If you go to a red sauce restaurant in the US, you’ll probably see fettuccine alfredo on the menu. This very white sauce is often served with chicken and is called chicken alfredo. The dish arrives, piled high with tangles of fettuccine noodles coated in a cream-based sauce. It is rich, nearly mac ‘n’ cheese adjacent, and perhaps for this reason, palatable to picky kids throughout the country. But even though some Italians might not like the dish and call it “not Italian,” fettuccine alfredo has a history that goes back hundreds of years and starts in Rome.
In his book The Discovery of Pasta: A History in Ten Dishes, writer Luca Cesari traces the dish back to 1908, when Alfredo di Lelio—a restaurateur in Rome—made a simple fresh pasta with butter and parmesan cheese for his wife, Ines, who was struggling to recover after childbirth. The key was to use more butter than normal in a fettuccine al burro (fettuccine with butter). Alfredo began serving it at his restaurant, where he served it table-side, tossing the ribbonlike noodles with a hunk of Parmigiano-Reggiano carved from the center of the cheese wheel and a generous amount of butter.
According to Cesari, luck shone on Alfredo’s pasta, which he called fettuccine all’Alfredo. The dish received praise in Sinclair Lewis’s 1922 novel Babbitt, was the recipient of a glowing restaurant review in 1927 by well-known food expert and radio presenter George Rector (who published the recipe), and that same year, Hollywood stars Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks gifted Alfredo with a golden fork and spoon engraved with the words “To Alfredo the King of Pasta. ” Apparently, they’d eaten at Alfredo’s on their honeymoon in 1922 and fallen in love with the eponymous sauce. The extravagant gift garnered international press coverage, bringing Alfredo’s restaurant on Via della Scrofa and his pasta fame. During World War II, Alfredo sold his restaurant, eventually opening a new spot called Il Vero Alfredo—”the real Alfredo”—after the war ended. What made it different from the first restaurant, where the owners fought to be known for the pasta, was the name.
Despite the international fame and its eventual copycats, fettuccine all’Alfredo never took off beyond Rome, perhaps contributing to its sense as an inauthentic dish in the eyes of many Italians. Cesari posits that this is perhaps because the method was so closely with its inventor (unlike the more anonymous styles of pasta like cacio e pepe, amatriciana, or carbonara). So, too, could the fact that the pasta featured parmesan (uncommon in Roman sauces) rather than pecorino, or that butter on noodles was seen as “hospital fare.”
Whatever the case, the world-renowned butter and parmesan dish never caught on in Italy, but did morph into a cream-based sauce that dominated in the United States. While the authentic rendition of Alfredo’s recipe was popular at first, eventually a sauce enriched with cream became standard. Eventually, the sauce was sold in jars and popularized by Olive Garden, where the now ubiquitous add-ins of shrimp and chicken were added. So, though they share a namesake, there is a long distance between the butter and parmesan sauce that slicked fresh, homemade noodles and a pile of mass-produced pasta tossed with a jar of creamy sauce and some chicken. That doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy Chicken Alfredo, though. Done right, with high-quality ingredients, the dish is a sumptuous treat, perfect for winter nights.
Chicken alfredo is a creamy, delicious pasta dish that has become popular around the world. But who exactly invented this iconic recipe? The origins of chicken alfredo are somewhat murky, though most accounts point back to early 20th century Rome and a restaurateur named Alfredo di Lelio.
The Birth of Fettuccine Alfredo
The story begins with fettuccine alfredo – the precursor to chicken alfredo. In 1908, Alfredo di Lelio was working in his family’s restaurant in Rome. When his wife Ines gave birth and had trouble eating afterwards, Alfredo wanted to tempt her appetite with a special dish.
He came up with a recipe for fettuccine tossed with butter and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. The resulting sauce was rich, smooth and enveloped the pasta strands. Ines loved it, and Alfredo put his “fettuccine al burro” on the menu. It soon became the restaurant’s signature dish.
In 1914, Alfredo opened his own eatery, called Alfredo’s, on Via della Scrofa in Rome. Here he began officially calling the dish “fettuccine all’Alfredo” and paraded it tableside with great ceremony. The restaurateur wanted to showcase his culinary talents, tossing the pasta with fork and spoon in hand before delighted diners.
