Sharing a meal has long been a means of providing comfort to those in crisis, and a group of Italian restaurants across Australia are hoping to do just that for those in the earthquake-devastated town of Amatrice.
The small Italian village, which was almost completely lost in the 6.2 magnitude quake, has a proud tradition of food and their namesake dish, amatriciana pasta, is enjoyed the world over.
Now local restaurants, organised under the Italian Chef Federation in Australia - - will be serving the dish over the next four months and donating $5 from each plate.
“We’re trying to involve as many restaurants as we can,” Sydney chef Stefano Brombal tells SBS. Brombal's restaurant Stuzzichino will be joining the initiative.
“We’re asking them to serve spaghetti all'amatriciana and donate $5 to rebuild the city, rebuild the hospital, give hope to the kids and give some strength to the families who lost everything.”
The will be open to restaurants Australia wide and already has 25 on board; however Mr Brombal hopes to see that number double by next week.
Source: David Loftus
A list of participating restaurants can be found and a cheque for all money raised handed directly to the town’s mayor in 2017.
Where to get a plate
Here's where you can eat pasta to help earthquake victims
As Mr Brombal explains, “many of the dishes in Italy take their name from their background, and geographical origin”, hence amatriciana from Amatrice.
“Italy has a lot of food culture and you can find different dishes within 2 kilometres,” he says.
As an area originally populated by farmers and artisans, the amatriciana pasta is a simple one that traditionally uses crispy fried pork cheek and sheep’s milk pecorino cheese.
Under the influence of the Romans, onion and tomatoes were later added to the recipe.
While the dish no longer has the town to call home, it will be finding its way into the hearts of diners the world over as similar initiatives to spread amatriciana are launched.
In Italy, restaurants are being urged to donate €2 to the Red Cross for every plate of the pasta they serve, while a similar action is also happening in the US.
Amatrice, in central Italy, was almost completely flattened by a 6.2 magnitude earthquake that killed 284 people Source: AAP
