Rome: Gluten Free Pasta Cooking Class & Chef-Led Lunch

4.96

(119 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

The first thing I noticed was the flour — not the usual kind, but something lighter, almost sweet-smelling. Chef Christian grinned at my hesitation and said, “Don’t worry, we’ll make it work.” I’d never tried making gluten free pasta before, let alone in the middle of Rome. The kitchen was bright and a little chaotic in that good way kitchens get when people are actually cooking together. There was this low hum from the street outside, scooters and voices drifting in through the open window.

We started with fettuccine, and I kept sneaking glances at everyone else’s dough to see if mine looked right (it didn’t, but Christian just winked). Rolling it out felt weirdly satisfying — the dough was softer than I expected. My hands got covered in flour; I kept brushing it off on my jeans. We moved on to gnocchi and cavatelli next. The pasta machine made this clack-clack sound every time someone cranked it too fast. At one point, Christian told us about his grandmother’s Sunday lunches — he got this faraway look for a second before laughing about how she’d scold him for cutting gnocchi too big.

When we finally sat down to eat what we’d made (with sauces from their menu — I picked amatriciana), I realized how hungry I was. The fettuccine tasted… different? In a good way — chewy but light. Someone at my table tried to pronounce “cavatelli” properly and failed spectacularly; even Christian had to laugh. Dessert came out last — fruit salad for me because I was already stuffed. There’s something about sharing food you made yourself with strangers that makes everything taste better, you know?