Italy’s Famous Pasta Maker Coming to DC Next Year

Simonetta Capotondo, one of the best hand-rolled pasta makers in Italy, is planning to move to D.C. next year.

Capotondo is a professional cook and a sfoglina, or a pasta maker. After working in restaurants for several years, she started her own business and now organizes traveling cooking classes and cooking demos.

In the pasta making completion Sfoglina d’Oro, which was held in Bologna in 2011, Capotondo was declared the runner-up. She is now invited and travels around the world training people and restaurant staff on how to make hand-rolled pastas.

This year, Capotondo began working with Fabio Trabocchi (F&W Best New Chef 2002) at his Washington D.C. restaurant, Sfoglina. Capotondo trained the restaurant staff on techniques and also made frequent visits to give public classes.

Capotondo is currently based in Italy, but next year she will move to D.C. and work and train fulltime.

The restaurant’s menu is now offering fresh varieties of pastas, including Roman tonnarelli noodles with sheep’s milk pecorino, fresh black pepper and lemon zest, and goat cheese caramelle ravioli with arugula and tomato.