A family restaurant in Aberdeen has won official recognition from the Italian government.
The Ciao Napoli eaterie has picked up the prestigious Ospitalia Italiana award, given to “authentic” Italian restaurants.
Government chiefs praised owner Nino Lepre for using real Italian chefs, ingredients and products, and for promoting the national culture.
Now Mr Lepre, 37, can officially boast that he operates the only “official” Italian in Scotland outside Edinburgh and Glasgow.
He said: “We’re over the moon to be recognised by the Italian Republic like this.
“There are hundreds of restaurants that sound like they’re Italian but it’s only a name.
“Now people coming to our restaurant know that they’re getting something authentic cooked by real Italian chefs rather than some rubbish out of a tin.
“As you say in Scotland – we’re the real McCoy.”
The Ospitalia Italiana award was set up in 1997 to promote and protect the reputation of Italian restaurants outside their native land.
Ciao Napoli has become the 13th member of the exclusive club in Scotland.
Mr Lepre, who moved to Aberdeen from his native Naples in 1998 and worked as a chef until he opened his own restaurant in 2003, added: “It is really important that we protect our culture, and Italian culture is so wrapped up in food.
“People think things like spaghetti Bolognese and dishes of fried chicken with a bit of pasta on the side are really Italian. But if you asked for that in a restaurant in Rome or Naples they’d look at you as if you were crazy.
“It would be like drinking Scottish whisky made in America – it just isn’t the same.”
The Italian community in Aberdeen hit the headlines in August when an EU-funded crime report said the city was a “stronghold” of the Cammorra mafia.
Mr Lepre said he hoped his award would give Italians “something to be proud of”.
He said: “The Italian community is just about the oldest immigrant community in Aberdeen.
“We’re doctors, teachers, university lecturers – people at the top of society – but lots of them keep their heritage quiet because they get called ‘Mafia’ or ‘gangster’ if they say they’re Italian. I hope that maybe people can take a bit more pride.”