Overview
A lockdown project from the teams behind The B.East, Globe Alley, Ferdydurke and Henry's, Lasagna Del Rey is Melbourne's newest delivery service, primed for chilly winter nights at home.
"I wanted to start a fun new venture while everything was closed," Lasagna Del Rey Executive Chef and General Manager Jarrod Moore told Concrete Playground. "So, I sat down with a bunch of restaurant owners, chefs and bartenders... we threw around ideas and before we knew it, we all unanimously agreed that what we wanted to do was eat and make amazing lasagne that was left-of-field and completely different."
From here, the team came up with three core lasagne — beef, chicken and vegan — all crafted from local produce and sold by the (generous) slice. Each flavour comes in two sizes: duo ($25) and family ($40).
Lasagna Del Rey's classic beef number is made with organic beef, smoked pork sugo and beef fat béchamel. Topped with a triple-cheese crust, the lasagne tastes like a smoky cheeseburger, according to Moore.
That smoky lasagne recipe was perfected thanks to feedback from a whole slew of cooks, too. "Just about every second day we'd have a chef or ex-hospo staff come in to do a shift and offer a suggestion to make the sauce thicker or more flavoursome — things I wouldn't have even thought of if I didn't have this diversity of input," Moore says. Maybe too many chefs don't spoil the broth (or, in this case, béchamel) after all.
Beef lasagne
Next on the lasagne lineup is the rotisserie chicken lasagne, which is made with Bannockburn free-range chicken that has been brined for 12 hours and covered in garlic butter. In between the layers of pasta, you'll also find garlicky field mushrooms, pancetta crisps and chargrilled cavolo nero
Lastly, and arguably the most notable part of Lasagna Del Rey's menu, is its plant-based offering, a dish sure to impress both vegans and meat eaters, says Moore. "Vegan cooking has been a big part of my life as a chef, working with a plant-based burger brand as well as developing vegan menus at my restaurants," Moore says. "A lot of chefs on my team are vegan, too, so this dish especially went through a lot of testing and tasting to make it as special as it is today."
The meat-free alternative is made with wild spinach pasta, smoked eggplant, piquillo peppers, cavolo nero and a shiitake mushroom bolognese.
While the menu only features three lasagne at the moment, Moore says that the team is currently developing a new flavour, with the goal to eventually offer a new lasagne every month. "Next on the list is something with seafood — think butter lobster bechamel lasagne."
Lasagna Del Rey's focus is not only on pasta, either, but on providing employment for hospo and music industry staff currently out of jobs because of the pandemic. You'll find them helping out in the kitchen and delivering lasagne to doors across Melbourne every Wednesday and Friday.
Lasagna Del Rey is available to pick up from Skinner & Hackett in Carlton, The B.East in Brunswick East and The B.East of Brunswick St in Fitzroy. Delivery is available to a heap of Melbourne suburbs between 12–5pm on Wednesday and Friday for $5. You can submit an order over here.
Images: Arianna Leggiero