While some chefs may experiment with the dish, the main concern is that the website misled readers by presenting its version as the original.
Italians often mock foreigners for their interpretation of their recipes, but the indignation in this case is about something deeper: tampering with tradition.
Maurizio and Loredana run a hotel in central Rome – it’s been in their family for four generations.
“You can do all the variations in the world – but you cannot use the original Italian name for them, said Maurizio. “You cannot say it is cacio e pepe if you put butter, oil and cream in it. Then it becomes something else.”
He added: “You have to yield to Caesar that which is Caesar’s!”
Giorgio Eramo runs a fresh pasta restaurant near St Peter’s square – serving up cacio e pepe and other traditional pasta dishes.
“It’s terrible. It’s not cacio e pepe… What Good Food published, with butter and parmesan, is called ‘pasta Alfredo’. It’s another kind of pasta,” he said.
On his restaurant’s board of pastas, he offers cacio e pepe with lime – a variation. But he says that’s ok.
“It’s different, it’s for the summer, to make the pasta more fresh. But it doesn’t impact the tradition. It’s not like cream or butter. Lime is just a small change.”
Dining and Cooking