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SNACKING
Pasta to go
S
everal pasta meal makers who have pizza which can be packed
traditionally targeted other sectors in a to go format if
of the foodservice business are now required. Another Italian
actively promoting their ‘fast pasta’ meals company, Italian’s Food
to the café sector, having recognised the launched in UK market at
fact that many café and coffee shop BAR 08 at Earl’s Court this
customers are on the look out for a June and, together with its
healthy meal that’s ready in minutes, and innovative, compact and
portable. In addition, these suppliers highly efficient machinery,
realise that skill levels and space might be offers a complete range of
at a premium in such outlets, so have precooked and IQF frozen taken from the freezer upon order and
designed their complete pasta meal pastas, sauces, pizzas (and also cakes), to placed directly into the machines, and by
solutions to be easy to make and compact enable food service providers to prepare simply pressing a button, the products are
in terms of space required. and serve customers numerous healthy cooked to perfection thanks to the internal
Barilla, one of the world’s most well Italian culinary options in just two electronic panels which have been preset
known pasta brands, has launched the minutes. to guarantee perfect cooking times. All of
Pasta Cup in the UK. This is designed to Italian’s Food was created just over two our pastas are prepared to al dente and
work alongside Barilla’s PastaBar solution, years ago after in-depth research into both our pizzas cooked on the internal
which allows operators to serve fresh hot Italian and international markets’ eating chambers’ refractory stone bases, are
pasta to customers on the move, opening trends and demands. With today’s identical to those cooked by a traditional
up a whole new range of profit consumers becoming increasingly time- Italian pizzaiolo in an Italian pizzeria.”
opportunities for cafés and coffee shops. poor, and the constant growing need for The pastas and sauces are packaged in
The PastaBar is an integrated solution time-saving, but healthy, meal solutions, single-portion sachets (200g of pre-
that allows operators to deliver quick and the company decided that a healthy and cooked IQF frozen pasta and 100g of pre-
easy authentic Italian pasta dishes with fast alternative to traditional fast foods – cooked IQF frozen sauces). The
high and consistent quality. The solution often too high in fat contents and salt - convenience of this product line is that the
includes single serve pasta and sauce was needed. variety of sauces and pastas available is
portions, an ultra-fast cooking process, an With costs also being an extremely numerous, so the food service provider
exclusive pasta cooking machine, as well important issue with food service can offer more than just a small variety of
as marketing materials and advice providers, a concept with products that fixed pasta dishes a day. Instead, on a day
services, such as help on menu costing, would enable operators to reduce their to day basis, the type of pasta and sauce
recipe suggestions, training and technical qualified staffing costs, eliminate product can be altered. Also, with products
support and branding and point of sale wastage, facilitate stock management, individually packaged, there are no end of
communications. Barilla is available in the increase menu offerings and above all the day wastages and no preparation and
UK through Sagegreen (01606 815280). business profits, was also part of the remit cooking in advance. They are simply taken
Italian’s Food (www.italiansfood.it) is for Italian’s Food. directly from the freezer upon the
also offering a similar “We created two compact, stylish and customer’s order and in less than two
concept, that also highly efficient machines – a pizza oven minutes a high quality portion of pasta is
features and a pasta heater – which produce over ready to serve.
200 portions of pasta and 60 After its success in the foodservice
pizzas in just one hour,” explains market, UK-based Pasta King has now also
Sophia Broccardo, international launched into the retail sector with its
business development co- PK2GO range, which provides a healthy
ordinator for Italian’s Food. and convenient solution for those on the
“All of our food products are move.
PK2GO is an innovative pasta meal solution that is supplied in individual frozen pots to the retailer
and heated on purchase in the microwave in under three minutes. “There is big demand for healthy,
convenient products that can be bought and eaten on the move, and PK2GO is an ideal fit for that
market,” says Pasta King’s Sue Davenport. “Today, people want more choice, particularly at
lunchtime, than sandwiches and savouries and more importantly, they want to be able to purchase
it quickly with minimum fuss. Our pasta in a pot product is ideal for sandwich and coffee shops
who need to offer quick queue times and new varieties to encourage customers to repeat
purchase without getting bored.”
PK2GO is currently available in six different varieties from the more traditional Bolognese and
Carbonara flavours to a more unual Butternut Melt, which uses butternut squash and sage
together with a rich double cheese sauce.
40 AUGUST 2008 CAFÉ CULTURE
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