The Mayor of Bologna has launched an awareness campaign to untangle the reputation of his city from the pasta wrongly thought to originate there.
Spaghetti Bolognese is a favourite around the world but has no particular tie to the city in north Italy.
“Dear residents, I am collecting photos of spaghetti Bolognese from around the world (speaking of fake news). This one is from London, please send me yours,” wrote Mayor Virginio Merola on social media earlier this week.
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Pictures rolled in of Knorr “spaghetti Bolognese” sauce spice mix from Austria, a sad, plastic confection of overcooked pasta from Utrecht, a jar of Heinz sauce from Ocado in Britain and a black board offering “Bolonske Spagety” in Moravia.
Mr Merola said Wednesday he plans to collect all the photos sent to him and create an exhibit for the city’s newly minted FICO Eataly World, the world’s largest food theme park. Increasing numbers of tourists are flocking to Bologna to sample its gastronomy, Mr Merola said, but there’s one dish they won’t find.
“It is strange to be famous all over the world for a dish that isn’t ours,” he told the Telegraph. “Of course we are happy that it draws attention to our city, but we would prefer to be known for the quality food that is part of our culinary tradition.”
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The succulent, meat-filled triangular tortellini for example, or even mortadella, a deli pork meat that has inspired knock off products known as “baloney” – and often spelled “Bologna” – in the US.
Under the leaning towers and pastel porticoes of the city known for good food, leftist politics and its ancient university, it is a colossal foodie faux pas to ask for Spaghetti Bolognese.
Waiters grimace, look perplexed and repeatedly explain to tourists that the dish they are referring to is locally called Tagliatelle al Ragù, or Tagliatelle Bolognese, a flat, handmade egg dough pasta covered in a slow-cooked meat sauce that also has bits of celery, carrots, onions, tomato sauce, slowly simmered with wine.
Spaghetti Bolognese has sparked heated online controversies as exasperated Italians try to defend the proper Ragù alla Bolognese – with tomatoes and red wine as key ingredients.
Viewers complained vociferously on social media in 2017 when Mary Berry, former Great British Bake Off star, made the Italian classic on her BBC Two show using garlic and adding thyme and cream.
Had she attended the Cheltenham Literature Festival in 2016, Ms Berry would have been forewarned that herbs were a no-no by Italian gastronomy expert Antonio Carluccio.
“When you think Italy, you start to put oregano, basil, parsley, garlic, which is not at all [right],” Mr Carluccio told festival participants.
Not only are there no herbs nor garlic, it simply cannot just be slathered on just any kind of pasta. Bolognese Ragù is one of the chunkier sauces, hence served with sturdier pastas like tagliatelle or tortellini, but, ironically, never spaghetti.
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