A Pasta Making Class in Italy With Kids: Fresh Pasta in a Piedmont Village
If you are looking for a pasta making class in Italy with kids, I want to tell you about the one our children still talk about. It did not happen in Rome or Florence. It happened in Ormea, a 1,000-year-old village of about 1,500 people in the mountains of Piedmont, on the second day of our first Roots & Future family residency.
When I asked the children at the end of the ten days what their favourite part was, this was the answer, over and over.
Roots & Future, our worldschooling family residency in Ormea, runs again May 8 to 17, 2027. Get the details by email, see the residency, or follow along on @bravefamilyroots.
Who taught us
Two women from the village taught the class together, and that pairing is the whole story.
Martina (@martina.burlini) is a young chef trained at one of Italy’s most respected culinary schools. She learned to make pasta from her own nonna, and she could have gone to cook anywhere. She chose to cook the food of her roots.
Anna has been making pasta her whole life. She runs Azienda Agricola Castagnino, a farm in the mountains above Ormea with cows, goats and sheep, where she makes her own cheese. Watching her hands next to Martina’s was watching one generation hand something to the next, in a kitchen full of children from five different places.
What the class was like with kids
Everyone made pasta: the two-year-olds, the six-year-olds, the parents. The kids got their hands in the flour, rolled the dough through the machines, filled and shaped it, and cut it. Some shapes were perfect. Most were not. Nobody cared.
What struck me was how naturally it worked across ages. The little ones pressed, poked and sprinkled flour. The older kids took real pride in turning the handle and feeding the dough through. The parents learned as much as the children did. And then, of course, we ate it.
The pasta machines: Marcato
Here is a story I love. Our youngest daughter is called Atlas, and the very first pasta she ever made was rolled on a Marcato Atlas 150, at a family pasta class Majla hosts at her castle property in the Chianti hills. When we started planning the residency, I wrote to Marcato, one of Italy’s best-known pasta machine makers, and told them that story. They loved it and said yes. They sent three Atlas 150 machines and a box of tools for the class, and it was a huge hit with every family.
If your kids fall in love with it the way ours did, this is the machine we used: the Marcato Atlas 150 on Amazon. (This is an affiliate link. If you buy through it, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.)
A hand-crank machine is perfect for kids. There is no motor, the rollers are easy to see, and turning the handle gives every child a real job. We bring the same idea home: one adult feeds the dough, one child turns, one child catches.
Why a village pasta class is different from a city cooking class
- You are in someone’s town, not a cooking school. The people teaching you are your neighbours for the week. You see them again at the bar, on the street and at the farewell dinner.
- It is small. Kids get real attention, and nobody is rushed out for the next group.
- The money stays local. What families pay goes to the people who host them.
- It is part of a bigger week. In Ormea the pasta class sat alongside an art class with the town’s children, a chestnut harvest, a forestry school walk and dinner with the mayor and the nonni.
Tips for a pasta class in Italy with little ones
- Dress for flour. Aprons help, but plan on flour everywhere.
- Let the kids do it themselves. The wonky shapes are the memory. Resist fixing them.
- Give every child a job. Turning the handle, cracking eggs, cutting with a pasta wheel, sprinkling flour.
- Go in the morning or early afternoon when little ones have energy, and plan a quiet time afterwards.
- Ask about family recipes. The best stories come when you ask the teacher who taught her.
- Look beyond the big cities. Some of the most memorable food experiences in Italy happen in small towns where you are not one of fifty people in the class.
Why kids love making pasta
Pasta is the perfect first cooking project for children. It uses two ingredients most families already have. Every step is hands-on and visible: the well of flour, the eggs in the middle, the dough coming together, the sheet stretching longer and longer as it goes through the rollers. Kids get to make something they will eat an hour later, and they are always prouder of a plate they made themselves. In a village kitchen, with a teacher who learned from her own nonna, it becomes a story they tell long after the trip.
Bringing it home
Fresh pasta at home is messy and it takes longer than opening a packet, but it is a lovely way to keep a trip alive. A simple dough of flour and eggs, a rolling pin or a hand-crank machine, and an afternoon is all you need.
Watch it for yourself: our October residency recap reel and the pasta class reel. Follow @bravefamilyroots for the full story, day by day.
Pasta making class in Italy with kids: quick answers
What age can kids join a pasta class?
In Ormea we had children from two years old taking part. Toddlers love the flour and shaping. From about five, kids can handle most of the steps with help.
Where can you do a pasta class with kids in Italy?
Big cities have plenty of bookable classes. If you want a small, personal experience with local people, a village like Ormea gives you that. On Roots & Future, the pasta class with Martina and Anna is one of the highlights of the ten days.
Do you need special equipment at home?
No. Flour, eggs and a rolling pin work. A hand-crank machine like the Marcato Atlas 150 makes it faster and more fun for kids.
Roots & Future runs again May 8 to 17, 2027
A ten-day worldschooling family residency in Ormea, a 1,000-year-old village in Piedmont. You live in the village, your kids learn alongside the children who live there, and the money you spend stays with the people who host you.
Get the full details by email · See the residency and book your spot
See every day of it on Instagram: @bravefamilyroots for the residency and @bravefamilytravel for our family travels.