Crea la tua pasta fatta in casa con un professionista a Bologna

This week, 4 days in our vacation and staying in Bologna we had our cooking class with Chiara. Picture driving from a city into rural mountain area and you go generations back in time. Chiara hosted us on their family house which was in the family for many generations. This was the first time we made pasta and we made right away tortellini. The teaching and the background from family generations on history and cooking made a huge impression on us. No fancy cooking class from a chef but going back to basics with grand mothers experience. After cooking our own meal sitting outside and having dinner, talking about family, culture and history is how family dinners should be, enjoying a good meal over good talks.

What an amazing experience this was. Chiara was an amazing host and cook. We felt like good friends at the end of the experience. The views from her estate is STUNNING and BEAUTIFUL. We had the opportunity to harvest vegetables from her garden, walk the estate grounds and cook with her beautiful Italian grandma. We had our toddler with us and he had such an amazing time it was perfect for our family. I would highly recommend it as it was one of the key highlights of our trip! Chiara, thank you for creating such an authentic and story filled environment. The meticulous restoration of your family home envelops us into a world that was just magical. Thank you for the heart and passion behind what you do. It was inspirational! Photos by Claudia Ho :)

Pio was a great host and teacher... he obviously loves cooking and sharing it with others. My husband is a novice to the cooking... considering toast a huge culinary victory. I understand cooking and enjoy it but am by no means a master. Pio worked well with both of us. We got to his flat, which was easy to find on a major street. We took a taxi but found it simple enough to take a bus back. He had everything prepared for the class. We took time to watch his demonstration and then both mixed our own dough... we kneaded, rolled and stretched all with conversation and paced for our learning. I loved watching my husband learn to roll the tortellini around his fingers. We also made tagliatelle. We learned about other pasta shapes and sizes. While we cooked we learned more about Pio and the town. He showed us the ragu he had cooked prior to our arrival and explained the simple sauce of sage and olive oil he would use for our other dish. Dinner was a nice time with a simple starter and our pasta's... we were surprised by a main protein entree and then a great dessert. Pio sat and shared with us as our wine and conversation continued. All in all it was one of my favorite memories in Italy... I hope to see Pio again and I hope to share the pasta and sauces with friends here in Arizona. Thanks Pio!!!

Pio had a friend join him to help translate in English for us and both were so knowledgeable and fun. Pio has a slab that was made just for pasta and rolled it all out by hand. We learned the tricky business of tortelloni as well as tagliatelle. There were several dishes Pio made to show us local favorites- and we had dinner on his patio.