Chefs and nutrition staff from SJU Dining Services hosted a pasta making class March 30 in Campion Dining Hall where students had the opportunity to make fettuccine from scratch. About 30 students attended.

The tutorial started out with students watching one of the Dining Services staff members make the dough and demonstrate putting it through a pasta making machine to ensure that each piece of pasta was thick enough for the next step.

“It was helpful seeing someone make the pasta before we had a chance to try it because it is something that is simple but still easy to mess up,” said Kyle Stine ’23, who attended the class. “After seeing the chef make it with ease, it gave me a lot more confidence.”

While a pasta machine makes the process easier, it’s not necessary as pasta can also be cut by hand, participants were told.

Two large cooking pots were set up on portable burners in the room. Dining Services staff members cooked the pasta the participants made. After the staff topped the pasta with marinara, students were offered the choice of additions like tofu, chicken, spinach, parmesan cheese and tomatoes.

“I can definitely see myself making pasta a lot more often at home, especially because of how easy it was to make it at this event,” Stine said.

Zack Smith ’23 said it’s the taste of fresh pasta that is a game changer for him. 

“When you make the pasta homemade, you can really taste the fresh ingredients being put into it,” Smith said. “Not only can you taste the fresh ingredients, but it also makes the pasta taste better as well.”

James Lavelle ’25 said he would be up for another event like this one. Fortunately for him, Dining Services staff said they would offer more events like it in the future.

“It was awesome,” Lavelle said. “If they have another one I’ll definitely come back. I really enjoyed it.”