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 […]
Welcome to the Pasta Encyclopedia! In each issue, we will dive into everything you need to know about a select Barilla pasta cut. This issue, we’re talking about Cut Macaroni. Cut Macaroni, is named for its tubular shape that can vary in size and be either smooth or ridged. These small tubes pair best with […]
The ideas, photos and recipes coming to us from our partnership with School Meals That Rock are an amazing source of inspiration. One of our recent favorites was from Carina Myatt from Midland ISD in Texas: Carina posted a picture of a student tasting panel of first graders tasting a “Delicious Deli Pasta Salad.” They […]
Welcome to the Whole Grain Pasta Cooking School! In this space we share tips and strategies for cooking whole grain pasta in a school foodservice environment. Today’s lesson is: Shake it Off! No, we’re not talking about Taylor Swift’s hit single (though it’s probably now stuck in your head…you’re welcome!). We’re talking about the importance […]
Welcome to the Whole Grain Pasta Cooking School! In this space we share tips and strategies for cooking whole grain pasta in a school foodservice environment. Today’s lesson is: every minute counts! You probably already know about Chef Bruno’s 5-minute rule for par-cooking pasta. With such a short span of time, it makes sense that […]
The ideas, photos and recipes coming to us from our partnership with School Meals That Rock are an amazing source of inspiration. One of our recent favorites was from Zahava Roth and Kim Minestra from Evanston, IL. They posted a picture of a student’s plate, with a portion of Asian-style noodles, tofu and veggies, balanced […]
At the start of every year, the season for food trend predictions peaks. Here are some of the ones we found most compelling: Restaurant Business gives a restaurant industry outlook for 2018 Sodexo chefs name 5 food trends for 2018 Mintel discusses how iGens are setting new expectations for restaurants Flavor & the Menu’s “Top […]
Gemelli derives its name from the Italian word for twins, a reference to the spiral shape that resembles two strands entwined around each other. However, it’s actually made from a single strand twisted into that spiral shape. These small pasta twists appear all over Italy, with tomato mozzarella and basil in the south, and pesto […]
In this series, we look more closely at lesser-known region of Italy in every issue. As consumers continue to clamor for authentic, regional foods from Italy, it pays to be in the know! This month, we travel to northern Italy and to the region of Piedmont. Piedmont is located in northwestern Italy, from the Apennines […]
Columbus Day last year marked 523 years since Italian culture first hit the shores of the Americas. It may surprise you that in 2017 Italian was still the #1 ethnic cuisine in the US by a wide margin. Italian cuisine remains the most appealing type of European cuisine on the menu that consumers want to see […]
Welcome to the Whole Grain Pasta Cooking School! In this space we share tips and strategies for cooking whole grain pasta in a school foodservice environment. Today’s lesson is a refresher on: cooking in steamers. While it’s not our top choice for cooking pasta, we know it’s an important and widespread cooking platform for many […]