It’s the holiday season, when banquet and catering business kicks into its highest gear in every segment of foodservice, from restaurants to hotels and non-commercial venues of all stripes. And that’s a good thing, as catering sales are often where the profits are in this $54B business…especially when margin-friendly ingredients like pasta are in play! […]
In this series, we look more closely at a lesser-known region of Italy in every issue. As consumers continue to clamor for authentic, regional foods from Italy, it pays to be a step ahead! This month, we travel to Northern Italy and to the region of Emilia-Romagna. Emilia-Romagna is located where the Po River brings […]
Orzo is a familiar shape that goes by many names – risoni (or “big rice” in Italian) and puntalette (“tiny tips”) are just two of its other aliases. Orzo literally means “barley” in Italian, as the pasta shape resembles a grain of barley or rice. It’s often used in soups or salads, or even cooked […]
October 1st marks the official start of the best month of the year — National Pasta Month (NPM)! We saw some magnifico celebrations last year, with special LTO menu items and promotions taking advantage of excitement for one of America’s favorite comfort foods…pasta! The Buca di Beppo sweepstakes for a trip to Italy received a […]
Linguine is one of the best-known pasta shapes, a staple of Italian-American cuisine for decades. But did you know that the name translates to “little tongues?” Linguine is similar to spaghetti or fettucine in length, but is actually oval in cross-section. In contrast, spaghetti ala chittarra is square in cross-section, and spaghetti is round. Linguine […]
As a reader of this newsletter, you probably know that we’ve been trying for a while to do our part to advance the “plant-forward” movement in foodservice. At Barilla we work every day to help advance the “plant-forward” movement in foodservice. We’re proud and excited to announce the launch of a totally new form of […]
In this series, we look more closely at a lesser-known region of Italy in every issue. As consumers continue to clamor for authentic, regional foods from Italy, it pays to be a step ahead! This month, we travel to southern Italy and to the region of Calabria. Located on the “toe” of the Italian boot, […]
Chefs and restaurants have long been attuned to the issues of hunger and food insecurity. It’s only recently that the parallel issue of food waste has come into focus. The Wasted! documentary, and the work of a number of NGOs from ReFED to Natural Resources Defense Council have raised awareness of the staggering numbers around […]
Our Chef Yury Krasilovsky’s recipe for “Zero Waste Broccoli Chowder with Ditalini” shows an easy way to “upcycle” vegetable scraps into an elevated but simple menu item or staff meal. A medley of vegetable trimmings makes for an earthy, satisfying broth, made rich and creamy with a touch of roux and dairy. Keep it simple […]
Ditalini translates to “little thimbles,” a reference to the diminutive tube shape Ditalini pasta is most typically used in Southern Italian cooking, and in particular the Campania region of Italy, where it graces Pasta e Fagioli, minestrone and other classic soups – or even a simple bowl of plain broth. While used most often in […]