A quick browse of this web site makes it quite obvious that at Cucina Mauro Catering, authenticity is one of our most important guiding principles. So, you might be a bit surprised that our menu does not include some of the most classic Italian dishes, like risotto or pasta alla carbonara. How can we profess to be authentically Italian without offering such classic options? Ironically, it is exactly because we believe in being authentic that we will not offer such dishes. Allow me to explain.
As a catering operation, we are often called upon to feed dozens, if not hundreds of people. Sometimes we are asked to simply prepare the food and have it delivered ready for serving, and sometimes we are asked to provide full on-site service. Either way, there is significant prep work that occurs in our kitchen. Even though we use industry standard methods for transporting food at the proper temperature, there are simply some dishes that cannot be properly prepared and served under these conditions. Risotto and Pasta alla Carbonara are two perfect examples of this.
To prepare a risotto properly, one key ingredient is necessary: time. It must be slowly cooked and nursed along to develop the beautiful creamy texture that it is known for. Conversely, once ready, it cannot be allowed to linger before being served; it must be enjoyed immediately, otherwise it loses its characteristic creaminess. It cannot be effectively transported for delivery, and batching it up for large groups is similarly challenging. Given both of these constraints, we choose to not offer risotto as part of our catering menu, because we believe that if we cannot prepare it and serve it properly, then we should not serve it at all.
The same holds true for Pasta alla Carbonara. This is such a simple classic dish, but it is so often done incorrectly. The creamy texture of the sauce should be solely from the eggs added to the hot freshly cooked pasta. There should never be any cream added. So, like risotto, to truly enjoy the carbonara sauce, it must be prepared and eaten immediately. It simply cannot withstand the time it would take to go from our kitchen to your table. The addition of cream to the sauce could help solve this problem and could be why some establishments add it, but, as mentioned, authentic carbonara never includes cream and we refuse to compromise on that.
So, if you are looking for risotto or carbonara, I apologize, but you will not find it on our menu. That said, I'd love to prepare it for you personally, the way it was meant to be. If that's of interest to you, don't hesitate to contact us to inquire about our personal chef in-home service for your next dinner party.