For Chef Antimo DiMeo, curiosity is at the heart of his craft. Rooted in his Italian heritage, he brings a playful, boundary-pushing spirit to everything he creates. From his family’s pizzerias to the restaurants he’s shaping in Wilmington, Antimo is putting the city on the culinary map, and giving people a reason to come back. Be sure to follow his journey on Instagram!
You grew up working in your family’s Neapolitan pizzerias. What is something your family taught you about cooking that still influences how you approach food today?
My nonnas played a huge role in shaping the way I cook. I can still remember walking into the house on Sundays and smelling the ragù cooking, then everyone sitting around the table for hours. That feeling of family and togetherness is what food means to me, and it’s what I’m always trying to recreate.
Growing up in my family’s pizzerias taught me the beauty of simplicity, taking great ingredients and turning them into something delicious. I love being creative and pushing boundaries, but I never want to lose the soul of the food I grew up with. At the end of the day, I want people to feel cared for and brought together around the table.
You later trained in Italy with Chef Gennaro Esposito at Torre del Saracino. How did that experience change the way you thought about Italian cuisine and your own identity as a chef?
Working with Chef Gennaro Esposito at Torre del Saracino really set the foundation for my career. I was seeing ingredients I’d grown up with used in ways I had never imagined, which opened my eyes to what was possible.
The discipline was just as important. In a two-Michelin-star kitchen, everything had to be right, every single time. You’re only as good as your last service, and that mindset really stayed with me.
It taught me both the excitement of discovering what food can be and the discipline it takes to deliver it consistently. I’ll carry that with me forever.
Your cooking brings together traditional Italian foundations with modern techniques and global influences. How do you decide when to honor tradition and when to break from it?
For me, a dish always needs to have soul. I love pushing boundaries, but I also want to give people something they can connect with, something familiar or nostalgic, taken somewhere unexpected.
Our burrata Pop-Tart is a great example. Everyone recognizes a Pop-Tart, but they don’t expect it with burrata. It’s playful and unexpected, but most importantly, it has to be delicious.
My foundation is Italian, and I always want that soul to come through. But I’m inspired by food from all over the world. I love discovering new ingredients and techniques and finding ways to make them part of what we do. I never want to stop being curious.
Bardea Food & Drink opened in 2018 and quickly became an important part of Wilmington’s dining scene. Did you realize at the time that you were helping create a new chapter for the city’s culinary identity?
Wilmington is home for me now, and I love what we’ve created here. When we opened Bardea in 2018, I never imagined it would become what it is today. Being part of Wilmington’s culinary community and seeing how the city has embraced us has been incredible.
I’m proud when Bardea is mentioned among the great restaurants in Wilmington, Delaware, and the region. But one of the biggest compliments is when someone tells me they traveled here specifically to eat at Bardea. They chose to come to our city because of something we’re doing here, and I don’t take that lightly.
I had no idea where this journey would lead, but I’m incredibly proud of how far we’ve come and excited for what’s still ahead.
You’ve been recognized as a James Beard Best Chef: Mid Atlantic semifinalist. What did it feel like to see your name recognized alongside some of the region’s most respected chefs?
It was one of those moments that made me stop and take it all in. Early in my career, I set a goal of earning James Beard recognition as a chef, so seeing my name as a Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic semifinalist in 2022 was incredibly meaningful.
Bardea being named a Best New Restaurant was an incredible honor, and being recognized again as a Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic semifinalist in 2025 made it even more special.
In this industry, you spend so much time with your head down, working. It’s physical, mental, and takes incredible discipline. Sometimes you forget to stop and appreciate how far you’ve come.
Those moments make you do that. And sharing them with the people who helped you get there makes them even more special.
James Beard recognition can shine a spotlight not only on a chef but also on the people and city behind that chef. What did the recognition mean for your teams and for Wilmington as a dining destination?
Without the team, I am nothing. My name might be on the list, but none of this happens without the people beside me every day.
I’m huge on culture and making sure people feel proud of where they work. I want everyone wearing that Bardea B to feel good about what it represents and know that when recognition comes, it belongs to them, too. They’re the ones putting in the work every day.
For Wilmington, I want us to keep raising the bar and showing what’s possible in this city. We have an opportunity to put Wilmington on the map, while creating something the people who live here can genuinely be proud of.
The best part is looking around at our team, our partners, and our community and saying, “Wow, we did this together.” That means everything to me
The Bardea Restaurant Group has grown into several distinct concepts. How do you approach giving each restaurant its own identity while keeping your culinary point of view at the center?
Honestly, the creative process is one of the best parts of being a chef. I love starting with a blank slate and figuring out what each restaurant can become. Every concept challenges me to think differently, and I love that.
With Ezme, traveling through Turkey and Greece and experiencing the food firsthand was incredibly important. We came back inspired by what we had tasted and experienced and started thinking about how to translate that feeling into the restaurant.
With Bardea Steak, we’re a steakhouse, but we’re not trying to be a traditional one. We focus on snacks and steaks, and I want the meat itself to be an experience. There’s so much to explore beyond the usual cuts, and the snacks give us another opportunity to have fun.
My curiosity and approach to flavor will always be at the core, but each restaurant gives me a new way to express it. I want guests to walk into each one knowing they’re going to experience something different.
You’ve built your career around curiosity, taking Italian foundations and looking outward to other cultures, ingredients, and techniques. What are you currently obsessed with in the kitchen, and where do you think that curiosity will take you next?
Right now, I’m completely obsessed with lamination. There’s something almost magical about taking flour, butter, and time and turning them into a croissant with all those delicate layers. I love the precision of it, the folds, fermentation, and shaping, and getting deep into that process with our pastry team.
That’s what makes BEAN so exciting. With the full-scale bakery we’re developing, we’ll have the space and tools to really push what we can do, from nostalgic flavors to breads with incredible depth and character. I’m especially fascinated by fermentation and how much flavor you can develop from flour alone.
Ultimately, I want Wilmington to be a place people seek out for great food, not somewhere they feel they have to leave to find it. You shouldn’t have to go to France or a major city for an exceptional croissant or incredible bread. If we can create those experiences here, give people a reason to visit, and make our city proud, that’s what success looks like to me.
