Savory Pasta Bakes…With Chef Kevin Felice

Kevin Felice has found a way to leverage savory pasta bakes across the multiple restaurant concepts housed under 40 North Restaurant Group’s umbrella, touting the bakes for their versatility, familiarity and operational ease. “Bakes provide our guests with a safe format that promises something comforting and craveable,” says Felice, who serves as Director of Operations and Food/Beverage for 40North, based in Morristown, N.J. “Bakes are versatile enough that we can feature them across different restaurant concepts, giving our guests approachable menu options that are still signature and well-crafted.” The six brands include a modern American comfort-centric gastropub called The Office Tavern Grill; Piattino, an eclectic Italian bistro; and NOM Mexican Table + Tequila Bar, which menus creative spins on classic Mexican fare. “Operationally, bakes are important for us. The landscape is shifting again and yes, to-go is still a big part of our business and will continue to be for the foreseeable future, but even more significant now are events and banqueting—both are really ramping up,” says Felice.

EASY DOES IT

Felice sources Barilla pasta for his savory pasta bakes, counting on its high quality and consistency, and using it as a springboard for incredibly creative and broadly appealing dishes. At the Office Tavern, he recently launched a Tavern Shrimp Macaroni and Cheese Bake, starring spice-rubbed shrimp, burrata, bread crumbs and Barilla Rigatoni. It’s featured on the restaurant, to-go and catering menus. “It’s rich and delicious with nice, developed flavors,” says Felice. “Because it’s a bake, we can do the heavy lifting in developing those flavors ahead of time. This bake is batched up in advance, then heated at service. It puts us in a better position to execute quickly and consistently—without taxing the line.”

GLOBAL TAKES ON PASTA BAKES

With pasta providing key back-of-house solutions, Felice wanted to extend its reach beyond Italian and Mediterranean dishes. “Pasta is so versatile and works so well in bakes, we wanted to find a way to work it into our new Mexican concept, NOM Mexican Table and Tequila Bar,” he says. He and his team developed a clever play on elote called the Street Corn Enchilada Bake. Available on both to-go and catering menus, the savory bake sees Barilla’s Lasagne Chef—half pan lasagne sheets layered with roasted street corn, queso fresco, salsa, Fresno chile and scallions. “Because guests know and love pasta, it gives you license to explore a number of different global profiles—the bake is an easy way for us to execute it efficiently ahead of time,” he says.

TEST DRIVING BARILLA FROZEN

Felice describes Barilla’s new line of pre-cooked and frozen pasta as “a huge win for operators.” “We’re struggling with labor, struggling with talent. Barilla Frozen eliminates the variables in cooking pasta and guarantees that the dish is cooked properly the first time,” he says. When developing savory bakes in quantity, Barilla Frozen offers crucial time savings, along with waste and labor reduction. “You get the high quality of Barilla in a frozen pasta. And although it weighs a little more and costs a little more, when you factor in labor and waste, the cost evens out. It’s ideal for the challenges that we’re facing today.”

For more recipe inspiration, go to http://www.barillafs.com/.