Sara Ciccotti, head chef of the Cadorin restaurant at the five‑star Grand Hotel Palace in central Rome, has laid out what she says are the essential principles for cooking perfect Roman pasta and the common errors amateur cooks make.
Speaking to reporters during a culinary visit hosted by the hotel, Ciccotti emphasized simplicity, quality ingredients and patience as the cornerstones of Roman cuisine. “The secret lies in simplicity and honoring the ingredients,” she said, adding that cooks should respect traditional recipes before attempting to alter them.
Ciccotti, who trained on recipes she learned from her mother, identified four pasta dishes as central to Rome’s culinary identity: carbonara, cacio e pepe, amatriciana and alla gricia. She described those dishes as rooted in the city’s history, tracing some ingredients back to times when meat was scarce and people relied on seasonal vegetables, offal and preserved meats such as guanciale.
At the Cadorin, where frescoes by Venetian painter Guido Cadorin decorate the dining room, the chef and her chef de partie Christian Venosa showcased variations on Roman classics during a tasting menu for guests. Diners were presented with items including stuffed courgette flowers, saltimbocca and a contemporary take on cacio e pepe that incorporated pear for a sweet note, as well as a standout dish described as cacio e pera.
Ciccotti set out practical steps for home cooks seeking to reproduce cacio e pepe, a dish made from pecorino cheese and black pepper. She advised bringing the pasta to an al dente texture, reserving starchy pasta water, removing the pan from direct heat before adding grated pecorino, and mixing slowly to form a creamy emulsion. “Cacio e pepe cannot be rushed,” Ciccotti said.
She warned against alterations that she said dilute the essence of classic recipes. Ciccotti pointed to the addition of cream to carbonara, the use of minced garlic in traditional sauces, and breaking long pasta before cooking as common mistakes that, in her view, remove the dish’s authenticity. Instead she recommended using high‑quality ingredients—particularly good pecorino and cured guanciale—and letting technique, not added components, create texture and flavor.
The Grand Hotel Palace, part of the Millennium Hotels collection, sits minutes from the Trevi Fountain and promotes Roman food as a key part of its guest experience. A review of the hotel’s culinary offering included descriptions of the breakfast buffet, a spa with a sauna and heated pool, and the property’s location within walking distance of major sites such as the Colosseum and the Pantheon.
The reporting visit included off‑site meals that illustrated Rome’s regional range. In Trastevere, guests ate carbonara at the trattoria Checco er Carrettiere, where a traditional preparation of egg yolk, pecorino and crisp guanciale accompanied spaghetti. At Il San Lorenzo, a bistro away from strict Roman traditions, diners sampled a tasting menu from head chef Gareth Saywell featuring raw fish preparations and smoked shellfish, demonstrating contemporary approaches to Italian cuisine.
Ciccotti said the enduring popularity of Roman pasta stems from its history and restraint. Many of the city’s oldest recipes were developed from limited resources and emphasize preservation methods and simple combinations—ingredients such as artichokes, courgette flowers and offal remain part of the Roman repertoire. Over time, new ingredients and techniques have appeared, but, Ciccotti said, the core principle of transforming a few seasonal, high‑quality elements into a memorable dish has not changed.
Hotel staff who guided the visit noted that guests frequently request Roman classics, and Ciccotti said the four named dishes regularly top the restaurant’s orders. She encouraged home cooks to replicate the results by maintaining texture—pasta al dente, guanciale crisp—and by using pasta water and cheese to build sauces rather than relying on additional fats or thickeners.
The chef’s guidance followed more than a day of tours and meals arranged around the hotel stay, including a guided visit to the Colosseum and time spent exploring markets and historic streets. The hotel experience combined sightseeing with an emphasis on traditional cuisine and hospitality, underscoring Ciccotti’s assertion that passion and respect for ingredients are as important as technique when preparing Roman food.
Ciccotti closed with a practical admonition for cooks tempted to modernize classics: "Respect the original recipes before thinking about changing them. The passion you put into making them is the secret ingredient." The advice reflects a broader conversation in Italy and beyond about preserving culinary traditions while allowing room for innovation.