Foreign tourists visiting Lake Garda are angering local chefs and waiters by ordering traditional Italian dishes with unconventional customisations, Hungarian website Kertvár.hu reported.
Staff at restaurants surrounding the popular destination report receiving unusual orders from international visitors who disregard local culinary customs.
One of the most frequent habits frustrating local staff is ordering a cappuccino or a latte macchiato alongside a meal of pizza. While drinking milk-based coffee with lunch or dinner is common in many foreign countries, Italians traditionally consume milk coffees exclusively in the morning, making an afternoon or evening order a surprise for local waiters.
Lake Garda, the largest lake in Italy, draws thousands of international visitors annually for its climate and food. In Italian food culture, afternoon cappuccino consumption is not strictly prohibited, but adhering to morning coffee traditions remains a deeply ingrained habit throughout the country.
Unusual food pairings
Restaurateurs near Lake Garda noted several other combinations requested by tourists that shock kitchen staff. These include asking for Parmesan cheese to sprinkle over seafood dishes, requesting heavy cream added to classic carbonara pasta, and ordering vanilla ice cream served together with fried potatoes and ketchup.
According to Kertvár.hu, Italian restaurant owners try to remain flexible and accommodate customer preferences. However, staff report that certain culinary boundaries cross traditional standards beyond what chefs are comfortable preparing.
Italian dining traditions
Traditional Italian dining follows a structured sequence consisting of an appetizer, a first course, a main course with a side dish, followed by dessert, coffee, and wine. While diners may skip specific courses, changing the established order of the meal is strongly discouraged in traditional establishments.
Customarily, Italian restaurants also discourage customers from requesting arbitrary changes to established recipes. Local chefs view each dish as a balanced composition of ingredients, meaning requests to swap sauces or substitute components are often seen as unwanted interference with the cook's intention.
