En Vogue Pasta Strikes a Pose

Much like big hair or Gangnam style, trends in pasta come and go. The Local Palate looked to pasta pundit Michael Perez, executive chef of Indaco and Colletta’s, to learn more about the changing fads. According to Chef Michael, unique stuffed pastas such as casonsei and cappelletti are en vogue while the previously popular tricolored pastas are fading out of style. These changes in popularity can be accredited to experts such as Marc Vetri, who both introduces new shapes and revives traditional ones in his cookbooks, including his most recent: Mastering Pasta: The Art and Practice of Handmade Pasta, Gnocchi, and Risotto. Top-notch Italian restaurants like Indaco take the ever-changing styles into consideration on a daily basis when developing their menus. As for the future, Chef Michael predicts “more unique and intricate shapes making their way into the kitchen” due to the resurgence of artistic pasta-making in the past five years.