Rome: Pasta & Tiramisu Cooking Class by Colosseum with Wine

5.00

(165 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

We ducked off the busy street just as the bells started ringing somewhere behind us, and I remember thinking—this is really happening, I’m about to knead pasta dough in Rome. Our chef (Francesca, with a laugh that made everyone relax) waved us inside. The kitchen smelled like flour and something faintly lemony. You could see the top of the Colosseum through the window if you leaned just right. She handed me an apron and said, “Don’t worry, your hands will know what to do.” I wasn’t so sure.

We started mixing eggs into flour—my hands got sticky fast—and Francesca showed me how to press with my palms, not my fingers. There was a moment when I looked around at everyone’s lumpy dough and realized nobody here was a pro. Someone spilled wine on their recipe sheet (the wine never seemed to run out), and we all laughed. Rolling out the pasta was oddly calming; you could hear someone humming softly near the stove. When we filled our ravioli, Francesca told us stories about her grandmother’s kitchen in Trastevere—she said every Roman has their own secret for getting the edges sealed tight.

I didn’t expect to enjoy making tiramisu as much as I did. The mascarpone was cold and creamy between my fingers, and when we layered it with coffee-soaked biscuits, Francesca winked at me—“More cocoa?” she asked. I probably overdid it but honestly, who cares? Sitting down together at the end felt like a small party: plates of ravioli steaming up my glasses, everyone clinking glasses of red wine. The Colosseum lit up outside as dusk crept in—I still think about that view sometimes when I taste espresso back home.