Butter in cacio e pepe? Italians furious over British recipe twist

If you thought international diplomacy was about trade deals and political negotiations, think again. In Rome this week, culinary tradition took centre stage when an unlikely controversy bubbled over: butter in cacio e pepe.

When a “quick lunch” turns into a cultural clash

It all started when UK food platform Good Food described Roman cacio e pepe as a “speedy lunch” made with pasta, Parmesan, black pepper… and butter. For Italians, this was the equivalent of putting pineapple on pizza — and calling it authentic.

In Rome and across Italy, cacio e pepe is sacred. The traditional recipe is beautifully simple: pasta (often tonnarelli), black pepper, and pecorino Romano. No butter, no Parmesan, no shortcuts. The creamy sauce comes from whisking cheese and pasta water together, a method passed down for generations.

A formal protest lands on the ambassador’s desk

Claudio Pica, president of the Fiepet-Confesercenti hospitality group for Rome and Lazio, decided the matter was too serious for mere social media outrage. He lodged an official complaint, writing not only to the media company behind Good Food but also to the British ambassador in Rome. In his letter, he called the buttered-up recipe an “absurd mystification” of Roman culinary heritage.

Italian newspapers had a field day. One cheeky headline read, “God save the cacio e pepe,” a playful twist on the British national anthem.

A partial climbdown — and another faux pas

Following the backlash, Good Food quietly edited its recipe, replacing butter and Parmesan with the original holy trinity: pasta, pecorino, and pepper. But in a move that only stirred the pot further, it still suggested that struggling cooks could add double cream to make the sauce come together — a tip likely to send purists into fits.

Not Italy’s first pasta skirmish

This isn’t the first time Italians have risen up against culinary reinterpretations. In 2021, The New York Times triggered outrage with its “smoky tomato carbonara.” Cream in carbonara, chicken in Bolognese, and — of course — pineapple on pizza are all familiar flashpoints.

Why it matters beyond the plate

For many Italians, these disputes aren’t just about taste — they’re about respect. Food is woven into the country’s identity, a product of centuries of tradition, regional pride, and family recipes. Changing a dish’s DNA, especially one as iconic as cacio e pepe, can feel like rewriting history.

And so, in Rome this week, the battle lines were drawn not in parliament, but in the kitchen — proving once again that in Italy, the quickest way to start an argument is to mess with the pasta.

Source:IOL

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