Is it Italian if an Italian Doesn't Cook it?

Another great article from the New York Times, discussing the trend in Italy where former immigrants are becoming chefs in Italian restaurant kitchens...and the flak they are receiving from certain constituents in Italy who don't consider the food they are cooking to be authentic "Italian"..even though they are following the recipes given to them by their Italian patrons. Silly, isn't it?
Does it matter who is making it, so long as they are following the traditions that have been established over the years?  The funny thing is, the article mentions that noted Italian food authority Gambero Rosso sought out Rome's best dish of carbonara, and the restaurant who took the title - Antico Forno Roscioli - has a Tunisian chef (pictured below)!