{"id":25588,"date":"2018-11-21T16:11:55","date_gmt":"2018-11-21T21:11:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev-gordon-food-service-canada.pantheonsite.io\/ideas\/noodling-flavour-with-pasta\/"},"modified":"2025-07-01T11:30:44","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T15:30:44","slug":"noodling-flavour-with-pasta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/noodling-flavour-with-pasta\/","title":{"rendered":"Noodling Flavour with Pasta"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>From ramen to rigatoni, chefs across Canada are leveraging the familiarity of noodles and making them signature dishes.<\/h2>\n<p>The world of noodles is big, encompassing everything from the endlessly popular Italian-born pasta to the globally driven bowls of Asian noodles. Both boast enviable traits for menu investment\u2014they\u2019re satiating, comforting and inherently familiar. Who doesn\u2019t understand and love noodles? But what\u2019s the opportunity in this category today? How are modern flavour preferences and creative recipe development impacting menu innovation here?<\/p>\n<h3>Pasta perfection<\/h3>\n<p>Pasta is a menu mainstay in Canada, with chefs leveraging its familiarity and popularity. Today, the opportunity seems to embrace both regional authenticity and simplicity. \u201cThe trend I\u2019m seeing is a move toward more hand-crafted pastas, interesting shapes, and a focus on regional specialties, like Rome\u2019s cacio e pepe, which has taken off like crazy,\u201d says Michael Viloria, Customer Solutions Specialist and Culinary Chef for Gordon Food Service in Delta, B.C.<\/p>\n<p>Comfort-centric pasta builds, starring flavour-rich ragus, sugos and Sunday sauces, are perfect for fall and winter, promising a hearty, warm dish. They also weave a powerful narrative of homespun, hand-crafted food\u2014a value that\u2019s important to today\u2019s dining consumers.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Menu examples:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Pink Pappardelle Pasta: Creamy leek sauce, pancetta and smoked salmon\u2014La Pasta, Victoria, B.C.<\/li>\n<li>Porcini Fettuccine: Hand-crafted pasta with wild and field mushrooms, chilli, garlic, lemony gremolata, pangrattato and Parmigiano-Reggiano\u2014Jamie\u2019s Italian, two locations in Toronto<\/li>\n<li>Pappardelle alla Toscana with wild boar ragu and Parmigiano-Reggiano\u2014Uccellino, Edmonton, Alberta<\/li>\n<li>House Made Ricotta Gnocchi with pork cheeks \u201csugo,\u201d soffrito and basil\u2014Lupo, Vancouver<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/cms.gfs.ca\/sites\/default\/files\/inline-images\/Noodles-EN-Infographic-CA.jpg\" alt=\"Using your noodles infographic\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<h3><strong>Asian noodles<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>This is a big umbrella, hosting everything from Vietnamese pho to Japanese ramen and everything in between, including mashups that borrow from the Asian pantry while turning noodle dishes into eclectic Canadian ones. David Chang\u2019s Momfuku has certainly helped move Asian noodles into the spotlight, as has the proliferation of hip food trucks and small mom-and-pops that specialize in these aromatic, soothing, filling bowls of comfort.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Menu examples:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Dry Noodle Bowl: Minced pork with soybean sauce, bean curd, cucumber, tea-infused egg\u2014Rhino Fish Noodle Bar, Vancouver, B.C.<\/li>\n<li>Chicken Hunan Kung Pao: Ginger soy sauce, wok fried vegetables and noodles, peanuts\u2014Earls, multiple locations<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Ramen deserves its own star in the constellation of Asian noodles. \u201cThanks to the food truck scene, ramen has become more familiar, encouraging chefs outside of Asian concepts to think outside the box and make ramen a menu standout,\u201d says Jason Kalinowski, Customer Solutions Manager for Gordon Food Service in Milton, Ontario.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cApart from the cool factor with ramen, it brings with it a health halo, as many consumers equate freshness with well-being.\u201d As it incorporates bone broth, fresh vegetables and often leans into the veg-centric trend, the opportunity to twist ramen into a signature, on-trend item is significant.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Menu examples:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Chicken Yuzu Ramen with corn, katsuobushi, sansyo\u2014Momofuku Noodle Bar, Toronto<\/li>\n<li>Ramen Sarada: Ramen noodles, ground cherries, cucumber, shiso, cilantro, \u00a0Sriracha peas, nori, ginger vinaigrette\u2014Biir\u016b, Montr\u00e9al<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Three modern protein adds for signature ramen<\/h3>\n<p>Although there\u2019s nothing wrong with the traditional ramen element of pork belly, chefs might consider switching up the protein in their takes on ramen, lending it a level of intrigue while signaling to the guest that they\u2019re in for a creative take on a traditional dish.