Perhaps because it's so darned delicious, there isn't generally much radical experimentation done with Italian food -- except for that disastrous incident when someone put pineapple on a pizza. Which is why young Italian chef Valerio Braschi's bizarre fine dining creations -- including a toothpaste tube full of lasagna -- are causing such a stir in Rome.

Braschi, 24, has been pushing the boundaries of classic cuisine at Ristorante 1978, a Michelin Guide-listed venue in the Italian capital's chic Trieste Salario district, in the hope of surprising diners, treating them to new taste sensations and confounding their expectations.