Roman Holiday™

Join Chef Barbara in Rome for an exclusive fresh pasta making cooking class and workshop in her Palazzo in her private kitchen in the heart of Rome.  In this one-day cooking class, you will learn the Roman tastes and traditions in the heart of Rome.

Chef Barbara welcomes each guest to her private palazzo and kitchen in the heart of Rome. You’ll learn to mix the flour and farm-fresh eggs, roll out the delicate pasta, then stuff and twist into beautiful shapes.  Learn how to prepare seasonal sauces while discovering techniques and immersing yourself into the art of Roman pasta making.

Chef Barbara shares her family recipes in making delicious Roman pasta while spending the day in her Roman palazzo cooking, enjoying cuisine of the Eternal City.

During your hands-on pasta making class, you will learn how to mix and roll out fresh pasta that will be used to make lasagne, ravioli and gnocchi with seasonal sauces.  You’ll also learn the history and technique of ancient Roman foods as you slice, dice and cook with Chef Barbara.  Learn to cook delicious Roman pasta while immersing yourself in the food, wine and culture of Rome.

Following each class, everyone enjoys the food that was prepared in the kitchen with a toast of wine included, and soft drinks for children.  Weather permitting, everyone dines on the terrace for a beautiful view overlooking the city of Rome.

Chef Barbara’s unique cooking style is hands-on while offering tips and techniques that will have you cooking like a Roman!  A recipe book is included. Recipes vary depending on the seasons, so we encourage each guest to bring a notebook to the kitchen.

Transfers to the kitchen not included. In each cooking class, food allergies are carefully respected and gluten free menus are available upon request.

As featured in December 2011 – Click here to read more!

History of Pasta

Pasta has been an Italian tradition for hundreds of years. To passionate Italians, pasta is poetry. They’re so devoted to their national dish, there’s even a pasta museum in Pontedassio, Italy, filled with antique pasta-making implements and dried specimens of pasta dating back 100 years.

Marco Polo, has been given credit for introducing pasta to Italy. However, there’s evidence that the ancient Etruscans in Italy were eating pasta at least 1600 years before Marco Polo was born. Not to mention the Chinese, who were eating noodles in 3000 BC. The Ancient Greeks and Romans had discovered the simple delights of pasta long before Marco Polo. In fact, Greek mythology suggests that the Greek God ‘Vulcan’ invented a device that made “strings of pasta dough.”

There is a book dedicated to the very many pasta of Italy – these are just a sample!

Pastas

From spaghetti to maccheroni, pastas are infinite. Italy’s pasta list includes:

• Sedani-a long tube shape
• Route-little wheels
• Mezze penne-small tubes cut on an angle
• Cannelloni-large tubes and filled with cheese
• Orecchiette-small little ear-like shapes
• Maccheroncini-small narrow tubes
• Malloreddus-rolled little shells
• Farfalle-butterfly shapes
• Bucatini-thick spaghetti
• Caserecci-narrow thin folded-over twists
• Cavatelli-thin narrow boat-like shapes
• Garganelli-coils
• Conchiglie-small snail-like shaped shells
• Fusilli-short twisted strips
• Ditaloni-fat tubes
• Conchiglioni-large shells – great for stuffing
• Trofie-thin twists, pipe-curved plump tubes
• Pappardelle-long wide strips
• Linguine-thin strips
• Pizzoccheri-short cut strips
• Reginette-ridged edge wide strips
• Vermicelli-rounded spaghetti-like
• Bavette-flat thin strips