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Duck confit<\/li>\n<li>Char siu<\/li>\n<li>Oxtail<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Bring the heat<\/h3>\n<p>Whether menuing Asian or Italian noodles, there\u2019s big opportunity in adding heat. Consumers show no signs of slowing down when it comes to their adaption of \u201cnew\u201d heat sources, moving from chipotle and jalape\u00f1o to harissa, sambal and Sriracha at a dizzying pace. For Italian pasta dishes, consider the Calabrian or pepperoncini for regional flair, or dive further afield into Tunisia, with the addition of that beautifully hued, slightly funky sauce, harissa. And with Asian-style noodles, the world is your oyster, from sambal and Sriracha to gochujang, guajillo and Fresno chiles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From ramen to rigatoni, chefs across Canada are leveraging the familiarity of noodles and making them signature dishes. The world of noodles is big, encompassing everything from the endlessly popular Italian-born pasta to the globally driven bowls of Asian noodles. Both boast enviable traits for menu investment\u2014they\u2019re satiating, comforting and inherently familiar. Who doesn\u2019t understand [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":26890,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[122,68,123,112,111,113],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-catering-small-business","category-culinary-ideas","category-hotels-hospitality","category-restaurant-bars","category-healthcare","category-university"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.9 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Noodling Flavour with Pasta | Gordon Food Service<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/noodling-flavour-with-pasta\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Noodling Flavour with Pasta\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"From ramen to rigatoni, chefs across Canada are leveraging the familiarity of noodles and making them signature dishes. The world of noodles is big, encompassing everything from the endlessly popular Italian-born pasta to the globally driven bowls of Asian noodles. Both boast enviable traits for menu investment\u2014they\u2019re satiating, comforting and inherently familiar. Who doesn\u2019t understand [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/noodling-flavour-with-pasta\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gordon Food Service\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GordonFoodService\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-11-21T21:11:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-01T15:30:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Pasta-Idea-Center-695x375-2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"695\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"375\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Cody Rivers\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@cody.rivers@gfs.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@GFSDelivers\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Cody Rivers\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Noodling Flavour with Pasta | Gordon Food Service","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/noodling-flavour-with-pasta\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Noodling Flavour with Pasta","og_description":"From ramen to rigatoni, chefs across Canada are leveraging the familiarity of noodles and making them signature dishes. The world of noodles is big, encompassing everything from the endlessly popular Italian-born pasta to the globally driven bowls of Asian noodles. Both boast enviable traits for menu investment\u2014they\u2019re satiating, comforting and inherently familiar. Who doesn\u2019t understand [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/noodling-flavour-with-pasta\/","og_site_name":"Gordon Food Service","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GordonFoodService\/","article_published_time":"2018-11-21T21:11:55+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-07-01T15:30:44+00:00","og_image":[{"width":695,"height":375,"url":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Pasta-Idea-Center-695x375-2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Cody Rivers","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@cody.rivers@gfs.com","twitter_site":"@GFSDelivers","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Cody Rivers","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/noodling-flavour-with-pasta\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/noodling-flavour-with-pasta\/"},"author":{"name":"Cody Rivers","@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/#\/schema\/person\/ac2dd585b10d08ce15daca230d897374"},"headline":"Noodling Flavour with Pasta","datePublished":"2018-11-21T21:11:55+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-01T15:30:44+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/noodling-flavour-with-pasta\/"},"wordCount":661,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/en-ca\/ideas\/noodling-flavour-with-pasta\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/gfs.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Pasta-Idea-Center-695x375-2.jpg","articleSection":["Catering &amp; 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