Inspired by Asian flavors, Boyer developed the Glazed Umami Rigatoni, a wholly original and delicious pasta dish. Featuring Barilla Mezzi Rigatoni, he adds doenjang and gochujang to the pasta water, then reduces the broth by half. After straining it, he adds in the cooked pasta and brings the dish to a boil, allowing the reduced broth to glaze the pasta and emulsify with the pasta starch. Boyer scatters nori over the dish and once it wilts, he serves the pasta with a flourish of gochugaru, sesame seeds and nori strips. “You get warmth from the gochugaru, umami and butteriness from the doenjang and gochujang, lending the pasta a wonderful depth of flavor,” says Boyer.

“Any opportunity we have where we can feature a pasta dish as an LTO—we’ll take it,” says Michael Boyer, F&B Product Development Chef for Nordstrom Restaurant Group. “With the built-in popularity of pasta, developing menu promotions that revolve around pasta gives us an almost-guaranteed win.” Pasta is a mainstay on Nordstrom menus, both in the cafés and the grab-and-go’s. For all of its pasta needs, Boyer sources Barilla. “We are long-time fans of Barilla. They offer the quality and consistency we can deliver for our customers.”