Pregnant couples have started cooking gender reveal lasagnas and they are just as stupid as you think

Remember when finding out the sex of your baby was about waiting by the business end to see whether or not it had a winkle? Hospital trips had the double jeopardy of excruciating agony and complete mystery. Knowing what was going to come screaming out at the denouement would have spoiled at least half of the horrible fun. Oh for the simpler, halcyon days of yore.

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Nowadays, we’ve fallen out of love with birthday surprises. In fact, not only do most of us prefer to know everything in advance of the big day, but we’ve also decided that the whole world would also like to revel in the news. Hence, hundreds of people from all corners of the globe have decided to come up with a series of increasingly elaborate ways to reveal to assorted friends, family and the general public exactly what’s growing inside mummy’s tummy. If doe-eyed, sickly sweet YouTube comments are anything to go by, the internet adores a contrived gender reveal.

Over the years, reveal methods have varied from the understated to the embarrassingly extravagant. In December, for instance, a couple in Australia caught the country’s attention after accidentally setting their car on fire in an attempt to perform pink smoke-spewing burnouts in the outback. However, a new trend has recently appeared on the horizon that makes all other techniques look positively restrained.

Thanks to an Italian deli franchise, couples can now combine potentially problematic gender assignment with dinner, in the form of gender reveal lasagne. Villa Italian Kitchen, which was established in New Jersey in 1964, are offering to unveil the identity of your unborn baby with different coloured meat casseroles that have been dyed blue for a boy and pink for a girl. As if the thought of blue lasagna wasn’t already troubling enough, this service will set you back a whopping $140. Mamma Mia.

The business claim that the dish can cater for parties of 12 people and contains top of the range ingredients, despite its odd colour. The recipe features authentic Alfredo sauce, along with ricotta and mozzarella cheeses and is made to order according to the couple’s demands. All orders are also accompanied by sides of garlic rolls and a choice of side salad. They are also encouraging customers to share their pasta pics on social media using the imaginatively named hashtag, #LasagnaReveal.

In a statement to the press, vice president of franchise and catering for Villa Restaurant Group Stephanie Beamer declared that “We think of our guests like family and wanted to find a way to celebrate such a momentous occasion with them. We can’t wait to see all the videos of guests revealing their babies’ genders to family and friends in such a unique way.” Unique is certainly one word for it.

Obviously, people are free to do what they please when they find out if their baby has a penis. But one can’t help but wonder just how far we will be prepared to go in the quest for revelatory one-upmanship. Today, it’s lasagna. We tentatively wait to see which other comfort food will be next on the menu.