When I take a bite of spaghetti alla carbonara on a miserable day, I’m immediately back in my nonno’s kitchen. Nonno cooked carbonara the way my dad did, and the way that I do – properly. Guanciale, pecorino, parmigiano, eggs; that’s it. No white wine, no onion, no garlic, no fucking cream. If you put cream in the sauce, you would not only disappoint my nonno but ruin what is one of the greatest dishes in the world, elegant in its simplicity and heritage.

A forkful of proper carbonara elevates the smoky fat, the sharp cheese, the silken just-­set texture of the egg into something truly perfect. Within those layers of taste lie decades of tradition, centuries of culture, thousands of hugs from Nonno. For me, that’s what cooking is about. 

If you only take one thing away from my story, please, I beg you, don't put cream in your f**king pasta carbonara. 

This is what you'll need to make the real thing.

250g spaghetti (dried pasta is totally fine!)
80g guanciale
1 egg
3 egg yolks
60g Pecorino Romano
60g Parmigiano-Reggiano
Pasta water
Salt and pepper

Now give it a go!