By Flavor & The Menu
May 5, 2022

Labor is a top issue today, for chefs at chains, hotels, college campuses, hospital settings and retail outlets. Chefs need help with saving time and saving labor without sacrificing quality of ingredients. They also have to keep innovating, serving up exciting menus despite back-of-house challenges.

To solve the labor issue, Barilla America has introduced Barilla Frozen, a line of pre-cooked, frozen pasta for foodservice professionals. “We developed Barilla Frozen to be an easy solution to the unique challenges operators are facing today, and to deliver the same performance and durability they expect from Barilla,” says Yury Krasilovsky, Foodservice and R&D Chef with Barilla America. “We set out to solve for the labor crunch by cutting out the prep steps to par-cook, drain, chill and store dry pasta for service, and it also improves consistency and cuts down on waste.”

Trend-forward dishes, like this one from Zoë Adelstein, Executive Chef/Owner of One More Bite Catering & Events in Boston, can be easily made using Barilla Frozen Pasta. For her signature fried chicken and waffles, she makes a unique batter with the pasta, andouille sausage, a creamy cheese sauce, hot sauce and Cajun spices.

INNOVATE WITH LESS LABOR

Barilla has been making pasta since 1877. In order to develop this new line of four cuts of frozen pasta, the company has applied the same dedication to quality, drawing on more than 140 years of pasta knowledge.

“When you’re using Barilla Frozen, we’re your prep cook on pasta that day, so you can use that labor on something else,” says Krasilovsky. “It’s made for foodservice—it’s made to be pushed; it’s made for those really busy times. We take the variables out. Everything is optimized—the cook time, the hold time. It makes prep simpler while keeping pastas dishes at a high quality, which makes customers happy.”

Making prep simple allows chefs to do what they do best—innovate.

Alex Hoefer, Executive Chef of Wind Creek Casino & Resort in Bethlehem, Penn., offers up his creative rendition of a pasta classic in his Mushroom Stroganoff with Barilla Elbows, thickening the rich sauce with yogurt and adding Parmigiano-Reggiano and beef stock for savory depth.

SPEED, VERSATILITY & QUALITY

Using pre-cooked pasta from Barilla opens up a wide range of venues and cooking platforms for serving pasta. Finishing on the stovetop or on the line is faster and more consistent, and now impinger ovens, microwaves and steamers can deliver al dente pasta, too. And with both delivery and takeout models demanding more attention today, Barilla’s pre-cooked and frozen pasta can get food out the door faster, while ensuring a great dining experience—even when held for 30 minutes or longer.

For more information about Barilla Frozen, visit Barillafs.com/frozen