Carbonara is Florek’s favourite pasta, alongside pesto. I’ve made it many times, sometimes with pancetta, sometimes with smoked streaky bacon. Never came across guanciale in the UK, so could not test this one.

Marco Pierre White was a guest chef in Masterchef Australia, that I’m still binging on, he made his version of carbonara and I tested it last night. the crowd was divided; we both liked it, finished the lot, agreed it was on the lighter side and very tasty, but if it was better than the bacony one with garlic that I normally make? Not sure. I bought some of that mega thin, sliced pancetta and roasted it in the oven, while the pasta was cooking. Risky business that, as pancetta was so thin it needed to be watched in order not to be burnt. Right before assembling the dish, I finished it off on the pan with 2 crushed garlic cloves.

3 egg yolks gently whipped with a splash of double cream- if Marco Pierre White uses cream- clearly that is a legal thing to do. Well seasoned, some grated parmesan chucked in. This was my first ever carbonara with virtually raw egg yolks. Once the pasta was cooked and drained, I added the yolk/cream/parmesan mix to it and tossed it well, away from the heat. It certainly was much lighter and creamier than my usual one. Only then pancetta was added, more parmesan and that was that. Still not sure if this is the way I’ll be doing it next time, but it had to be tested.