Fettuccine Alfredo started gaining international fame in the 1920s, especially with visiting American tourists. Alfredo played up the performance aspect and dubbed himself “The King of Fettuccine.” His talents charmed early Hollywood stars like Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks who dined at Alfredo’s in 1927 and gifted Alfredo golden utensils as thanks.
Adding Cream and Chicken Stateside
As fettuccine Alfredo grew popular in the U.S., home cooks and restaurants started tweaking the recipe. The traditional Italian version used just butter and Parmigiano. But American versions introduced cream to make an even richer, creamier sauce.
Broccoli and chicken were also common additions to stretch fettuccine Alfredo into an entree. While chicken may seem like a natural pairing, it’s unlikely Alfredo himself ever served chicken with his signature pasta. Chicken alfredo as we know it developed as the dish spread internationally.
The dish grows popular
From Italian restaurant menus to boxes of dried pasta, chicken alfredo became a staple across the United States by the 1970s and 80s It was quick, filling comfort food for families Frozen and shelf-stable versions let busy home cooks serve up this “gourmet” dish with ease.
Meanwhile, travelers continued seeking out the original taste in Rome. But even in Italy, Roman-style “burro e parmigiano” pasta was often listed as fettuccine alfredo on menus catering to tourists The international name had eclipsed the local one
Who invented chicken alfredo?
While we don’t know exactly who first added chicken and cream to the mix, Alfredo di Lelio is considered the creator of the original fettuccine alfredo. The addition of chicken and cream came later as the dish was popularized and adapted.
These tweaks resulted in the hearty, satisfying chicken alfredo we know and love today. But the creamy pasta’s roots lie with Alfredo di Lelio’s early 20th century Roman recipe aiming to tempt his wife’s appetite after childbirth. That serendipitous moment of culinary invention gave us a now-classic pasta pleaser.
The Alfredo Dynasty Today
Rome’s Via della Scrofa today hosts two restaurants claiming heritage from Alfredo di Lelio’s original.
Alfredo alla Scrofa has been run by the Di Lelio family since 1914. Il Vero Alfredo is operated by Alfredo’s grandchildren and great grandchildren, who split from the original restaurant.
Both serve classic fettuccine alfredo tableside, with suited waiters tossing golden pasta in gleaming bowls. A taste of history for travelers seeking the origins of an Italian food icon.
While chicken alfredo has evolved from its early roots, a century later we can thank Alfredo di Lelio’s creativity in difficult circumstances for one of the most popular creamy pasta dishes today. The King of Fettuccine’s legacy lives on.
Try your hand at the authentic Fettuccine all’Alfredo
In the recipe published for fettuccine all’Alfredo by George Rector in 1927, he described the recipe for the pasta as “a kilo of flour, five egg yolks, a glass of water and a pinch of salt,” going on to say that it’s about how Alfredo makes the pasta that sets it apart, giving the sense that it’s not possible to replicate the dish. That’s not to say that countless recipe writers haven’t tried. Todd Coleman published his own attempt at an authentic fettuccine all’Alfredo in Saveur, if you want to give it a try. Golden spoon and fork, optional.
The Original Fettuccine Alfredo with No Cream
FAQ
Who made the first chicken alfredo?
The dish is named for Alfredo Di Lelio, a Roman restaurant owner who is said to have created and made it popular.
Is chicken alfredo a real Italian dish?
Fettuccine Alfredo, it turns out, is 100% Italian. To be fair, the original recipe is quite different from whatever you may find in the States. Italians have been eating Fettuccine Alfredo for over a century… They just didn’t know that’s what it was called!.
How did chicken alfredo get to America?
It was at Pickfair that fettucine alfredo made its American debut. Pickford and Fairbanks ate at a trattoria in Rome owned by the charming chef Alfredo Di Lelio while they were on their honeymoon in Europe. He served them his signature dish, fettucine al triplo burro.
Why is Alfredo not popular in Italy?
It’s not considered traditional Italian food because there is no recipe (but everyone uses the same number of ingredients) and it’s only served to sick kids. However, many people eat it as a “comfort food.” Italian food culture never fails to amuse.