Stevie Parle: Pasta Master
The Pastaio ace on the pasta renaissance
Stevie Parle’s Pastaio is a love letter to his favourite food. The chef and owner of Rotorino, Craft London and Palatino added the no-reservations fresh pasta restaurant to his portfolio in 2017 and it has thrived ever since, with a new branch opening in Westfield London.
“I’m just trying to look after people, and feed people, and make them feel restored,” he said, “and pasta is immensely comforting, and delicious, and just works.”
One of the things Parle was keen to do with Pastaio was to make a high quality but accessible restaurant. “When I’m making pasta, I can use the produce that I use in Craft, which has a tasting menu at £75, but I can make it work so you can have the meals for £6, and it’s fast and it’s delicious and everyone likes it.”
And yes, everyone loves it. Even salad-lovers are on the look-out for high-quality cheat meals. “If you’re going to eat pasta, you want it to be really, really good. No one wants that studenty stodge, so you’re going to eat pasta at Pastaio and it’s a massive treat.”
To bring a little more Pastaio to your home-cooked meals, try to take the time to make fresh pasta, a process he took people through at this year’s Townhouse. “It’s not an everyday thing,” Parle acknowledges, “it takes time and you’ve got to luxuriate in that and enjoy the process, but I think that’s really important.” Beyond that, avoid these ultimate pasta-making sins: too small a saucepan of water, too little salt in the water, overcooked pasta, and too little sauce to serve.
His favourite pasta dish? “I was really hungover yesterday and I went to Pastaio and had carbonara,” he smiles, where the dish is made with guanciale (cured pork cheeks), Kentish eggs, pecorino, Parmesan and black pepper. “And, oh my God, it sorted me right out.”