Robert Pattinson Wants to Create Something Ben Wyatt Sort of Invented in ‘Parks and Recreation’ and Fans Can’t Get Over It
A Robert Pattinson and Ben Wyatt collaboration? Well, kind of. During Pattinson’s recent interview with GQ, the actor talked about how he wants to create a type of fast-food pasta. Fans were quick to connect Pattinson’s business idea with Ben Wyatt’s fast-food calzone restaurant from Parks and Recreation.
Robert Pattinson wants to make a fast-food pasta
During his interview for the June/July issue of GQ, Pattinson detailed his pasta invention and business plan.
Zach Baron, who interviewed Pattinson for the issue, wrote:
“Last year, he says, he had a business idea. What if, he said to himself, ‘pasta really had the same kind of fast-food credentials as burgers and pizzas? I was trying to figure out how to capitalize in this area of the market, and I was trying to think: How do you make a pasta which you can hold in your hand?‘
He says he went so far as to design a prototype that involved the use of a panini press, and then, he says, he went even further, setting up a meeting with Los Angeles restaurant royalty Lele Massimini, the cofounder of Sugarfish and proprietor of the Santa Monica pasta restaurant Uovo. ‘And I told him my business plan,’ Pattinson recalls, ‘and his facial expression didn’t even change afterwards. Let alone acknowledge what my plan was. There was absolutely no sign of anything from him, literally. And so it kind of put me off a little bit.’ (Massimini says: ‘It’s 100 percent true, everything he told you.’)
Nevertheless, Pattinson says, he conceived of a brand name for his product, a soft little moniker that kind of summed up what he thought his pasta creation looked like: Piccolini Cuscino. Little Pillow. He thought he’d give the product another go, with me now: ‘Maybe if I say it in GQ, maybe, like, a partner will just come along.'”
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Ben Wyatt wanted to create a fast-food calzone and Italian restaurant
In Season 4, Episode 11 of Parks and Recreation, “The Comeback Kid,” Ben Wyatt is unemployed and trying to occupy his time with various activities. A running gag in Parks and Recreation is that Ben is obsessed with calzones and prefers them over pizza.
While unemployed, Ben tries to master making the perfect calzone. He also comes up with the idea of a restaurant chain for fast-food Italian food. In Parks and Recreation, Ben tells Chris that the fast-food restaurant will only use low-fat and low-calorie ingredients. He plans to call the restaurant Low-Cal Calzone Zone.
Fans made the connection between Robert Pattinson and Ben Wyatt
While Pattinson’s idea is based off of handheld pasta and Ben’s idea was based off of his love for calzones, fans of Pattinson and Parks and Recreation still found the connection between the two funny.
“Robert Pattinson is the Ben Wyatt of COVID-19. His handheld pasta is Ben’s Lo Cal Calzone Zone,” a fan tweeted.
“Everybody talking about Robert Pattinson’s drive thru pasta idea like Ben Wyatt didn’t think of that already,” wrote a Twitter user.
