The story of Mario

It takes just three ingredients: fettuccine as thin as bedsheets, fresh mountain butter, and Parmigiano Reggiano. Then there is a movement, like the rhythm of a waltz: one, two, three; one, two, three. The tossing and mixing is performed the same way it has been for one hundred and eleven years. Legend has it that Alfredo created this dish to restore his wife's appetite, and from there, plate after plate, fettuccina after fettuccina, a story began to unfold: a story that, through a single recipe, has crossed the boundaries of space and time. 

In the 1920s, one of Hollywood’s most popular stars, Mary Pickford, walked into Alfredo’s restaurant. She tasted his fettuccine and was completely won over by them, because their flavour embodied all the authenticity and craftsmanship of Italian cuisine. She decided to take the recipe with her and introduce it overseas, helping make Fettuccine Alfredo famous throughout the world.   

Since then, these stories have continued to intertwine. At Alfredo alla Scrofa, now run by Mario Mozzetti, more than a recipe is recreated every day: a gesture is renewed, one that tells a love story and extends far beyond the walls of a restaurant, finding expression through social initiatives as well. Mario and his team chose to serve Fettuccine Alfredo to the doctors and nurses of the Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, who worked on the front line during the Covid-19 pandemic. They also established Fettuccina Day, a special event dedicated to the guests of the Fondazione Alberto Sordi Senior Centre, during which a brigade of chefs and improvised fettuccine-makers served not only a dish, but also the story behind it.  

This is how three simple ingredients and a single gesture can tell a story that neither can nor wants to come to an end: a story of love, simplicity, and flavour.