National Fettuccine Alfredo Day – which falls every year on 7 February – celebrates one of Italy’s best-loved exports: Fettuccine Alfredo!
This pasta dish, which originates in Rome, at a restaurant called Alfredo Alla Scrofa, is a simple affair combining butter and parmesan.
But made with the best quality ingredients, Fettuccine Alfredo is something else.
At Alfredo Alla Scrofa, wafer-thin, handmade fettuccine, which cook in around 4 minutes, are tossed with melted butter and the finest quality cheese. The final flourish is added table-side in the restaurant to ensure that the ingredients are perfectly amalgamated.
The secret lies in the quality: Alfredo Alla Scrofa uses only butter made by Beppino Occelli, produced in Piemonte’s Langhe territory, and 24-aged parmesan sourced from the famous Gennari dairy. It’s a great quick dish when you need a burst of energy to explore Rome.
Fettuccine are a kind of egg pasta typical of central Italy. The name derives from the Italian word ‘affettare’ (slice), as it is made by slicing thin layers of pasta, which have been rolled up, into fine, even ribbons.
National Fettuccine Alfredo Day: February 7
Alfredo Alla Scrofa proudly upholds the tradition of National Fettuccine Alfredo Day with a party or special event every year, which sometimes involves a glamorous gala for local celebrities, or sees the Alfredo Alla Scrofa team go and help the city’s neediest with an impromptu soup kitchen.
The key is capturing the spirit of the moment, and in that vein, this year’s National Fettuccine Alfredo Day is all about helping Rome’s beleaguered restaurant scene.
Multiple lockdowns, limited opening hours and last minute forced closures throughout the pandemic have brought many of Rome’s restaurants and bars to their knees.
While Rome and the Lazio region has been denoted a ‘yellow zone’ from 1 February 2021 – which means that restaurants can welcome guests for eat-in dining once again – the medium-term outlook for restaurants in Rome is not clear. Should cases climb once more, restaurants may be forced to shutter again.
National Fettuccine Alfredo Day: the web series
With all this in mind, the good folk of Alfredo Alla Scrofa have decided to seize the day and release a specially-recorded web series throughout the first week of February, leading up to National Fettuccine Alfredo Day, which adresses the Rome restaurant crisis.
The theme of the web series, dubbed Amor, are the icons of Roman cuisine and it’s all about Rome’s restaurants supporting each other at this difficult time.
Created by media students from Rome’s IED, the seven videos in turn visit the kitchens of Armando al Pantheon, Al Ceppo, Aroma, Tordomatto, Il Convivio Troiani, and Acquolina. Each episode stars Alfredo Alla Scrofa owners Mario Mozzetti and Veronica Salvatori, interviewing a range of top chefs and restaurant entrepreneurs.
Each video is being released daily on the web from 1 to 7 February, with the story of Alfredo alla Scrofa saved for last – broadcasting on National Fettuccine Alfredo Day.
You can find them on Alfredo Alla Scrofa’s Instagram and Facebook channels, enriched with witty Roman expressions wryly translated by Rome is More.
And, for a limited time, you can also buy special packs of fettuccine and aged parmesan at the Alfredo Alla Scrofa e-shop or restaurant, featuring a QR code that leads to a specially recorded video recipe from chef Mirko Moglioni.
So there are really no excuses not to be dining on Fettuccine Alfredo for this year’s National Fettuccine Alfredo Day! Have you tried this iconic dish yet?
If you’re looking for other unmissable dining experiences in Rome , check out my posts on brunch in Rome, some of the best places for lunch in Rome, and my guide to Rome’s aperitivo culture! Bon appetito!
