Two Vastly Different Chefs Share a Common Love of Combining Flour, Eggs and Water to Make Fresh Pasta

In an doughy episode of the BuzzFeed culinary series Tasty, host Vaughn Vreeland visited two vastly different restaurants, Borgatti’s Ravioli and Chef Michael White of the Altamarea Group, both with a common love of homemade pasta.

Two artisan pasta makers perform their craft, exploring a beautiful marriage between eggs and flour.

Vreeland first stopped at Borgatti’s in the Bronx, a popular Italian family pasta shop that first opened in 1935. Chris Borgatti, the grandson of founder Mario Borgatti, shares the family story, which includes their process for making a vast array of traditional pasta using the same recipe handed down through the generations.

It is an art to make this dough. It’s when you spend many hours making something that people enjoy it becomes a masterpiece that’s what makes it all worthwhile. …You really need to understand the dough, understand the weather. Is it too wet? Is it too dry? Do I add water do I add a little more flour? You basically have to be consistent with that.

Vreeland then spoke with Chef Michael White, a former football player who needed to change course after an injury. He fell in love with the alchemy of cooking. White shares with Vreeland his particular love for creating fresh pasta.

I don’t want people think there’s anything wrong with dry pasta either, but fresh pasta in some instance is more of a special occasion. It’s a labor of love. It doesn’t happen instantly. You have to have to practice at it. It’s like doing anything. You have to do enough repetition to know that when you touch it, it feels right.