Italpasta Gluten Free Dinner, 7 Numbers, Toronto, ON

I got invited to a media dinner this evening which was hosted by Italpasta to showcase their new gluten free pasta products.

Joseph Vitale’s lifelong passion for food was formed in his mother’s kitchen in Bari, Italy when he was just a little boy. He founded Italpasta in 1989 and since then, Italpasta Limited has grown to become a premium manufacturer of pasta in Canada. 

It was held at 7 Numbers on the Danforth.

The white wine was delicious!

Laura Dal Bo, Marketing Manager at Italpasta, was friendly and chatted with Gord and  I. She said a few words before the food was served.  Italpasta has many lines of dried pasta and last year introduced the gluten free line. It is made with both rice and corn. They just obtained their gluten free certification from the Canadian Celiac Association, which will soon appear on all their gluten free products.

Laura introduced Julie Daniluk,a nutritionist, author and speaker who has appeared on shows such as Dr. Oz. She explained how gluten is found in wheat, barley, rye, durham spelt and some oats and the various sensitivities that people have to gluten. Gluten is the protein found in wheat (i.e. durham, semolina), spelt, kamut, barley, rye and occasionally oats if they contaminated in the manufacturing process. Oats have a protein similar to wheat so it makes a poor substitute for those concerned about gluten sensitivity.

Here is what we were served ...

Eggplant Pasta Salad

Primavera Pasta

Penne Rigate Pasta with Sundried Tomatoes and Roasted Garlic

Spaghetti with Fava Bean Pesto

My favs were the first two ... Eggplant Pasta Salad and Primavera Pasta.

Frank DeMichino, the COO of Italpasta, thanked Vito Marinuzzi, one of the owners of the restaurant, for having us.

Everyone was given a gift bag with products and recipes when we left ...

 It was a fun night and some great food!  Thanks for the invitation!