Written by: Cary Kelly
Meryl Feinstein started making pasta to make friends. When you meet her, you’ll wonder why that was even a challenge. Meryl, a Washington, D.C. based chef, is engaging, dynamic, bright, and intelligent. You want to be her friend when you meet her, especially if she invites you to a pasta dinner.
Meryl is the founder of the social media phenom Pasta Social Club, a hybrid supper club and pasta-making school that offers in-person and virtual classes that demystify the process of making fresh pasta at home. Her tag line is ‘Make ravioli, make friends.’
On Wednesday, October 18 you can meet and eat with Meryl at the Red Barn Mercantile second Cookbook Club. I have known Meryl for a long time. We became friends when I owned The Cookery in Arlington and D.C. As the blogger behind Cary in the Kitchen she is a constant inspiration to me. I cannot wait to interview her while we dine on her delicious recipes.
Meryl fell in love with pasta on her honeymoon in Italy after attending (and graduating top of her class) the Culinary Institute of America. She fused that love with a vision of creating community through supper clubs. Living in New York at the time, she started supper clubs with pasta tasting menus which led to teaching pasta classes. The final push to her brilliant brand was the pandemic. She morphed her business into a virtual one offering both her signature community-building warmth and her talent for pasta - Pasta Social Club was born.
While Meryl is technically trained and an expert at making pasta, her goal is to make it approachable for the home cook. She couldn’t find a cookbook on the market that did that; most are written by chefs from the prospective of a professional kitchen. Meryl’s just released cookbook, Pasta Every Day (Make It, Shape It, Sauce It, Eat It) does just that.
Join us on October 18 for a dynamic evening. Just like last time, each participant will make a dish from Pasta Every Day and bring to share. Meryl and I will engage the group in a fun discussion about pasta, about Meryl, about cooking and food. Participants will be able to ask Meryl questions or get more pasta-making tips. She will sign her cookbooks, which are available for purchase when you buy a ticket to the event, on the Red Barn website, and on-site at the event.
I look forward to seeing you all there. In the meantime, enjoy the ravioli.