It Started, As Most Important Movements Do, Over Dinner.
Carbonara Love was founded by two Italian Americans from Boston who grew increasingly concerned about the state of carbonara in America.
Cream. Bacon. Peas. Chicken.
We tried to mind our own business.
We couldn't.
Our families come from Rome and Abruzzo—two places where people understand that good food doesn't need twelve ingredients, a drizzle of truffle oil, or an unnecessary garnish. We grew up around Italian food, spend as much time in Italy as real life allows, and take the great Roman pastas perhaps more seriously than is reasonable.
Carbonara. Amatriciana. Cacio e pepe. Gricia.
Simple dishes. Few ingredients. Very little room to hide.
And that's really what we love about Italian cooking. The best food isn't necessarily complicated. Start with good ingredients. Know what you're doing with them. Don't mess with them too much. And when generations of Romans have already figured something out, perhaps consider hearing them out before reaching for the heavy cream.
Our Position Is Clear.
We support guanciale.
We support Pecorino Romano.
We support pasta water being used responsibly.
We support vigorous debate over whole eggs versus yolks.
We recognize that pancetta may be necessary under certain emergency circumstances.
We remain firmly opposed to the normalization of cream in carbonara.
These positions have been carefully developed through years of eating, cooking, traveling, arguing, and conducting extensive field research in Rome.
Our methodology has been questioned by no one.
The Shirts
Carbonara Love makes shirts for people who care about Italian food—and have a sense of humor about caring about it perhaps a little too much.
The slogans borrow the language of politics, public policy, scientific institutions, advocacy groups, and the never-ending cultural arguments of our time.
STOP NORMALIZING CREAM IN CARBONARA
FOLLOW THE SCIENCE: USE GUANCIALE
THE SILENT MAJORITY PREFERS PECORINO
Are these important issues?
We believe history will be the judge.
Until then, eat simply. Cook well. Respect the ingredients.
And please, for the love of Rome, put down the cream.