How to Do the Best Home Italian Holiday Feast – Anytime

(Gerry Furth-Sides) Two of the most respected chefs who have created food for the most beloved restaurants in Los Angeles are sharing their homemade dishes to eat at home.

Chef Cynthia Mamukari, founder-owner-chef of Taste & Company developed a pasta kit.

Restaurateur & Executive Chef Celestino Drago helped develop plant-based lasagna noodles for Vegan Sunday Supper’s Six-Layer Lasagna. Drago also offers their own phenomenal pasta out of their commissary.

Chef Cynthia Mamukari, founder-owner-chef of Taste & Company was the executive chef at the famous Joe Allen’s Restaurant in Los Angeles, after being recruited to work in their flagship New York and London restaurants. She was also the opening chef at Orso, an equally popular and more casual eatery both in West Hollywood and in Manhattan.

Restaurateur & Executive Chef Celestino Drago and his family are beloved in Los Angeles and Pasadena for their restaurants, Drago Centro, IL Pastaio, Drago Bakery & Drago Restaurant Group).

The Taste & Company kit is filled with the freshest pasta and turkey or vegetarian sauce for the most health-minded customers. It ensures that kids who are eating and making the pasta know what it is supposed to taste like when it is “done right.” And adults will appreciate this quality as well.

Taste & Company‘s Chef Cynthia suggests her box specifically for: “When your family calls for a nice dinner of fresh semolina pasta and a homemade sauce. Easy to follow, explicit instructions are included to make the dish. It’s so easy, kids can prepare it

Just by adding wine or sparkling grape juice to the table , you have – presto- ” and would like, ” Italy in a box.” The

Vegan Sunday Supper

Vegan Sunday Supper’s Six-Layer Lasagna (2-4 Servings $28.95 / 6-8 Servings $44.95) is a completely new take on the traditional sausage recipe made with sweet peppers and vegan cheeses, but there is a very special secret ingredient, Future Farms Sausage, which makes this Lasagna just as satisfying and delicious as a traditional meat Lasagna, without the meat! Vegan Sunday Supper also shares the love as 25% of all profits from Vegan Sunday Supper go directly toward benefitting and funding Support + Feed, a non-profit organization created during the pandemic by Maggie Baird (Actress, Voice Artist, Screenwriter), while fighting hunger and climate change one plant-based meal at a time.

Support + Feed’s focus is to have a footprint in cities across the country that are the most impacted by food insecurity and climate change. Support + Feed works tirelessly to nourish those in need by assisting local nonprofits with nourishing plant-based meals and informational resources on its nutritional benefits.

Vegan Sunday Supper’s new gourmet ready-to-bake 100% Plant-Based Six-Layer Lasagnas are now available for home delivery anywhere Nationwide, so celebrateValentine’s Day by visiting www.VeganSundaySupper.com now to help fight hunger and climate change one meal at a time.

Vegan Sunday Supper was created by Founder Richard Klein, a sought-after brand strategist, publisher, creative director and activist.  After Klein transitioned to a plant-based diet 15 years ago, he found himself trying to recreate delicious vegan versions of the dishes he loved, including Lasagna.

Klein’s culinary dream team started with first-generation Italian American Chef Vincent Giovanni, the chef responsible for Laurel Hardware’s bona fide pizza program in West Hollywood.

Next, Klein and Giovanni turned to Los Angeles legend,  Restaurateur & Executive Chef Celestino Drago (Drago Centro, IL Pastaio, Drago Bakery & Drago Restaurant Group), who became responsible for developing the finest and freshest plant-based lasagna noodles. Finally, to source the best vegan cheese, Celebrity Vegan Chef Angela Lowe (Angela Lowe Private Chef, Catering & Events, Premier Vegan Catering & Events), known for her innovative vegan cooking and her award-winning vegan cheeses.

The result is a  100% Plant-Based Lasagna with a new take on the traditional sausage recipe, with sweet peppers and vegan cheeses. The special secret ingredient, Pulled Oats was used to make the meatless, plant-based Lasagna just as satisfying as a traditional meat Lasagna. This Finnish innovation from Gold&Green Foods, is a tasty protein, made with just five simple plant-based ingredients: Oats, Yellow Peas, Fava Beans, gently pressed Rapeseed Oil and Salt. It absorbs flavors superbly and can be precisely spiced.

Drago Bakery Takeout 

Owner and Executive Chef Celestino Drago’s special Takeout Menu at Drago Bakery in Culver City features is renowned freshly baked and freezable essentials for pick-up and home preparation.  The kitchen already supplies a multitude of restaurants near and far, with the best pretzel buns on the planet (that were the hit at LA FARM).

Chef Drago and the Drago Bakery team will be offering the following Takeout Menu every Monday though Friday for pick-up from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm – Fresh Pasta Package ($55) which will include a choice of Lasagna Bolognese, Chicken and Mushroom Lasagna, or Vegetarian Lasagna that will serve up to 10 guests and be packaged cold. Main Proteinssuch as the Chicken Breast with Marsala and Mushrooms ($80), and a Beef Stew with Red Wine & Spices($95), will also be packed cold and serve up to 10 guests.  Side Orders will feature 2-pound containers of Assorted Roasted Vegetables, Roasted Potatoes, and Brussels Sprouts with Ginger & Shallots ($18 each). Fresh Soupsinclude a choice of Minestrone, Pumpkin, and Lentil, packaged in 32-ounce deli-cups and offered cold or frozen ($12 each).

Drago Bakery offers Takeout Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm; 3828 Willat Avenue, Culver City, CA 90232 with drop in’s or phone orders  310.280.6004; www.DragoBakery.com