Pasta crisis - Amatriciana is in danger as energy costs put tourists' most beloved dish at risk

Pasta crisis – Amatriciana is in danger as energy costs put tourists’ most beloved dish at risk

The price of raw materials, due to the energy crisis, has doubled and, in some cases, even tripled.

September 19, 2022

(LaPresse) Amatriciana, the best-loved and most popular dish among tourists in Roman restaurants, is at risk by the rising cost of raw materials, which, due to the energy crisis, have doubled and, in some cases, even tripled. “Flour has increased by 50 percent, guanciale 50 percent increase, pecorino romano has increased by 40 percent. According to these prices, if before an amatriciana cost 10 euros now, I will have to sell it for at least 15/16 euros.”

This is the “cahiers de doléances” that Giancarlo Nocioni, a Roman hotelier and restaurateur, reads disconsolately. Tripled bills and doubled raw materials are forcing restaurants to increase the world-famous pasta dish with guanciale and pecorino cheese.

“Obviously the increase in amatriciana affects tourists, but it is not the only dish suffering from the energy crisis. Any low-temperature preparation that takes 15 or 16 hours to cook risks reaching out-of-control prices,” explains Luca Prosia, chef at Hotel delle Nazioni, right in the center of Rome. “The state has to intervene. If instead we all have to stay home and unemployment insurance, eventually the system will implode and we will all go to work abroad.”