Latest News
We've got plenty to talk about and most of it is to do with Pasta. Hot off the Pasta press, here's some fresh news...
Certified Pastafarians Rewarded!
17th July 2008
Source: PastaCup HQ
The wait is finally over. We are now ready to hit the ground running with our exclusive specials for members who register online or in store! With the overwhelming support for PastaCup in both Melville and North Perth, it took us a little longer than expected to get some specials out to certified pastafarians. But, don't worry – we are going to get some amazing specials out there to make up for lost time. The first edition of PastaCup Online will hit your in-box very soon!
Want fresh pasta on the run?
31st May 2008
Source: Scoop Magazine, Winter Edition
Want fresh pasta on the run? Try the new PastaCup – pick a size, a sauce and a pasta (from 20-off choices) and it’s made fresh for you. Presented in a cup with a dome-like lid it comes with bread rolls too.
Pasta takeaway has new name
28th May 2008
Source: The West Australian
For a nourishing takeaway meal, it's hard to go past PastaCup with its handmade noodles, tasty 24 sauces and fresh salads. Started by Stuart Bernstein, Siri Solumsmoen and Peter Lenny as the Italy Home Made store in North Perth, with a second outlet in Melville opening earlier this year.
On the menu, pasta and sauce combos in different sizes, ranging from kids ($5.75) to Family ($25.50) with functional domed lids that hold parmesan cheer and bread rolls to complete the meal. Also on offer are lasagne… parmigiana, garlic prawns and sides like chips, garlic bread and salads. One of the most popular sauces, Bonny, is names after a customer who kept asking for the same combination of cream and neapolitana sauce with chunks of chicken and semi-sun-dried tomatoes so often that it ended up on the menu.
Pasta passion is fresh inspiration
12th May 2008
Source: Guardian Express
A passion for freshly prepared home-style pasta has led three savvy entrepreneurs to launch a new food concept in North Perth [and Melville].
PastaCup [North Perth] in Village Square shopping centre off Charles Street, is the brainchild of Stuart Bernstein, his life and now business partner Siri Solumsmoen and Peter Lenny.
Many locals would be familiran with PastaCup's previous incarnation as Italy Home Made, which Stuart owned and ran together with the café next door, Poppies.
Keen to experiment with his pasta-making concept, he used the Italy Home Made kitchen to test-run his idea, before completing the metamorphosis last month with a branding change.
"We joined together as a partnership but firstly, we all wanted something of quality, something we could stand for and be proud of as owners." Siri said. "With that in mind, we started developing the ideas - and producing fresh pasta was that idea. We loved the theatre of production in front of our customers. They can just see it is fresh with not just saying it is fresh." Customers can choose from a selection of about 20 pastas and tomato and cream-based sauces, all hand made daily on the premises. The process is simple – pick a size, sauce and pasta and watch it being made to order.
The takeaway meal packaging includes a serve of parmesan cheese and [two] bread roll[s] to mop up any leftover sauce.
"Its simple food and casual food, but quality food, and we wanted it to be mainstream and accessible to everyone." Siri said. "It's slightly pricier than other fast food options, because it's a premium article. There is a lot of passion and care taken in the making of the pasta every day and is rather labour intensive."
And while the overriding perception of pasta is one of indulgence, Siri said a healthy dose of carbohydrates was imperative for a balanced diet.
"When Chris Judd lived in the area, he would come down quite often as do many of the semi-professional and elite athletes." Siri said.
A fresh take on takeaway
15th April 2008
Source: WA Business News
The words 'healthy' and 'fast food' aren't often used together but a new breed of entrepreneur is hoping to change that by combining nutrition with made-to-go servings for a hungry market.
The launch of the PastaCup store in Melville this month is the newest addition to this niche.
PastaCup is a takeaway pasta store where everything is made on site, from the pasta dough to the sauces.
The business is owned and operated by Siri Solumsmoen from Norway, and Perth local Stuart Bernstein, with Lenny's Kitchen director Peter Lenny a silent partner.
"Stuart always dreamed of being the pasta guy and producing it for the masses; he’s always wondered why there wasn't a pasta chain." Ms Solumsmoen told 'Gusto.
"He came up with something where you can mix up the quality of the product with fast food where people were readyt o appreciate it… they are more health conscious, think differently and have less time on their hands. It's a bit of a cliché these days but its true. Every day we stock up on all the pastas we make here with our pasta machine from Italy, there’s nothing that’s not made here on the premises."
Ms Solumsmoen and Mr Bernstein developed and tested their concept during the past 2 years in their North Perth deli-cum-restaurant, Italy Home Made, which has a café attached to it called Poppies.
"Poppies has been carrying the development of PastaCup. From Poppies we openedup Italy Home Made and that became PastaCup." Ms Solumsmoen says.
The Italy Home Made store was recently rebranded to Pastacup, a couple of weeks before the launch of the Melville store.
Ms Solumsmoen says while PastaCup Melville is the company’s flagship store, the couple hopes to open more in the future under a franchise model.
She says the North Perth store has gained its reputation mainly through word of mouth, with people coming in to have a coffee first and then trying the pastas. The Melville store, which is located on Canning Highway next to a video shop and another takeaway shop, has benefited from a large flow of clientele since day one.
"The customers came falling through the doors because they were already here." Ms Solumsmoen says. Developing the brand, however, has proved the business's major hurdle.
"Defining who we were and what we wanted to tell the customers was the hardest part," She says.
The PastaCup brand, which was developed by The Globe Design and Advertising, has a fun feel to it, from the imagery on the store's walls down to the description of the different pastas on the menu.
"When you have a café and you have a dining restaurant and you do a lot of takeaway... it was bewildering. They [Globe] put a face on us, and we realised it was ok to do only takeaway."
The Melville shop currently sells 200 serves a day, according to Ms Solumsmoen.
"They are mainly young 20s to mid-30s, in the single-no-kinds kind of segment, or double income no kids, time-deprived professionals and also a lot of students; there's also a sub-market of families because you can but a family tray." She says.
Customers can choose from about 20 different pastas and sauces, which are all made fresh before their eyes.
"The difference is how the pasta holds the sauce rather than the actual flavour," Ms Solumsmoen says. It's interesting because by favourite is Fusilli and I always have the Halloween sauce, which is cream-based with chicken and pumpkin... I just cant get past it. I could try spaghetti but it's just not the same."
Customers can choose to combine other ingredients with the pastas, such as schnitzels and parmigiana, garlic cream prawns, lasagne or freshly made salads.
Free pasta for a year presented to two lucky Pastafarians
14th April 2008
Source: PastaCup HQ
Perthnow.com.au ran a very successful competition this month and gave 2 huge prizes of free pasta for a year. We hope to offer the same again soon, so please stay tuned.