A Cooking Class in South Gables

How to Make Mouthwatering Dishes at Whole Foods

By Lizzie Wilcox

January 2020

Whole Foods has always been a haven for health conscious foodies. Now thanks to Cooking Classes, you can take all your organic groceries and learn how to transform them into culinary masterpieces. Cooking Classes, owned by Ivo d’Aguiar, hosts a multitude of courses around Miami; luckily for us, they frequent the Whole Foods Lifestyle Center, right behind the market on San Remo Avenue.

We jumped at the chance to attend Pasta 101 because we are unashamed carb lovers. Chef d’Aguiar creates a warm and fun environment – not from the stove, but from his “make yourself at home, help yourself to some wine” mentality. Debunking our idea that you have to have ancestors from the Italian countryside to do it right, the chef taught us there’s not much more to making pasta than flour and eggs – and semolina if your dough is sticky. After getting the dough to the right consistency, you crank it through a pasta machine, choosing one slot for fettuccine, another for linguine.

While he usually prepares the sauce in advance, this time Chef d’Aguiar taught us how to make Cacio e Pepe. Like the pasta, it was easier than anticipated: a simple combination of butter, pasta water, cheese and pepper. He garnished the sauced pasta with Parmesan and (who knew?) olive oil. Then came the best part: eating. The sauce was warm and cheesy, and the noodles cooked to al dente perfection. You’ll never look at boxed pasta the same.

For more information, or to book a class, visit cookingclassesmiami.com. Ticket prices vary, as do courses.

The finished product