Just last month, we brought a select group of chefs from all over the country and all sorts of foodservice operations together at our North American headquarters in Chicago. The event was an immersion into the latest culinary trends, from regional Italian to sustainable and delicious cuisine. It’s all in keeping with our mission to offer services and partnership “beyond the box” of pasta we sell to our customers.

“Learning about the new plant-based pastas was very eye opening and presented a whole new world of culinary possibilities. Our dine-around was a blast and gave me a myriad of ideas to take back to my team.”
-John Baez, Executive Chef, Landry’s Inc.

A clear highlight of the event was a personally guided culinary tour of Chicago from trends guru and Gordon Foodservice corporate chef, Chef Gerry Ludwig. In a very full day of eating and drinking (really, it was hard work!), we visited Heritage Restaurant & Bar, Etta, The Duck Inn, Punch House, and Somerset. We tasted for ourselves the rich and vibrant Chicago food scene, including some dynamite pasta highlights as well: “Million Dollar Noodles” from Heritage, “Snails and Spaghetti” at the Duck Inn, and “Red Curry Campanelle with Cashew Crumb” at Etta. All showcased pasta’s ability to carry today’s trends on the plate, ranging from upscale to street food, but always comfort food. More on those here.

On our day at the Barilla HQ, attending chefs took a crash course in regional Italian cuisine from Barilla consulting chef, Chef Stefano Terzi, and teamed up to create their own regional dish to apply what they’d learned. Here are a few images of some of the dishes that came out of the kitchens during the retreat – kudos to the amazing talents of the chefs in the group!

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If you’re interested in attending future events like this one, let us know by sending a note to your Barilla representative or [email protected].