During the long, cold, Sudbury winters, our bodies crave comfort food…and nothing brings the comfort, warmth, and cozy like Nonna’s Italian cooking!
Starting January 15, 2026, Verdicchio Ristorante | Enoteca is bringing you the opportunity to Cook Like Nonna with six weekly cooking classes designed to inspire and instruct you in the great Italian cooking that Verdicchio-and Nonna-are famous for.
“This new cooking class series celebrates the old ways of Italian cooking: rolling dough on wooden boards, simmering sauces for hours, and turning simple ingredients into food that feeds both body and soul,” said Mark Gregorini, General Manager and cooking class creator.
“Each class invites you to cook, taste, and connect — the way generations have done before us — with a dash of folklore, a pinch of laughter, and plenty of flour on your hands.”
January 15, step into Nonna’s kitchen and learn the ways of gnocchi, through an interactive class on this tender, pillowy potato dish. “As you roll, cut, and shape your gnocchi, you’ll also hear stories and folklore about Italian feast days and long Sunday lunches — when family, food, and laughter always filled the kitchen,” added Gregorini.
January 29, it’s time to learn about and simmer a Sunday sauce as you roll out and hand-cut Maltagliati, while hearing stories about the different regions in Italy and how each has its own secret recipe for sauce.
February 12, just in time for Valentine’s Day, it’s time to learn about filled pasta, with Capelletti Night. “This romantic, hands-on class celebrates the art of filled pasta — the most loving kind of cooking,” advised Gregorini. “You’ll make and seal delicate cappelletti completely by hand, using traditional methods. Discover the meaning of raviolgere — “to wrap” — as Nonna’s old tricks come alive: sealing edges, shaping dough, and tucking flavour into every fold. These little parcels of love are made to be shared.”
February 26, would-be- Italian cooks will move on to the secrets of risotto and arancini, first stirring the risotto to creamy perfection, then using the leftovers to form arancini, fried rice balls, with, of course, regional twists. Nothing is wasted in Nonna’s kitchen!
March 12, it’s a special Family Gnocchi Night, where the whole family can get involved in making theses pillowy balls of goodness. Lots of stories about Italian Sunday lunches will add the heart to this messy, fun night of cooking.
Finally, on March 26, this cooking series will wrap up with Cucina Povera, the art of simple cooking. “The heart of Italian cooking has always been humble ingredients turned into something magnificent. In this class, you’ll prepare classic “peasant” dishes like carbonara, cacio e pepe, and other simple sauces that feel regal in their simplicity,” explained Gregorini.
Tickets for each night are $125 each, and each experience includes enjoying a plate of your creation and a take-home package. Beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) will be available for purchase at the bar.
Gregorini added, “In a world where so much of life happens through a screen, these classes bring us back to something real — working with our hands, connecting through food, and carrying on traditions that have fed families for generations. Cook Like Nonna isn’t just about recipes — it’s about remembering where we come from. And now, with the addition of the family class, it’s a chance to pass those traditions on to the next generation.”
For more information and tickets to Cook Like Nonna, visit the website here.
Dining and Cooking