In the city of all cities — one that hosts over 26,000 restaurants and 8.4 million people — you never take for granted falling in love with that special person, or place, in New York City. Ergo, college sweethearts Mia and Franco Gatto never took for granted the first few intimate dinner dates together at a romantic little Italian trattoria on the Upper East Side called, “ZaZa.” “They had burrata imported from Italy on Wednesdays that was mind-blowing,” says Mia. “The restaurant’s been closed for years now, but it will always have a special place in our heart. Especially since it’s also the name of our favorite silly SNL skit — if you haven’t seen it, look up SNL Lasagna!”
LASAGNAS ARE MADE FROM SCRATCH USING WHOLE ORGANIC INGREDIENTS AND SHEETS OF PASTA ROLLED BY HAND. PHOTO COURTESY OF @GATTO_PHOTO_
With a shared love for food and photography, Mia and Franco both took restaurant jobs in the city to pay the bills while pursuing their passion of photography. As the years went on, Franco worked his way from line cook to management to head chef at a number of high-profile fine dining restaurants in New York, Honolulu, Boulder and Denver, while Mia eventually shifted to digital marketing and e-commerce. Both of their career paths seemed to align perfectly together for their own shared venture, named, you guessed it, Zaza.
PHOTO COURTESY OF @GATTO_PHOTO_
Having slowed their busy, frenetic Manhattan pace by moving to Sarasota hasn’t meant life’s slowed down around them. “When we had our first baby in the summer of 2020, frankly, we were exhausted,” shares Mia. “We needed high quality, satisfying meals that were easy to prepare, not too labor-intensive and wouldn’t make a mess. We were overpaying for a lot of takeout and delivery, but it wasn’t scratching that itch for something homey.” Then one day, Franco made some of his lasagna — a passed-down family recipe. He made more than they needed for one night’s sitting, portioned it out and froze individual pieces to prep for the next few days for easy reheat meals. Benissimo. Launching their new “take and bake” lasagna delivery business in September, the Gattos are now sharing their beloved Italian recipes with fellow family households. “We want to give families the opportunity to treat themselves when they’re too busy, or tired, to spend that time in the kitchen themselves,” she says. “Home-cooked lasagna makes the everyday feel like a special occasion.”
PHOTO BY WYATT KOSTYGAN.
Zaza’s “Classica” lasagna recipe is an adaptation from Franco’s family—having immigrated from Genova and Asti, IT—while the “Verde” lasagne was a creation all their own. “Our recipes are hardly a secret because they are so simple. Nothing is hidden here, it’s all on the label,” Mia says. “The only secret is that it takes a very long time, patience and hard work. Most people don’t realize what a difference hand-rolled pasta makes in a dish.”
GET YOURS AT EATZAZA.COM AND @ZAZA_SRQ OR AT SARASOTA'S MEADOWS FARMERS MARKET ON SUNDAYS
Find each Zaza container of lasagne packaged by hand and ready to pop in the oven to enjoy—sans the kitchen clean-up. And by the time you think you’ve had your fair share of lasagna takeout, the Gattos will be rolling out (no pun intended) additional home-style pasta dishes like hand-pinched farfalle bowties to order for the coming holiday season.
