It’s about putting luxury ingredients on a standard, popular base and winning both consumer acclaim and great margins. Pasta is one of the original Hi-Lo foundations — think Lobster Mac and Cheese or Truffled Spaghetti — and is primed for exploration. We caught up with Chef Margaret Occhipinti of LifeWorks, Aramark’s upscale B&I division, to get a chef’s take on going Hi-Lo with pasta.

Q: Where would you start with a Hi-Lo approach to pasta?

There are some obvious go-to’s for Hi-Lo with pasta — truffles, a bit of caviar, lobster — all of them work well. But there are many pathways to luxury! It’s all about combining something perceived as special or indulgent with the popularity and comfort of pasta; done right it’s magnetic!

Q: What are some of the other pathways?

One is experiential — tableside preparations and theatrical finishes, from tossing pasta in a cheese wheel to pouring a decadent broth onto a dish at service.

Q: What about ingredient and flavor pairings, and how do you make it work from a food cost standpoint?

High-end proteins are a smart approach both for operators and guests. Imagine a wagyu short rib ragu, maybe spiked with porcini or truffles, creamy and decadent. You could use a super-comfort food pasta shape, like pastina, and make it like a risotto for the foundation. As an operator, it doesn’t have to take a lot of that expensive protein to make a high-value dish, and the guest is definitely going to be satisfied.

Seafood is another way in — it’s not something guests are likely to cook at home and has that same luxury appeal as well. Bucatini with a nice piece of grouper and a Calabrian chili broth, poured tableside? Now we’re talking!

Q: How does this go over in your operations?

In corporate dining, we serve a lot of young professionals that are eager to try new things, taste what they’ve heard about, and share it with their social circles. When we give them an opportunity to “plus up” dishes like pasta with something special, they’ll take us up on it every time and pay a little extra for it!

High Potential

Talking about Hi-Lo with operators can open doors to incorporating luxury ingredients with pasta. Operators may be willing to try wagyu or truffles if they know they’re using them on a profitable base. Stretching those high-value ingredients with a can’t-miss offering like pasta lowers the risk!

Hi-Lo also gives chefs a way to be creative without getting too complicated. Pasta is the perfect platform — it’s comforting, familiar, and incredibly versatile. A small amount of something premium, paired with a great Barilla^® pasta shape, can create a dish that feels special and still works operationally. A little flair, like a pour at the table or a bold finishing oil, adds to the experience. Guests notice, they share it, and they come back for more. For menus today, top-quality pasta like Barilla brings the best of both worlds.

*Content provided in partnership with Barilla.