Parmesan Wheel Week 2023

Overview

Pasta and parmesan are one of Italian cuisine's perfect pairings. Eat the former without the latter, and your tastebuds will know the difference. And while sprinkling your spaghetti with fine shavings of hard cheese is all well and good (and delicious), that's nothing compared to devouring a bowl of pasta that has been prepared inside a parmesan wheel.

If it sounds like all of your culinary dreams come true, that's because it is — and it's the dish in the spotlight at Cucinetta's returning Parmesan Wheel Week. After a swag of successful previous events in past years, the South Yarra restaurant is bringing this cheesy situation back for a second time in 2023 alone. Why? Other than the perfectly excellent answer "why not?", it's because the eatery is celebrating its tenth anniversary.

Once again, this special means serving up the Italian specialty pasta cacio e pepe straight out of a wheel of 24-month Parmigiano Reggiano. And, despite the name, the $36.90 special is actually running across two full weeks.

Given that cacio e pepe is a pasta concoction made with parmesan and pepper — think: fancier, tastier mac 'n' cheese — the results promise quite the cheesy meal.

The dish will be available at Cucinetta for lunch from 12–3pm and dinner from 5pm–close between Monday, May 22–Sunday, June 4. We'd tell you to arrive hungry, but we're sure that just thinking about it already has you feeling ravenous.