Alfredo was a real man. Alfredo di Lelio grew up in his mother’s Roman kitchen and, around 1907 or 1908, created fettuccine with triple butter to help his wife Ines recover after the birth of their son Armando. The original used only fresh egg fettuccine, butter, and young Parmesan, emulsified with starchy pasta water.

This episode follows his rise after Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks gave him a gold fork and spoon, the theatrical tableside service, the wartime sale of his restaurant, and his comeback with Il Vero Alfredo. Then we trace how Americans added cream and turned the dish into a global processed-food staple.

• Why pasta, butter, and cheese date back centuries, including Martino da Como’s Roman macaroni
• The food science of the starch-based emulsion with no cream
• The Hollywood honeymoon that made Alfredo the King of the Noodles
• The rivalry with Alfredo alla Scrofa after he sold his restaurant in 1943
• How cream, Swiss cheese, and chicken transformed the American version, from Epcot to National Fettuccine Alfredo Day