Making your own pasta: don’t gnocchi it till you’ve tried

“Perish the thought of a life without pasta,” wrote Mireille Guiliano in the French Women Don’t Get Fat Cookbook. 

And I agree. I can cut certain foods out of my diet and follow a diet plan for a while – but I can never give up pasta.

In fact, I recently acquired a pasta machine and have been spending weekends in the kitchen, rolling away at dough, trying to make tagliatelle and ravioli.

Since there’s only so much you can learn from the recipe pamphlet that came with your pasta machine, I set about finding the perfect pasta class to hone my skills.

Paul Maciel, the restaurant owner and food writer also known as The Secret Jozi Chef, started The Cookery three years ago with Emilio Coccia.

They run weekly cooking classes that range from brunches to Christmas-in-July feasts, and from plant-based dishes to tacos and tequila. Their pasta masterclass piqued my interest right away.

We were greeted at their multipurpose kitchen space in Craighall Park, Johannesburg, by the charming Emilio, who was quick to offer us a glass of wine.

The space can fit up to 20 students, who come together to cook and relish their hard work at a beautifully laid table at the end of each class.

During the course of three hours, we spent time at six different stations learning to prepare six different types of pasta, including a gnocchi demonstration at the end. This was an experimental class and in future students will only work on two pasta types.

During the class all information is either imparted by Paul and Emilio via recipes or simply by learning from your fellow classmates, who are happy to demonstrate how to fold tortellini and ravioli, or to explain the perfect cut for different pasta types.

Each station tackled a sauce, filling or side dish. Making fresh pasta dough is physically demanding but the reward was worth it: the food is delicious. At the end I helped myself to a small second helping of the mushroom tortellini tossed in a burnt butter truffle sauce.

You will have fun and learn things in your class whether you are a serious home cook or simply there to have a good time. The background music, the technical cooking skills delivered with a dash of humour, and Paul and Emilio’s love for food are a winning combination.

At R450 a class - and with wine flowing throughout the entire evening, more fabulous food than we could finish and a delicious bowl of fresh berries and Chantilly cream to wrap up the evening - it's no wonder the classes are booked solid well in advance.

The price is not much more than you would pay at a restaurant serving top-class pasta, and you leave with a great evening of cooking behind you.

TRY IT YOURSELF

Where: The Cookery, The Colony Shopping Centre, Craighall Park, Johannesburg.

When: Classes are scheduled throughout the month on different days of the week.

How much: R350–R600 per class.

Bookings: Visit The Secret Jozi Chef website for schedules or to book a class.

Insider tip: Stick close to Paul and Emilio if you can, because they have fantastic cooking tips to dish out that you don’t receive in the recipes afterwards. You'll discover all sorts of tidbits, ranging from the correct way to cook your pasta to ancient forms of making pasta.

• The writer was a guest of The Cookery