Chef Frankie is slinging his famed heat-and-eat meals from The Bread Social in Currumbin
Covid was a weird time. While most of us tried to fill the days with new hobbies and Netflix marathons, some quick-thinkers took a more proactive approach and established innovative side hustles that blossomed into fully fledged businesses. Francesco Anghileri, who is better known locally as chef Frankie, is the latter. The Italian-born chef, whose resume includes stints working at Icebergs, Iggy’s Bread, Three Blue Ducks and most recently Tommy’s Italian, began making trays upon trays of lasagne for people to heat and eat at home. At long last, Frankie and his wife Vanessa have opened the window to Chef Frankie’s, a dedicated retail space at The Bread Social in Currumbin. Here’s everything you need to know …
Lasagne, while a joy to eat, is a bit of a punish to make. In excellent news for time-poor folks with a penchant for pasta, Chef Frankie’s has transformed the former takeaway coffee kiosk at the front of The Bread Social’s HQ in Currumbin Waters into a retail nook. It’s been a long-time coming, Frankie says, reflecting back on the early days where he would cook as many trays as he could before clocking on for his shift as a chef.
No matter how many he made, it still wasn’t enough to meet demand. A testament to the quality and commitment Frankie pours into every tray, from the six ultra-thin sheets of pasta he rolls and cuts by hand to the layers of wagyu beef sandwiched between. It’s a labour of love, no doubt.
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As luck would have it, the space at The Bread Social became available right when Frankie was looking to scale up. The stars aligned, and just like that – Chef Frankie’s found a home. Now officially open and dishing out the goods every Friday and Saturday, it’s first come, first served (for now), with plans for online orders on the horizon. Unsurprisingly, the lasagne is the top seller – and for good reason.
In true Italian fashion, the menu keeps things simple, letting top-tier ingredients do the talking. Alongside the signature wagyu lasagne, you’ll find five types of handmade pasta (spaghetti, tagliatelle, fusilli, mafalde and rigatoni), a dreamy vegetarian lasagne, comforting mac ‘n’ cheese and three knockout sauces – including our current obsession, the spicy sausage ragu. Extras include olives, chicken bone broth, house-made sauerkraut and the highly requested tiramisu (second only to the lasagne in popularity).
Chef Frankie’s is set to become the go-to spot for food lovers who want to enjoy the very best of Italian cuisine at home. The window is open Friday and Saturday from 7:00 am to midday.