Electrolux Professional takes a bite out of the Big Apple – Making “fast casual” a reality in New York
Academia Barilla teamed up with Electrolux Professional to launch the first authentic Italian “fast casual” restaurant on the streets of Downtown Manhattan “The Academia Barilla Restaurant”. The new concept combines the convenience, speed and price of a fast food chain, with the food quality of a casual dining restaurant.
Electrolux Professional focused on quality, speed and standardisation when designing the kitchen of the Academia Barilla Restaurant, relying on two HSG -High Speed Panini Grills to serve a wide variety of panini combinations in less than 60 seconds. Each panini is served with the same standard of core and exterior: crispy on the outside with a perfectly cooked core, plus and the traditional grill marks left by the Grill make the Panini look even more inviting!.
Barilla’s flagship kitchen also boasts two Electrolux Professional air-o-steam Touchline combi ovens – a 6 grid and a 10 grid module, stacked in a tower configuration – a 900XP double-well pasta cooker, and the thermaline Tilting Kettle, both renown for performance, reliability and energy savings.
This combination of innovative appliances allows Barilla to deliver on its menu of fine quality pizza, pasta, soups and salads, combining speed with culinary excellence. Luca Uva, Group Director of Academia Barilla Restaurants commented: “Within a few days of opening, we found ourselves serving between 600 and 650 people in just a few hours – an astonishing amount that is only achievable with cutting edge equipment. We’ve been very selective in our choice of strategic partners and I’m pleased to say that Electrolux Professional is one of them.”