meet your dough date: Willow

As a kid in the Bronx, my favorite nights out were always at red sauce joints. I’d routinely order family-style lasagna, eat half, and take half home. My family is Irish, mind you, but my mother always joked that we were a pasta-over-potato family. Pasta was an absolute staple in our house, and with parents who were incredible cooks, falling in love with the culinary world came easy. That early fascination stayed with me, leading me to study hospitality in college and later work in contract food services and catering, where I discovered how much I loved making sure people were smiling and well-fed.

One slow summer, I picked up a hand-cranked pasta machine, not knowing it would take me across the ocean. After my MBA, I spent a few months in Italy, taking fresh pasta classes in different cities and eventually landing in Bologna for an intensive mattarello course at Il Salotto di Penelope. I came home with a rolling pin so massive it was briefly confiscated at JFK (and graciously given back).

Upon my return to New York City, the obsession only grew. I kept taking classes, making pasta, and most importantly, gathering people around the table. What began as teaching a few friends one night became The Dough Date—a way to share the same joy of food and connection I grew up with.