Rome: Pasta & Tiramisu Cooking Class by Vatican with Wine

4.96

(1013 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I nearly dropped an egg on the floor before we’d even started. The kitchen was already buzzing when we walked in — flour dust hanging in the air, someone’s laughter echoing off the tiled walls. Our chef, Paolo, grinned and handed me a tiny espresso, saying it would help with “pasta courage.” I didn’t expect to be rolling dough this early in the morning but there I was, sleeves pushed up, trying to remember how he said to knead without turning it into glue. The smell of coffee mixed with mascarpone was everywhere.

We started with tiramisu — apparently you have to let it chill while you make pasta or it’s just not right. Paolo showed us how to fold the mascarpone gently (he said “like clouds,” which made me laugh because mine looked more like a thunderstorm). Then came the main event: fettuccine and ravioli from scratch. There’s something weirdly satisfying about pressing your thumb into soft dough and watching it spring back. One of the other travelers — Li from Singapore — tried saying “fettuccine” in perfect Italian and got a round of applause from Paolo. I just stuck to eating bits of raw pasta when no one was looking.

The best part? Sitting down together at a long wooden table while plates of steaming pasta landed in front of us. The wine kept coming (DOCG, Paolo insisted), and someone poured limoncello at the end like it was a family ritual. It felt less like a class and more like being invited into someone’s home for Sunday lunch. There was this moment when the late afternoon sun hit our table just right — I still think about that view sometimes, honestly.