Meryl Feinstein started making pasta to make friends. When you meet her, you’ll wonder why that was ever a challenge. Meryl, a Washington, D.C. based chef, is engaging, dynamic, bright, and intelligent. She’s someone you want to be friends with, especially if she invites you to a pasta dinner. 

Founder of the social media phenom Pasta Social Club, a hybrid supper club and pasta-making school that offers live and virtual classes, Meryl has demystified the process of making fresh pasta at home. Her tagline: ‘Make ravioli, make friends.’ 

On Wednesday, October 18 you can meet and eat with Meryl at Red Barn’s second Cookbook Club. I’ve 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, and 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 perspective of a professional kitchen. Meryl’s just released cookbook, Pasta Every Day (Make It, Shape It, Sauce It, Eat It) does exactly 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 a dish to share. Meryl and I will engage the group in a fun discussion about cooking and food, and 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 will also be available the evening of the event. 

I look forward to seeing you all there. In the meantime, enjoy the ravioli!