The classic Roman dish, cacio e pepe, has sparked outrage after a UK food website added butter and parmesan to the recipe. Traditionally made with just three ingredients—pasta, pecorino Romano, and black pepper—the altered recipe has drawn criticism from Italian restaurateurs and media alike. Join us as we dive into the controversy, explore the authentic method of making cacio e pepe, and discuss why respecting traditional recipes matters. Whether you’re a pasta lover or just curious about culinary culture wars, this video will give you all the details on the great ‘buttergate’ scandal.
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Buttergate. Why Italians are furious about a UK Kacio Pepe recipe. Prepare to be shocked. A simple pasta recipe has ignited a full-blown culinary controversy between the UK and Italy. And it all comes down to one unexpected ingredient, butter. If you thought food could never spark international outrage, think again. This is the story of how a beloved Roman classic, Cacio Aepe, became the center of a heated debate that’s now making headlines across Europe. It all started when Good Food, a leading UK food website, previously under the BBC umbrella and still using the BBC goodfood.com domain, published a recipe for Cacio a Pepe. The site described the dish as a store cupboard favorite and suggested it could be thrown together in no time for a quick lunch. Their version called for just four ingredients: spaghetti, black pepper, parmesan cheese, and here’s where it gets controversial. Butter. For many Italians, especially those from Rome, this was more than just a minor tweak. Traditional Kashio Aep is revered for its simplicity and authenticity. using only three ingredients. Pasta, typically tonerelli, a thick spaghetti, pecarino romano cheese, and freshly ground black pepper. The addition of parmesan and butter isn’t just a small change. It’s seen as a fundamental misunderstanding of the dish’s heritage. The backlash was swift and intense. FIPET Confesserenti, the main association representing Italian restaurant tours, announced it would formally request a correction from Good Food to protect the integrity of this iconic recipe. They even escalated the matter to the British embassy in Rome, underlining just how seriously Italians take their culinary traditions. Interestingly, the controversial recipe had been quietly sitting on the website for about 3 months. While a few readers had already pointed out the butter faux paw, it wasn’t until fipet confessor senti noticed the accompanying video showing a generous knob of butter melting in a pan that the issue exploded into the public eye. Clauddio Pika, president of the Rome branch of Fipet Confessor Centi, expressed his astonishment that such a respected food platform would misrepresent a dish so central to Roman and Italian identity. Letters have now been sent to both immediate media, the site’s owner, and the British ambassador to Rome, Edward Llewellyn. Pika emphasized, “This dish, a staple of Roman and Latzio cuisine, has been faithfully recreated around the world. We must respectfully correct the British media. The authentic kacio a pepe contains only pasta, pepper, and pecarino. No parmesan, no butter. But here’s the part most people miss. While some chefs do experiment with the recipe, the real issue is when these variations are presented as the original, potentially misleading millions of home cooks. Italian newspapers have had a field day with the scandal. Rome’s ill messengerro even joked paraphrasing the famous British anthem God saved the king. Rome restaurant tours are now saying God saved the kacio pepe. For context, the Guardian’s own 2021 kacio pepe recipe written by Felicity Cloak sticks to the classic trio pasta, pepper, and pecarino. No butter or parmesan in sight. And this isn’t the first time foreign media have ruffled Italian feathers over food. In 2021, the New York Times published a smoky tomato carbonara recipe which included tomatoes, a move that infuriated
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