Bring Your Own Pasta: Stefano Faita Is Opening a One-Day Sauce-Only Restaurant on Ossington

Toronto has seen plenty of pop-ups, but this might be one of the more unexpected.

On Tuesday, September 29, celebrity chef, restaurateur and television personality Stefano Faita is opening BYOPasta, a one-day restaurant concept where guests bring their own cooked pasta and let the chef handle the sauce.

Yes, really.

The takeout-style event runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 135 Ossington Avenue, near Trinity Bellwoods. Guests arrive with plain cooked pasta, choose a sauce, and Faita’s team finishes the dish for free.

The whole idea grew out of a familiar kitchen problem: making far too much pasta and ending up with containers of plain leftovers that slowly lose their appeal in the fridge.

Rather than waste them, BYOPasta turns those leftovers into lunch.

The menu features five sauces from Faita’s signature line: Alla Vodka, Tomato Basil, Marinara, Rosée and Alfredo.

It’s also a smart way to sample the brand before buying a jar at the grocery store.

Faita’s sauces are made in Canada and draw on his Italian family traditions, using imported sun-ripened tomatoes grown near Naples. The tomato sauces contain no gluten, preservatives or added sugar.

Faita himself has built his career around making Italian food approachable. Born and raised in Montreal’s Little Italy, he is known for CBC’s In the Kitchen with Stefano, MasterChef Québec, and Montreal restaurants including Impasto and Gema Pizzeria. He launched his namesake pasta sauce line in 2017.

There’s also a bonus for anyone who makes the trip. Guests who bring pasta will receive a coupon redeemable for a free Stefano Faita sauce at participating Ontario grocery stores, including major retailers such as Loblaws, Metro, Sobeys, Walmart, Longo’s, Fortinos and Farm Boy.

It’s playful, practical, and exactly the kind of food activation that suits Ossington.

If you’ve got leftover spaghetti, penne, rigatoni or just about anything else waiting in the fridge, consider this your excuse not to throw it out.

BYOPasta by Stefano Faita
September 29, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
135 Ossington Avenue, Toronto
Free with your own cooked pasta.