Brooklyn Beckham recently posted a video on Instagram showing how he makes his version of spaghetti Bolognese. The 26-year-old, who switched from photography to cooking a few years ago, prepared the dish for his 17 million followers. The clip quickly gained over three million views, but it also attracted sharp comments, especially from Italian viewers who felt the recipe strayed too far from tradition.
He started by sautéing finely chopped onions, celery, and carrots, then added ground beef. A generous pour of red wine followed, along with a few bay leaves. Next came canned tomatoes, a spoonful of tomato paste, salt, and pepper. Instead of cooking the pasta separately and combining it at the end, he added dry orecchiette directly to the sauce along with some of the starchy pasta water. The finished plate was topped with grated cheese and a drizzle of olive oil. Beckham proudly captioned it “My special spaghetti Bolognese.”
Italian users were quick to point out several issues. Many objected to the choice of French background music in a video featuring an Italian dish. One commenter wrote, “Please, next time you cook an Italian dish, put Italian music. Playing French music is an insult!” Another added, “Can you put an Italian song next time? Bolognese is from Bologna, a city in northern Italy, not from France!” The most dramatic reaction came from a user who declared, “An Italian died after this dish.”
The pasta choice drew particular criticism. Traditional ragù alla bolognese is almost always paired with fresh tagliatelle, not spaghetti, and certainly not orecchiette. Beckham later replied to one critic, admitting, “I wanted to use spaghetti, but I ran out.” Some supporters defended him, noting that many households outside Italy serve the sauce with penne or other shapes while still calling it spaghetti Bolognese. One fan wrote, “We always eat it with penne pasta, but we still call it spaghetti Bolognese,” while another encouraged him with, “It happens to the best of us, friend!!”
The timing of the video added another layer. Recent posts from Beckham have referenced strained relations with his parents, David and Victoria Beckham, and his wife Nicola Peltz Beckham’s side of the family. Some followers used the cooking post to show support amid the personal drama. Comments included praise like “It looks delicious!!!! By the way, congratulations for standing up for yourself. Just because they’re our parents doesn’t mean they can treat us without respect.”
Traditional ragù alla bolognese comes from the city of Bologna in northern Italy. In 1982 the Bologna delegation of the Accademia Italiana della Cucina officially registered a recipe that calls for ground beef, pancetta, carrots, celery, onion, tomato paste, milk, white wine, and very slow cooking. Garlic is typically absent, and the sauce is meant to coat fresh egg tagliatelle rather than dry spaghetti. The version known worldwide as spaghetti Bolognese is largely a foreign adaptation and is rarely, if ever, found on Italian menus under that name.
Do you think classic recipes should stay untouched or is room for personal twists fair game? Share your thoughts in the comments.
