On February 7th, National Fettuccine Alfredo Day celebrates one of the world’s favorite ways to enjoy a plate of fettuccine.
- 5000 BC – We typically think of pasta as being invented in Italy, but the first recorded reports of people eating pasta came from China, as early as 5,000 B.C.
- 1892 – Alfredo di Lelio begins working in the restaurant owned by his mother, Angelina.
- 1908 – Alfredo di Lelio, an Italian restaurateur, created Fettuccine Alfredo in 1908 to offer his wife something to eat after she had given birth to their first child.
- 1914 – It was named by an Italian restaurateur at his restaurant Alfredo on the Via della Scrofa in Rome in 1914. Said to have been a dish he made at home but for years was too reluctant to sell to his customers because it was so rich.
- 1927 – The restaurant became famous when Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks stopped in and fell in love with the dish while on their honeymoon in 1927. To express their gratitude, they gave him a golden fork and spoon along with a photo of them eating in his restaurant. He proudly displayed the photo on the wall. Pickford and Fairbanks served his dish to their friends and associates when they returned to Hollywood. Word about the new dish quickly spread.
- 1943 – Di Lelio sold the restaurant to a new owner, however, its originality remained.
- 1950 – Di Lelio and his son Armando opened up a restaurant called II Vero Alfredo, which means “the true Alfredo.” The restaurant is now managed by Alfredo’s grandchildren.
- 1959 – In 1959 some local businessmen tracked down the famous Alfredo and offered to build him a new restaurant. Although he was retired he agreed to show up as a greeter. The new Alfredo ll location at 30 Piazza Augusto Imperatore is a few blocks from his original location.
- 1977 – Another Alfredo’s opens near Rockefeller Center in New York.
- Fettuccine is a flat thick noodle made of flour and egg. (literally meaning “little ribbons” in Italian)
- The original recipe for Fettuccine “Alfredo” is pasta made from fettuccine noodles tossed with one part parmesan cheese and 3 parts butter. Alfredo sauce is the emulsified liquids that form the smooth and rich coating on the pasta.
- Alfredo retired and sold his restaurant, Alfredo Sauce recipe and all, to Mr. Mario Mozzetti and the restaurant is still in business today.
- Today Alfredo ll has locations near Rockefeller Center in New York, Orlando, and Las Vegas.
- To make it a single-dish meal, chicken and vegetables, such as peas, are often served on top.
- In the jarred Alfredo sauce available in supermarkets, the sauce is thickened with starch and not with cheese.
- As you’d expect, Italy is the country that eats the greatest amount of pasta worldwide. As you might not expect, however, the #2 and #3 countries that eat the most pasta are Venezuela and Tunisia.
- Fettuccine Alfredo provides 18 grams of protein and 30 percent of the daily recommended intake of calcium. Protein helps your immune system function and calcium is vital for bone strength and heart health. This dish provides plenty of vitamin A and that’s good for preventing blindness and infections.
A few years ago, when SouthFloridaReporter.com wrote about Fettuccine Alfredo Day, we received the following email from Alfredo di Lelio’s grandson. Here’s what he wrote:
“Concerning your article I have the pleasure to tell you the history of my grandfather Alfredo Di Lelio, who is the creator of “Fettuccine all’Alfredo” (“Fettuccine Alfredo”) in 1908 in the “trattoria” run by his mother Angelina in Rome, Piazza Rosa (Piazza disappeared in 1910 following the construction of the Galleria Colonna / Sordi). This “trattoria” of Piazza Rosa has become the “birthplace of fettuccine all’Alfredo”.
More specifically, as is well known to many people who love the “fettuccine all’Alfredo”, this famous dish in the world was invented by Alfredo Di Lelio concerned about the lack of appetite of his wife Ines, who was pregnant with my father Armando (born February 26, 1908).
Alfredo di Lelio opened his restaurant “Alfredo” in 1914 in Rome and in 1943, during the war, he sold the restaurant to others outside his family.
In 1950 Alfredo Di Lelio decided to reopen with his son Armando his restaurant in Piazza Augusto Imperatore n.30 “Il Vero Alfredo” (“Alfredo di Roma”), whose fame in the world has been strengthened by his nephew Alfredo and now managed by me, with the famous “gold cutlery” (fork and spoon gold) donated in 1927 by two well-known American actors Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks (in gratitude for the hospitality).
See also the website of “Il Vero Alfredo”.
I must clarify that other restaurants “Alfredo” in Rome do not belong and are out of my brand “Il Vero Alfredo – Alfredo di Roma”.
I inform you that the restaurant “Il Vero Alfredo –Alfredo di Roma” is in the registry of “Historic Shops of Excellence” of the City of Rome Capitale.
Best regards Ines Di Lelio”
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