Pasta more popular than ever on foodservice menus

Pasta is now a mainstay right across the foodservice sector, with innovative chefs evolving it far from its Italian origins to create contemporary spins on familiar favourites. From fresh presentation styles like pasta fusion dishes, to pairing with new flavour notes, pasta’s popularity is greater than ever – which combined with its high profit margin and relative ease of preparation makes it a safe bet on the menu.

Pre-blanched pasta is the usual choice in foodservice, with most chefs opting to cook it three quarters of the way then finish it off – hence the need to choose quality pasta which has been optimised for professional use. As chef Peter Wright points out, it’s important to choose the right pasta for your customer demographic, based upon their tastes as well as how much you want to sell the dish for.

Peter adds that just as important as the choice of pasta is the choice of sauce. “In Australia we have tended to adapt the traditional Italian recipes, for example carbonara in Italy isn’t made with cream but we will usually add that when serving it here.” Peter says the important element in most pasta sauces is their distinctive umami flavour profile – “in the case of carbonara, you’re using salty cured meat, you have the sharpness of parmesan cheese – all these components add to the umami taste. That’s also the case with Bolognese sauce.”

He argues that one of the reasons for pasta’s presence on so many foodservice menus is that it’s one of the easiest dishes to make. “It can be as simple as three basic ingredients, but you can also go as complex as you want, such as a chicken pesto dish with 10 or 12 ingredients. All these dishes will generate a strong profit margin and you can always throw a pasta dish together with your leftovers and put it up on the specials board. I think pasta will always be popular – the fibre content ensures it’s satisfying, and as long as you get the flavours right, your customers will leave happy.”

Chefs adopting an artisanal approach

Here in Australia, the traditional form and appearance of pasta is undergoing dramatic changes, as contemporary chefs adopt an artisanal approach to its inclusion on the menu, says chef Adam Moore. “We’re seeing a lot of innovation in shapes as chefs are extruding their own fresh pasta – we’re also seeing filled pastas, not the traditional spinach and cheese or potato fillings but everything from caramelised onion and roast beef to pulled pork or duck. These are ingredients which wouldn’t have traditionally gone into a filled pasta in Italy.”

There’s also a move away from using 100 per cent durum wheat 000 flour to mixing different grains, as Adam notes: “Chefs are experimenting with different flours to get different textures, and when it comes to pasta texture is as important as flavour. We’re also seeing legume-based pastas made from chickpea or red lentils, as well as lots of herbs being used as inclusions within the pasta itself, as opposed to being sprinkled on as an ingredient in cooking.”

Dessert pastas are also becoming more popular on menus – “I’ve seen sweet pasta dough with chocolate or Nutella,” Adam reports, “as well as fried dessert ravioli. Chocolate pasta shells are trending right now and I think we’ll be seeing more dessert pastas on menu boards into the future.”

Contemporary spins on classic dishes are always a mainstay of our foodservice market, and pasta is no exception. “Pasta ragouts with fresh herb notes are a great example,” Adam tells us. “We’re now seeing breadcrumbs being mixed in with herbs and garlic and spread on pasta to enhance its texture, along with different cheeses like pangrattato or manchego – all of which can add a new depth of flavour.

“There’s plenty of regional variation in traditional Italian pasta dishes anyway, so some chefs are going back to the source and looking at those, presenting a Tuscan style sauce or Venetian style sauce rather than those familiar favourites like Bolognese which people tend to forget is named after its place of origin.”

Make sure the quality backs up the price

One of the reasons pasta dishes return strong profit margins is because they typically consist of smaller protein serves, as chef Gary Johnson points out: “It’s not like you’re using a 300g steak or 200g piece of fish, rather you’re using smaller amounts of intensely flavoured proteins like salami or anchovies, and the fibre in the pasta is what delivers the feeling of satiety.”

Such is pasta’s popularity that you can market these dishes in the high teens or even up into the twenties, as long as the quality is up there to back the price up. “The trick with pasta is to par-cook it and then bring it quickly back up to temperature just before serving – three to four minutes in boiling water, drain it quickly, then toss it in the sauce and serve. That way there’s a lot less handling and it’s a more efficient process – and you can do this for everything from risoni to pappardelle,” Gary says.

While fresh, frozen and dried pastas are all options for foodservice operators in today’s competitive market, Gary says fresh pastas are always a superior choice than dried – “You might pay 30 or 40 cents for a portion of dried pasta vs $2 for fresh, but in the scheme of things that’s still in the ballpark as far as your costings are concerned,” he points out. “The sauce will coat better and the customer will find it a much more enjoyable meal – and the cost of your fresh pasta is still a lot less than that of your protein.”

He also recommends that when it comes to formulating your pasta recipes, it’s best to keep things simple: “A beautiful carbonara, bolognese or puttanesca – those classic dishes done really well will still outsell everything else. We might do a sauteed prawn and chorizo pasta with a salsa verde and that will attract some diners, but nevertheless if you put it up against a carbonara then the carbonara’s going to beat it hands down.”

During the summer months, seafood pasta dishes are particularly popular on menus – again prepared simply, such as with olive oil, sauteed tomato and a squeeze of lemon. “The joy of these is they are simple, warming, homestyle dishes – comfort food is probably the best description,” Gary says. “I generally find in the summer the customer’s preference is for lighter sauces and aromatic herbs, served with fresh seafood. In the winter you can serve pasta dishes which are little more cream-based, or make up a sauce with tomato and vegetables.”