Due to the coronavirus pandemic, most events for this year’s edition took place online in a virtual marathon dedicated to the much-loved pasta dish, including live masterclasses with famous chefs.
Over the last five years, the annual celebration has become the world’s largest “spaghetti social” online, with more than 1.4 million Instagram posts containing the hashtag #Carbonara.
The origins of this internationally renowned dish are contested.
Some claim there is a connection to the carbonari, or coal-workers, of the Lazio and Abruzzo regions, with the black pepper used to season the dish thought to resemble coal dust.
This would indicate that the dish dates back to the mid-19th century.
However, another theory suggests that it arrived in Rome during World War II, when American troops brought their army rations of bacon and eggs to the Italian capital.
Regardless of its origins, traditionalists argue that true carbonara features just five essential ingredients: pasta, guanciale (pork cheek), pecorino, egg and black pepper.
On the other hand, innovators argue that since pasta is such a versatile dish, there should be no limits on how carbonara is interpreted.
