FAIRHOPE — The ingredients are simple: 200 grams of flour and two farm-fresh eggs. The equipment is minimal. The teacher is dynamic.

Lifelong learners are flocking to Fairhope to learn the art of making pasta. Mari's Italian Cooking Lab opened its doors in June, and every class has been booked since day one. Thanks to Marilena "Mari" Rutland, there is no need to fly to Italy to learn to make fresh egg pasta. Italian-born and raised, Rutland moved to Alabama 20 years ago after falling in love with a Montgomery man.

"I changed the language, I changed the landscape, but basic values and culture were pretty much similar. That is why it has not been difficult to raise my two girls and my stepson Aurthur," she said. "It has been wonderful. I would redo everything."

Rutland's husband Arthur grew up coming to the Gulf Coast to spend time at his family's place on Soldier Creek. The tradition continued and their children. The family decided to move to Fairhope just before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rutland shared her love of cooking with friends in Montgomery and then in Fairhope. She said opening her own business was probably always in the back of her mind, but her focus has always been on her family. Once her daughters could drive themselves around and were nearing college, she knew she needed to find herself again.

"I have been so focused and busy on raising my girls that I kind of lost the meaning of myself and what I am doing here on this Earth in this life," Rutland said. "What am I going to do? The only thing that I could think, something that makes me happy and enriches my life. It might not be fancy making pasta, but I see something more than this. It makes me happy and it looks to me like the people that come here are really interested."

In January, a commercial space on North Section Street became available. It was a good space that needed some work to turn it into an instructional space, but there was a lot of interest. Thankfully, the owner liked Rutland's vision and rented it to her.

The space was painted and changed, and a kitchen space was added. The cooking lab doesn't require much more than space, a table and pasta machines. Rutland created the logo and one of her daughters painted the sign. It took a little time before Rutland was ready to plant the sign. When she was finally ready, the sign went into the ground under the cover of darkness.

Much to her surprise, the next morning a truck was sitting in the parking area waiting for her to open.

"I came here at 8:15 a.m. rushing, and there was a pickup truck already waiting here," Rutland recounted. "A guy from Neimeyer Realty said he saw the sign early, called his wife and asked if I had gift certificates. He was my first official customer."

Once she posted her first classes, they sold out in no time, and that has continued for the last five months. When asked how it makes her feel to see Mari's Pasta Cooking Lab embraced by the community so quickly, Rutland said she feels honored.

"I feel honored and I am happy. My husband is very happy because I am not stressed and not stressing anybody," Rutland said, laughing. "My girls are super happy and my biggest supporters. I could not be doing this if I did not have my husband and my daughters helping me."

Rutland is an amazing teacher with a strong Italian accent. She has a warmth and personality that makes you feel like her best friend in under five minutes. She learned to cook and make pasta standing next to her grandmother and mother and she transfers those years of knowledge to her students.

In less than three hours, Rutland walks her students through the steps of taking 200 grams of flour and two large farm-fresh eggs and turning them into pasta. The egg pasta class is the first class students take. The other two classes on her roster build on those skills. Rutland explains what type of flour to buy, why and where to find it. She explains the importance of the quality of ingredients, where to find them and how to cook them.

After the students make their pasta, Rutland does a demo in the kitchen on how to cook the fresh pasta and how to make a simple but delicious Alfredo sauce. When students leave they are ready to turn their noodles into a meal but also the knowledge to do it again.

"In 30 minutes, you have fettuccini ready with the simplest most organic flour, two organic eggs and you cook for three people," Rutland said. "It is fun and it is relaxing."

If you are looking for an experience to gift someone you love, look no further. The classes make a fun date night or a night out with friends.