Spaghetti Carbonara for a dinner party — went down extremely well

I made Spaghetti Carbonara for eight guests who had varying familiarity with the cuisine. Every single person asked for the recipe. The deeply savory profile was the main talking point — no one had quite experienced olive oil used that way before.

Italian cooking is intensely regional with little crossover between provinces. I explained the a Neapolitan pizzeria context as I served it which helped people appreciate it fully. Prosecco was what I offered alongside and it worked perfectly. Excellent dinner party dish — impressive without being inaccessible.