From Burlington, VT, Free Press:

Tiny hands held bright yellow yolks, letting the clear slime of the uncooked egg slide through their fingers. Chef Kerri Bouffard announced to the small kitchen crew, “It’s time to get our hands nice and dirty, and there’s no need to worry about making a mess in my kitchen.”

This pasta-making workshop designed for children was held at The Essex on Dec. 28.

After students separated the egg yolks from the whites, the mixing began.

Guests of the inn and locals have been enjoying classes like this one for about four years, Bouffard said.

“Classes we have designed for children are special because they can get their hands in and ask all the questions they want,” she said. “They get to eat what we’ve made here in class and get to go home and cook it for their family.”

Marion Gottlieb and her daughter Sydney, 7, of Ramsey, N.J., come to Essex every year for the holidays to visit family and friends. Marion loves to cook spaghetti at home, but has never made her own pasta.

“This is special mother- daughter time for us,” Marion said. Little brother William, 11 months, stayed behind on this adventure.

“I’m a great egg breaker,” Sydney said of her culinary skills. “I like to cut mushrooms, too.”

Ben Certa, 13, of Westford got a chef’s jacket and hat for Christmas. “I think cooking is interesting, and I have just recently begun to cook,” he said. “I wanted to learn more, so this is my first class.”

Certa carefully added his eggs to the flour and helped his classmates mix dough that they made into angel hair pasta, fettuccine and tortellini.

Steven McKeen, 10, of Westford, Mass., came to the area with his mom Cindy McKeen, an Essex native, to visit family for the holiday. He likes to cook chocolate and chocolate chip cakes at home and was excited to learn how to make pasta.

“My job is cooking and teaching,” Bouffard said. “This culinary classroom makes a wonderful office to come to.”

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/a...y-at-The-Essex