I’ve attended a variety of cooking classes here in Atlanta and they each have something that makes them unique. When I heard that one of my favorite spots in Ponce City Market began offering cooking classes, I just knew I had to check it out.
Bellina Alimentari literally translates to “cute little market,” which I think is a very fitting name! All of its ingredients are either imported from Italy or grown locally. High quality ingredients is a top priority for Bellina Alimentari. The restaurant includes food service, a market, a bar and (most importantly- well for this blog post at least!) a back room for cooking classes.
Something I especially loved about Bellina’s cooking class was its intimacy. You are encouraged to stop by the 
bar on your way in to the class and the room is fairly small, fitting approximately 10 people. I definitely recommend this class for a date!
Before we started cooking, we snacked on crostinis topped with prosciutto pate and artichoke remoulade (so good)- prepared by Chef David. Chef David is the executive chef at Bellina Alimentari, and was the instructor of our class! While we snacked, Corey, the bar manager at Bellina Alimentari, prepared each of us a delicious “pre-dinner” drink. It was so good that I stayed after class and asked him for the recipe!
Now call me crazy, but I’ve never prepared homemade pasta before! So when a couple of eggs and flour turned into the perfect pasta dough, I couldn’t believe my eyes. The dough that we each prepared was wrapped up and given to us to bring home- and you know I made some delicious pasta with that! Next, it was time to start cooking dinner.
On the menu that night was one of my favorites: butternut squash ravioli. We cranked the pasta dough through a very expensive pasta-making machine (*sigh.. if only I could have one of those in my house!) until it was longer than the table! Then we cut it into ravioli shapes, filled them with the butternut squash mixture and sealed them shut. After we had a sheet filled with ravioli, Chef David poured them into the boiling water. I couldn’t believe how quickly the fresh pasta cooked! Approximately three minutes later, the ravioli was ready. Chef David then plated the ravioli and topped it with a delicious brown butter and sage sauce… And then we all dug in.
Oh, but it didn’t end there. We didn’t cook the dessert, but no complaints here! Chef David had prepared a “tortino di mele,” or apple tart. Thankfully, the recipes for both the ravioli and the apple tart were handed out to each guest to take home!
I loved this class because it was a mixture of do-it-yourself and educational, the ambiance was very intimate, the food was delicious and best of all, the price wasn’t outrageous! I will definitely be back to take another class soon.
Bummed you missed it? Check out the schedule to find a date that works for you! Bellina Alimentari is always adding new classes to its calendar!