Roman Holiday™

Join Chef Eugenio in Rome for an exclusive fresh pasta making cooking class in his professional kitchen. Learn the tastes and traditions with Italy’s most colorful and acclaimed chef, known as one who loves to cook and to eat, in the heart of Rome.

Chef Eugenio’s family, originally from outside of Naples, immigrated to the Eternal City in the early 1900s. Though still very connected with his countryside roots, Chef Eugenio is 100% Roman and allows no exceptions in his kitchen.  Learn how to cook without recipes, timers, measuring cups and scales, but with the smells, instinct, and technique that only Chef Eugenio has gained after years of experience.  He cooks with his eyes, like most Italian chefs, using his senses and know how.

His philosophy is ‘to experience the action in the kitchen – look, try, and learn in the kitchen.’  In fact he does not use recipes, (recipes are provided) as he works the kitchen turning out antipasti, pasta, main courses and pizza.  Recipes, of course are included.  In this authentic cooking class, he will teach you his philosophy of cooking, tricks of the kitchen, along with passion and love for food.

The morning class starts at 10am with a welcome and introduction. Then head into the kitchen to mix, blend, knead, twist, and roll a variety of fresh pastas. Not only will you learn how to make it, but you will learn the history and technique on making true Italian pasta. Chef Eugenio’s unique cooking style includes demonstration, some hands-on and his up close attention in the kitchen. Following each cooking class everyone enjoys the delicious foods that were prepared in class. Wine and beverages not included.

A recipe book is included with compilation of Chef Eugenio’s creations; recipes may vary depending on the seasons, so we encourage each guest to bring a notebook and camera into the kitchen.

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.

Italiano, 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