Crafted 852 – Pasta Making Fun & Artisanal Food

Good food, a great space and lots of fun!

A month ago, we decided to celebrate the birthday of our lovely co-founder Maura, with a memorable event. It had to be fun, unique and of course, Sassy approved, in an awesome location… and we couldn’t have found a better place than Umami Concepts. This amazing space caters to almost any event, and is conveniently located on Bonham Road in Sai Ying Pun, which is relatively close to Sassy HQ. We headed over to this amazing, homey space for a pasta-making class with Crafted 852. Not only did we end up making delicious homemade pasta and learning some new techniques, but we had so much fun. It was super relaxing cooking in such a cosy yet spacious place, and we almost didn’t want to leave. Nolan was a fantastic host too and treated us like family – he certainly fed us like an Italian mama!

As soon as we started to climb the stairs up to Umami Concepts, the smell of something delicious being slow-cooked embraced us. It was like arriving home to a family meal and having the smell of your favourite dish wafting out of the kitchen! The loft-style space is a dream. With big, bright windows and tons of space, we could all imagine ourselves living there. We even started to talk about where we would have our bed and sofa, and how you could decorate the living room and dining room with the long table and gorgeous open kitchen.

Once we finished admiring the place, Nolan explained to us how easy it is to make homemade pasta with just flour and eggs, teaching us about how the dough worked. He had everything ready for us, so we just had to shape the dough into even pieces, roll it out to the perfect thickness and work with the pasta machine or cut it into the width of tagliatelle.

Chef Nolan gave us expert pasta making tips and tricks as he split us into groups to work on different stations. Some of us split up the dough into (supposedly!) even pieces, some of us used the pasta makers, some prepped the starters and others dusted the cut pasta with flour. It was so much fun and once we finished, our host did a little extra magic for us. He cooked the pasta we had made ourselves with an incredible tomato and basil sauce – super simple but oh-so delicious!

There’s something special about eating food you’ve made with your own hands, it just feels more rewarding. And it was delectable! We also enjoyed a myriad of scrumptious side dishes that Nolan and his team had prepared in advance – think smoked salmon and beetroot, glazed honey carrots, aubergine with parmesan and more… they were all drool-worthy.

It turned out to be the perfect birthday event. We would highly recommended a similar experience if you’re looking for a fun, interactive team-building activity, or an alternative for special occasions like birthdays or hen ‘dos. Apart from pasta-making classes, Crafted 852 offers a range of experiences that combine a love of food with social gatherings. Choose from a range of social events and cooking classes, and if you can’t get the whole squad, just grab your bestie and indulge in a master cooking class. You won’t regret it!

Crafted 852 also sells specially curated packages at their online ‘market’, which  use only the best ingredients and goods from handmade producers. They’ve even got Christmas Gift Boxes which would be perfect for any foodie friends in your life! The box changes weekly but always has the best of the best when it comes to artisanal food products.

Psst! Our Sassy readers can benefit from a 10% discount off any purchase from the Crafted 852 Market. Just quote the code XMAS10%. (Valid until 31, December 2015)

www.crafted852.com