"barilla" news and stories

Mario Batali has been busy lately.

In recent weeks he opened his Italian food emporium Eataly in Manhattan and launched the inaugural issue of his new promotional magazine Viaggio. He's also working on a new online cookbook project, The Celebrity Pasta Lovers Cookbook, created with actress Julianne Moore and sponsored by Barilla pasta (through it's Share the Table project, featuring pasta recipes from film and television stars like Jimmy Fallon and Meryl Streep).

So we felt very lucky (and knew we had to talk fast) when Batali took the time to sit down with Slashfood in New York City to chat about pasta, pizza and all things Italian.

At the majority of events at the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival, celebrity chefs whip up gourmet burgers, lobster rolls and even dim sum for their fans. Last night, the tables were turned at the Barilla Interactive dinner at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables. At this gathering the people behind the stove weren't named Emeril, Rachael or Guy. Instead, the guests were doing the cooking for the likes of Lidia Bastianich, Philippe Ruiz and Joe Bastianich.

The ornate Biltmore ballroom was the scene of this impromptu Italian cooking experiment. Each table was equipped with a gas burner, frying pans and assorted cooking tools. A student chef from Coral Gables Senior High School partnered up with each table to guide us through the process.

Be sure to follow Slashfood's SOBE coverage on Twitter.

Sarah recently posted about the fact that sales of spaghetti are down at the leading supermarket chain in England because "younger British diners lack the same culinary skills their parents have." That doesn't hold true in the US, where long, thin spaghetti is still the best selling pasta shape. Since most people buy their spaghetti premade and dried (even restaurants, according to Waiter), Real Simple magazine took the opportunity to taste test fifteen common store brands and pick out their favorites. They judged the pasta on flavor and texture, looking for a slight nuttiness and noodles that didn't get mushy after cooking. Dressed in simply olive oil and salt, the spaghetti went to a tasting panel and they picked out their top three: (1) De Cecco 12, (2) Barilla,  (3) Colavita. De Cecco is twice as expensive ($2/pound vs. $1/pound) as the other brands, but tasters thought it was clearly the best choice, with great flavor and texture.

Maybe if they switched to one of these brands, the spaghetti-challenged diners wouldn't mind a chance to practice their fork-twirling skills.

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