Cosmo Magliozzi, the founder of Pasta 78, a fast casual pasta concept in Arizona, reveals how his brand can churn out fresh pasta in 4 minutes.
By Cosmo Magliozzi, founder, Pasta 78
Pasta is one of the world's best-loved dishes with Americans consuming 6 billion pounds of the classic Italian dish each year. However, because it is known for taking time to make, it is often overlooked as a lunch option. At a full-service Italian restaurant, for example, it typically takes 15-20 minutes to prepare. I like pasta and can eat it every day, but I especially love "fresh pasta." That's why my goal was to find a way to make and offer fresh pasta and serve it under four minutes. I went on a quest; I found a solution.
At Pasta 78, we make 16 pounds of fresh pasta per hour — pasta in 4 minutes. We offer four different pasta shapes daily: two short and two long noodles. In addition, we also offer seven sauces along with our four "Alimenti" proteins, but wait, it gets better.
We gave the customer the ability to build their own pasta bowl anyway they like. Give them the ability to assemble seventy-eight combinations between sauces and fresh pastas, proteins, and vegetables. Yet there was something missing, the bowl needs to be topped off with fresh basil and our house-blended cheese.
Some of our tips for making our pasta quickly while maintaining quality include:
- Using a commercial pasta machine to make the pasta quickly onsite.
- Dedicating a staff member, our Pastaio, completely to pasta making, and another team member, our Saucer, to sauces for maximum efficiency.
- Only serving fresh, never frozen pasta that can be cooked in just two minutes and served al dente
I was fortunate to be born Italian from one of the original Roman provinces Formia located between Rome and Naples on the coast. Our family had endless access to fresh seafood, vegetables, and grass-fed meats. My grandparents where all excellent cooks, they grew their own vegetables, canned fresh San Marzano tomatoes, made fresh olive oil and of course they also made fresh pasta.
My father, on the other hand, was a chef who learned classic techniques for Italian cuisine at the Accademia in Rome. At 7 years old, I cooked my first bowl of pasta. I remember that day, the fresh smell of semolina flour, the simmering San Marzano tomato sauce, basil and Parmiggiano. There are certain ingredients that never lose their place in food.
At Pasta 78, this is my inspiration to allow our customers to experience my very first fresh pasta bowl. This is important to me.
Cosmo Magliozzi, the founder of Pasta 78, a fast casual pasta concept in Arizona. Although Magliozzi began his journey in banking and has a background in finance and business operations, he has been working in the restaurant business with his father for the past 25 years.
September 14, 2020 at 08:19PM
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