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On our recent trip to Rome, we knew we wanted to take a cooking class! When searching online we found Holy Pizza's Super Fun Pasta and Gelato cooking class close to the Vatican and saw it had amazing reviews. Luckily they had an opening for their evening pasta and gelato-making class! We decided to book it and got ready to start cooking! The experience cost us USD 204, at USD 102 per person. We booked this activity through Viator, but you can also book through the company's website! The ticket included the ingredients and tools needed to make the pasta, wine, beer, limoncello, water, and soda to sip on during the class, along with fresh antipasto made by the chef.
Location Of The Pasta/Gelato Making Class:
The class is located between St. Peter's Basilica and Castel Sant'Angelo, an easy walk if you are near either one! Do not worry about getting lost either, they had a staff member waiting outside of the building flagging people down who looked lost and confused (like us)! We arrived about 10-15 minutes early which we would recommend as the other people in our tour group had already arrived early to pick their seats and get comfortable!
The Experience:
The class started with some basic introductions between everyone in the group. What your name was, where you were from, etc. The chef went into a brief explanation of the food we were going to make and the process. He did a great job helping everyone loosen up and get comfortable with each other.
After our brief introductions and overview of the evening, we finally got cooking! The class started with preparing the ingredients for the gelato. Some of the children from the group volunteered to help blend the strawberries while the chef explained the ingredients that went into the gelato.
The gelato-making process was hands-off as only the children helped blend the strawberries. We were a little disappointed at how hands-off it was, but after seeing the process we understood why. There was not a lot of room for anyone to help as the chef was mostly mixing the ingredients in a saucepan over heat and then putting it into a gelato machine.
After the gelato was in the machine we moved on to the next part of the class which was making dough for your pasta. Everyone had their workspace at the table and were given the ingredients to make the pasta dough. The chef did a tutorial and explained the process to us while he was doing it. He explained the different types of pasta; egg, potato, etc, and how they differed. In this class we made a basic egg dough with just two ingredients; eggs and flour!
Everyone got to make their dough and knead it at their stations. The chef then helped us all wrap up our perfect little dough balls and put them to the side to rest. While the dough rested the chef prepared some antipasto for the group. He made some witty banter with us as he prepared the food and helped keep the evening fun!
He served us all a plate with a piece of toasted bruschetta, cheese, and meat, and for those who wanted it an extremely tasty balsamic! The food was amazing!! Everything tasted fresh, and the chef explained where everything was from and what made it special! He kept the drinks coming throughout the experience and checked if we needed anything. We also appreciated that he asked for any allergies or food preferences while plating the antipasto to make sure everyone got something they would enjoy!
Once we were done eating our antipasto the chef began to ask for volunteers to help prep the produce for the pasta sauce. We were in charge of mincing the garlic and the onion, and even though our knife skills could use some work, the group praised us for our effort. So no need to be shy if you are not the best cook!!
The children in the group were able to help mash the tomatoes since it needed to be done by hand. The chef had them wash their hands and make sure they were clean before they were allowed to help! Once the sauce was prepped the chef took over and started to cook everything together.
While the pasta sauce began to cook down, the chef did a tutorial on how to roll out, shape, and cut the pasta dough into fettuccine. We rolled out and cut our dough into thin strips, and then our noodles were placed into a pot of boiling water and cooked to perfection! One thing that made me a little sad was that we did not know if we ate any of the pasta we made since it was all cooked together! But, with the time allowance we had for the class, cooking the dough all at once makes the most sense!
Time To Eat:
The chef plated and served the food, it looked like a skilled chef had made it instead of a group of children and adults with sub-par knife skills! He topped the pasta with a bit of cheese and some thin sliced dried peppers for a little spice. The food was delicious!
The chef did not shy away from offering more to anyone who looked hungry, and insisted if you wanted more to get some! While everyone was finishing up the chef was checking in on the gelato that had just finished at the perfect time! The homemade gelato came out just after we had finished eating and it was the perfect end to a great dinner. We were able to sit, relax, and drink some limoncello for a while before anyone mentioned leaving. It was nice to not feel rushed out the second the food had been served. As a goodbye gift, the chef gave everyone the link to the recipes for the gelato, pasta dough, and the sauce that we made in class. We both liked that they gave us the recipes, and made the pasta and sauce the day we got home to show to our friends!
What To Bring:
Gratuities
Appetite
Summary:
Overall, our experience with HolyPizza at their pasta and gelato cooking class was good! We enjoyed our experience, and the food came out amazing! It was like sitting at a chef's table but one where you get to help them cook. There were some moments we wished the class had been a little more hands-on, like with making the gelato and the pasta sauce, but with the limited time and the group size, we understood why the class functioned this way! It was a fun experience and a tasty meal for a total of $204, or $102 per person. What do you think? Is a Super fun Pasta and Gelato cooking class close to the Vatican with HolyPizza worth your wallet? Let us know below!
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