Jamie Oliver’s recipe for ‘authentic’ carbonara leaves Italians horrified as they fume over chef’s decision to add an extra ingredient

Jamie Oliver has caused a stir after a video of the celebrity chef recreating a classic pasta dish emerged online.

The 2017 clip showed the 49-year-old TV chef preparing his version of a carbonara, while Oliver described his variation as a ‘really authentic’ and ‘traditional’.

According to La Cucina Italianaan Italian magazine focused on gastronomy and food culture, a conventional carbonara is prepared with just four ingredients.

These include spaghetti, guanciale or rindless bacon, pecorino romano or parmigiano reggiano cheese and egg yolks – with a pinch of salt and pepper to taste.

Although it initially appeared that Jaime would follow the traditional recipe, such as using guanciale for the meat and pecorino romano for the cheese, he later added a clove of garlic to the pan – much to the chagrin of his Italian followers.

Explaining his decision to add what many felt was an unnecessary ingredient, Jamie said: ‘Give the garlic a crack and then add it to the pan.

“If this starts to sizzle, the fat will take some of the smell out of the garlic.”

However, several Italians were quick to point out that Jaime’s dish was ‘not a classic carbonara’ in angry posts on social media.

The 2017 clip showed the 49-year-old TV chef preparing his version of a carbonara, with Oliver describing his variation as a “truly authentic” and “traditional”

“Carbonara is made with only guanciale, pecorino romano, black pepper and egg yolks – and please no garlic at all,” one person wrote.

Another user agreed, saying: ‘There is no garlic in carbonara.’

Meanwhile, a third accused Jaime of completely ‘ruining’ the dish by adding the pungent ingredient.

A fourth comment on Facebook read: ‘Jamie, it’s called Spaghetti Alla Carbonara, and to be fair to the original recipe you should only use the egg yolk.’

Another added: ‘Sorry, lost on ‘optional’ garlic. It’s never optional, it’s just not in the recipe.’

Last October, Gordon Ramsay sparked similar criticism with his version of a carbonara when he added peas to the dish.

The celebrity chef’s bold move comes after Jamie Oliver fans criticized his new Channel 4 cooking series, in which he plans to whip up dishes for just £1 per portion.

Jamie has returned to TV screens for the New Year with Jamie’s £1 Wonders And Money Saving Meals – a new budget meal series to combat the cost of living in Britain.

Jamie later added a clove of garlic to the pan – much to the chagrin of his Italian followers

Italians were quick to point out in angry posts on social media that Jaime’s dish was “not a classic carbonara.”

In last night’s episode, Jamie cooked spaghetti frittata, piccalilli pork and apple pies, pumpkin dal with paneer, a chicken kebab ‘fakeaway’, laksa and mint choc chip ‘whoopie pies’ for dessert.

But despite Jamie providing a full cost breakdown for each meal, some viewers were left unconvinced that the meals actually cost as little as he claimed.

Additionally, others pointed out that the types of ingredients he used were not what the average household would have in the food cupboard.

And although Jamie claimed on his show that each meal would cost £1 per portion or even less, around half of the meals shown cost more – for example the pork pies at £1.31 per portion, the kebab ‘fakeaway’ at £1 ,71. and laksa for £1.33.

Viewers were particularly confused by Jamie’s crispy chicken featured in the first episode, for which he used regular flour “which cost 2 cents.”

However, Jamie made it clear in his cost overview that the average price had been calculated for each ingredient and quantity from the three largest supermarkets, as of October 2024.