Tagliatelle, ricotta, farfalle - Italian foods do not always roll off the tongue as easily as they disappear from the plate.

A new authentic Italian restaurant is giving special lessons in the language of its food to Basildon locals who have been recruited to wait on tables.

Opera singers will also wander among the tables and spontaneously burst into song when the new Romano's Macaroni Grill opens at the Festival Leisure Park on Thursday.

The American company has chosen Basildon to be the home of its first UK site.

Food for thought - Giovanni Mavro gives local recruits an Italian lesson

Picture: MAXINE CLARKE

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