a danger to the world, will be the salvation of the world.
Because they have a different mentality.
Ciccio Vitiello: Exactly. They have a different sensitivity. That’s why sometimes they find themselves in trouble.
Ciccio Vitiello: Exactly. We don’t understand them. They already know that we went too fast. And we don’t understand that they want to slow down. But that is also an instinct of survival of the species.I always say: let’s slow down.
Ciccio Vitiello: Did you see who was serving you at the table last night? Guys who are 18, 19, 20 years old. Until three years ago – very recently- we would say, “Young people don’t want to do anything.” That’s not true. I understood that we need to choose the words we use with them carefully. You have to think about the words you say to them, so that they feel listened to. And when they feel listened to, they are incredibly avant-garde. They are at the forefront, because today’s technologies are smarter. I have an eight-year-old girl. Mentally, she’s twelve. They are faster.
Ciccio Vitiello: They are much more informed, but they walk slowly.
Ciccio Vitiello: Exactly. But they already have the vision. The problem is that they are a little polluted by society. And that is why the team at Cambia-Menti changes minds. There is no more hierarchy.
Chef Instagram:@cicciovitiello_cv
Restaurant Instagram: @cambiamenti.cv
Restaurant Address: Via Generale Pasquale Tenga, 84, 81100 Caserta CE, Italy
Ciccio Vitiello is an Italian pizzaiolo and entrepreneur from Caserta, founder of Casa Vitiello and Cambia-Menti, known for experimental dough research, sustainable practices, and a contemporary, research-driven approach to pizza.
