Our review of the wonderful pasta making class for kids in Rome by Lucilla Cooking Class (used to be called: From Zero to Pasta): learn what to expect, how to book and why this is our favourite pasta making experience in Rome for kids.
My daughter loves eating pasta and help me cook; so this summer, I decided to treat her, my son and myself to a pasta making class in Rome.
I though having a professional to teach us how to make pasta in a kid-friendly way was a great way to spend an afternoon in Rome and I was excited by the idea of getting my daughter to see how her beloved favorite dish came to be.
I was right!
I booked a family friendly pasta making class with Lucilla of From Zero to Pasta (now: Lucilla Cooking Class) and we had an absolutely brilliant time!
Lucilla welcomed us in her own home, taught us how to make pasta from scratch, got us to cook two different sauces and entertained us with lovely drinks and juice, chats and we all enjoyed a fantastic meal in her home, with the pasta we made!
It was a fantastic afternoon. When we did this class, my daughter was 10 and my son 11 and both had a wonderful time.
I found this class on airbnb experiences and this is my review.
I hope you enjoy it!
Good to know: I have written this review based on my experience of this class which I took with my kids this summer. We have paid in full for the class, have no affiliation with the provider and have received no incentives of favors for this review or social media mentions.
Lucilla Cooking Class / From Zero to Pasta class for kids in Rome – essential info
Where: From Zero to Pasta takes place in the host’s home. Lucilla’s house is in the Prati neighborhood, a beautiful residential neighborhood in central Rome.
You can easily reach it by bus, metro or taxi. If you choose the class in the late afternoon, it is easy to combine it with a visit to Castel Sant’Angelo to the Vatican too.
When (Day and time): Lucilla offers classes on different days and times. Since I did the class alone with the kids, I thought it would be fun to have one in the late afternoon so I then wouldn’t have to worry about dinner!
This worked really well for us but if you have younger children, you can also choose her lunchtime option.
When (season): we took this class in the summer and were delighted to discover Lucilla’s home has lovely air conditioning!
Deepening o the season, the exact recipes may change to accommodate seasonal products but this is a pasta making experience you can do any time of the year.
Why: so many reasons why I recommend this pasta class fort kids in Rome!
- Lucilla herself, a lovely host and a mom herself with a warm, fun, welcoming and homely attitude and who made us all feel right at home
- The deliciousness of the pasta we made: Lucilla definitely knows her stuff!
- The homely location (and the chance to visit a neighborhood you may have otherwise missed)
- The authentic atmosphere: since you are in a locals’ home, you don’t have that horrible feeling of the activity ‘for foreigners’ but a lovely sense of something real. I am from Rome and I loved it so if I say it ran authentic to me, you can trust it is!
Our pasta making class with Lucilla – what to expect
Arrival and welcome
I booked our pasta making class with Lucilla for a summer evening in July.
As mentioned above, I thought an evening class would make my life easier in terms of sorting us out for dinner and it came with the added advantage of not having to draw us out in the heat of Rome’s scorching summer afternoons.
We arrived at Lucilla’s house right before 17/ 5pm.
We rang her door and we swiftly got welcome into her building, a beautiful elegant building with the typical architecture of this elegant part of Rome.
Lucilla lives a coiupld of flight of stairs up (there is a lift) and we easily reached her apartment, which is bright and welcoming: light was streaming in from the large windows offering a lovely view of the piazza outside and the pasta making sets were out waiting for us!
I had booked a small group class and Lucilla got us to get to know each other over an offering of drinks (wine / water / juice) and nibbles.
Our group comprised of three Americans and us: a couple and a student.
My children were the only kids but I didn’t expect to find other children and everyone was lovely with them.
Top tip: If you prefer, you can also book a private class and have Lucilla all for yourself! Just get in touch with her for a quote and availability. You can also contact her on Instagram at Https://instagram.com/fromzerotopasta. Feel free to tell her Marta from Mama Loves Rome sent you!).
Making the pasta dough
After introduction, Lucilla showed us to our pasta making station and the fun began!
Pasta making is a hands on, fun process.
You start from basic ingredients such as flour and eggs and under the expert guidance of Lucilla, you beat, mix, combine and knead them into dough.
For everyone, but for kids especially, it was great fun! Since you are using cutlery and your hands, is a rather varied activity and the satisfaction to see the dough coming together is great!
After the dough was ready, Lucilla showed us how to make different pasta shapes.
There are several ways to do it and my kids chose one each!
My daughter chose to use the pasta machine, while my son opted for the manual way. The result was fabulous in both cases!
With Lucilla’s help, we made tagliatelle and ravioli, plus she showed us different other pasta types we could make, including maltagliati and tortellini.
For our meal however, we had ravioli and tagliatelle planned, and they came out delicious!
Making the pasta sauce
With our pasta ready, we moved into the kitchen to learn how to make the filling and the sauce.
For this class, we made ricotta and spinach filling for the ravioli and a tomato sauce for them; for out tagliatelle, we made a Gricia recipe, which gave Lucilla the chance to tell us all about typical roman ingredients such as cheese and guanciale.
The recipes we learned are delicious and very easy to make at home too (you get the exact recipe by email after the class too).
Dinner
Pasta and sauce made, we combined the two and all sat down for dinner!
The meal altogether was lovely too.
Since you are in a home, the feeling is that of a dinner with friends and we felt it was lovely to have the quality and convenience of a meal out with the atmosphere of meal at home.
We left after dinner with a full belly, new skills and the feeling of having met a new friend in Lucilla.
Pasta making class for kids in Rome – good to know
When deciding if this class is for you, the following things are useful.
- The class is open to children age 5 and up
- If you have dietary requirements, you can ask Lucilla to adapt the menu accordingly. Ensure you tell her in advance what you need, as she gets all ingredients and make recipes accordingly.
- Lucilla’s home has air conditioning in summer (and it’s lovely!)
- The group class is for a maximum of 6 people
You can book this class contacting Lucilla on Her Instagram or via Her Facebook Page Airbnb here, where this class is listed as one of the top experiences in Rome.
The best pasta making class in Rome for kids – pin this!
