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Learn with Steven Kiernan

Pasta Making at Home

Learn how to make pasta at home with River Cottage's Head Chef Steven Kiernan.

Course overview

In this first lesson, Steven will give you an in-depth guide through making different styles of pasta dough. You’ll learn about different flours - why is ’00 favoured in Italy, how to source great local equivalents, what’s the most important element to look for when sourcing flour, difference between stoneground versus mill rolled flours when making your dough. Steven will also guide you through using alternative flours, including wholegrain and how eggs, olive oil and water change the dough.

Meet Steven Kiernan

Steven is currently Head Chef at River Cottage HQ, where he manages the River Cottage restaurant, plans seasonal River Cottage specials for the menu and teaches cooking lessons in the River Cottage school. Steven started his career as a Junior Sous Chef at Bank restaurant where he specialised in fish, before moving to Jamie Oliver's Fifteen Trattoria kitchen. At Jamie's Steven trained the junior chefs in all areas of kitchen skills and he developed a love of making pasta from scratch, by hand and using his trusty (and much loved) pasta machine. Steven later moved to Gordon Ramsay's Bread Street Kitchen as Senior Sous Chef where he managed the very busy kitchen and developed recipes, working alongside suppliers to make the best possible dishes from the freshest produce. Steven's passion for fresh local ingredients led him to set up his own restaurant in Taunton, before moving to River Cottage HQ. His love of pasta has grown over the years and he now loves passing on his pasta skills and recipes to River Cottage visitors and now River Cottage Diploma students.

Course description

Learn how to make pasta at home with River Cottage's Head Chef Steven Kiernan.

Whether you’re completely new to making homemade pasta or have been dabbling in the delicious art, Steven's love of making pasta and new pasta recipes will inspire you to make handmade pasta dishes.

Steven's pasta making course demonstrates different styles of pasta dough, where you’ll learn about different flours - why is ’00 favoured in Italy, how to source great local equivalents, what’s the most important element to look for when sourcing flour, plus the difference between stoneground or mill rolled flours when making your dough.

Steven will also guide you through using alternative flours, including wholegrain and how eggs, olive oil and water change the dough.

You'll then learn to roll your pasta dough by hand and using a machine. He’ll guide you through the pros and cons of each before showing you how to make different pasta shapes including spaghetti, pappardelle and farfalle.

You’ll also learn how to master ravioli and other filled pastas like tortellini, as well as different seasonal filled pasta and pasta sauce ideas.

You'll learn:
  • how to make pasta
  • which flours to use for different types of pasta
  • creating pasta shapes from your pasta dough
  • rolling out pasta dough by hand or by machine
  • pasta sauce and filling recipes
The course includes:
  • 4 on-demand video lessons - presented by Steven Kiernan and River Cottage
  • lifetime access to the videos, notes and interactive class
  • flexible classes - join and learn when and where you like
  • downloadable lesson notes
  • practical pasta making assignments and recipes (with tutor feedback available)
  • access on your mobile, PC, Mac or laptop
  • small interactive online classroom - chat online to students from around the world and share your creative ideas
Independent Cookery Schools Association approved

This course has been approved by the Independent Cookery Schools Association (ICSA), recognising the highest standards of training.

Time to complete the pasta making course:

Every student is different but in general we think the whole course will take around 14 hours 45 minutes to complete including:

  • Video lessons: 2 hours 45 minutes in total
  • Course notes: 30 minutes per lesson
  • Your pasta recipe assignments: at least 2 hours per lesson
  • Interactive classroom time: 15 minutes per lesson
  • Tutor feedback review (Expert level): 15 minutes per lesson
You'll need:

Your lesson notes will include the full details of the ingredients you'll need, but you will be making pasta, so you'll need standard kitchen equipment. If you have a pasta machine then Steve will show you techniques to use it, but you can also complete the course by hand rolling your pasta dough.

Ready to get started?

Just add the course to your basket above - choose the 'Expert' option for personal feedback from Steven on your pasta.

If you know someone who'd love this course then give it as a gift - just tick "This is a gift" at the checkout.

Any questions? Contact us by clicking on the orange speech symbol - we'd love to hear from you.