The Vancouver Foodster Pasta Challenge was a success featuring creations from restaurants around greater Vancouver. Each restaurant featured their Pasta creation from October 8-31, 2020. Our media judging panel determined the ultimate winners of the challenge, and this was quite the task as each judge who tasted each creation with a rigorous process based on taste, originality/uniqueness and presentation/appearance.
The Winners are:
1st Place:
{101 points}
Casereccio Foods
West Coast Nonna’s Ravioli
Price: $22
Created by: Chef Alex
Description: Handmade spinach ravioli stuffed with BC wild sockeye salmon and creamy mascarpone cheese, served on a bed of velvety caviar cream.
Ingredients: Spinach (For the Pasta Sheets); BC Wild Sockeye Salmon; Mascarpone Cheese; Whipping cream, Caviar, Parmigiano.
Available: Lunch and Dinner daily
Casereccio Foods
2480 Vine Street, Vancouver
Tel: 604-734-4440
Instagram @casereccio_foods
2nd Place (tie):
{99 points}
Orto Artisan Pasta
Fall in Newfoundland
Price: $32
Created by: The team
Description: crab and lobster penne gratin, lobster bisque
Available: Lunch and Dinner, Tuesday – Saturday
Orto Artisan Pasta
1600 Mackay Rd, North Vancouver
Phone: (604) 929-0203
Web: http://ortoartisanpasta.com/
Instagram @ortoartisanpasta
2nd Place (tie):
{99 points}
Robba Da Matti
Pasta Ritorna alla Norma
Price: Lunch $18 and dinner $22
Created by: The team
Description: Autumn harvest roasted veg with a blush of tomato and shaved ricotta salata
Available: Lunch and Dinner (Yaletown) and Dinner only (Westend), also available for takeout.
Robba Da Matti
1127 Mainland Street, Vancouver
Phone:
Web: http://www.robbadamatti.com/
Twitter: @Robba_daMatti
Instagram: @robba_damatti
And
Robba Da Matti
1906 Haro Street, Vancouver
Phone: 604-423-3553
Twitter: @Robba_daMatti
Instagram: @robba_damatti
3rd Place:
{95 points}
Artusi Restaurant
Tagliatelle Dolce Forte
Price: $21
Created by: Chef Delbert Cirfera
Description: Tagliatelle Dolce Forte is handmade cacao pasta with wild boar & dark chocolate sauce, Parmigiano cream, pine nuts, chestnuts and fresh rosemary.
Origins of the traditional recipe date back to the Court of Medici, during the Renaissance (16th Century) – the dish being an original personal inspiration to Chef Delbert Cirfera of Artusi. This pasta changed minds wirth artistic flavour creativity, during a time when the world was hungry for beauty and illumination. Wild boar is fried to caramelize, then slow-braised for tender richness. Dolceforte Sauce is traditionally flavoured with juice of the cooked boar, vegetables, spices and red wine – then finished with nuts and dark bitter chocolate. We have given this centuries-old idea a new contemporary design, during a time when restoration of inspiration is needed once again.
Chef Cirfera has not only prepared sauce with delectable dark chocolate, but has also hand-made luxurious cacao noodles! Satisfyingly sweet and strong flavours are perfect cool weather comfort, with robust textures and an uncommonly delicious combination of ingredients.
Available: Tuesday – Sunday for dinner for dine-in, takeout and delivery
Artusi Restaurant
412 6th Street, New Westminster
Tel: (604) 553-9922
Website: http://www.artusirestaurant.com/
Twitter: @ArtusiNewWest
Instagram @artusirestaurant
In the People’s Choice Awards category, the public who tried the Pastacreations were the ones who had the opportunity to cast their vote throughout the challenge.
The Winners are:
1st Place People’s Choice:
Robba Da Matti
Pasta Ritorna alla Norma
Price: Lunch $18 and dinner $22
Created by: The team
Description: Autumn harvest roasted veg with a blush of tomato and shaved ricotta salata
Available: Lunch and Dinner (Yaletown) and Dinner only (Westend), also available for takeout.
Robba Da Matti
1127 Mainland Street, Vancouver
Phone:
Web: http://www.robbadamatti.com/
Twitter: @Robba_daMatti
Instagram: @robba_damatti
And
Robba Da Matti
1906 Haro Street, Vancouver
Phone: 604-423-3553
Twitter: @Robba_daMatti
Instagram: @robba_damatti
2nd Place People’s Choice:
Casereccio Foods
West Coast Nonna’s Ravioli
Price: $22
Created by: Chef Alex
Description: Handmade spinach ravioli stuffed with BC wild sockeye salmon and creamy mascarpone cheese, served on a bed of velvety caviar cream.
Ingredients: Spinach (For the Pasta Sheets); BC Wild Sockeye Salmon; Mascarpone Cheese; Whipping cream, Caviar, Parmigiano.
Available: Lunch and Dinner daily
Casereccio Foods
2480 Vine Street, Vancouver
Tel: 604-734-4440
Instagram @casereccio_foods
3rd Place People’s Choice:
Artusi Restaurant
Tagliatelle Dolce Forte
Price: $21
Created by: Chef Delbert Cirfera
Description: Tagliatelle Dolce Forte is handmade cacao pasta with wild boar & dark chocolate sauce, Parmigiano cream, pine nuts, chestnuts and fresh rosemary.
Origins of the traditional recipe date back to the Court of Medici, during the Renaissance (16th Century) – the dish being an original personal inspiration to Chef Delbert Cirfera of Artusi. This pasta changed minds wirth artistic flavour creativity, during a time when the world was hungry for beauty and illumination. Wild boar is fried to caramelize, then slow-braised for tender richness. Dolceforte Sauce is traditionally flavoured with juice of the cooked boar, vegetables, spices and red wine – then finished with nuts and dark bitter chocolate. We have given this centuries-old idea a new contemporary design, during a time when restoration of inspiration is needed once again.
Chef Cirfera has not only prepared sauce with delectable dark chocolate, but has also hand-made luxurious cacao noodles! Satisfyingly sweet and strong flavours are perfect cool weather comfort, with robust textures and an uncommonly delicious combination of ingredients.
Available: Tuesday – Sunday for dinner for dine-in, takeout and delivery
Artusi Restaurant
412 6th Street, New Westminster
Tel: (604) 553-9922
Website: http://www.artusirestaurant.com/
Twitter: @ArtusiNewWest
Instagram @artusirestaurant
Our Media judges for this challenge were: Jacqueline Chui, Rose Lin and Yuki No
Each media judge will have scored the creation with a maximum of 40 points as follows: Overall Taste 20 points, Originality and Uniqueness 10 points, Presentation and Appearance 10 points). The total number of points a pasta creation could earn is 120 points.
Thank you to the chefs and restaurants that accepted my invitation and featured their pasta on the menu for the past few weeks during this challenge.
I encourage you to visit the winning restaurants to try their pasta creations! See the entries here.
By: Richard Wolak