Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Stoltz.
Melissa, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I kind of fell into pasta making by accident. I came across a book several years ago that was all about making fresh pasta by hand. It was almost like something in my head sort of triggered and I become obsessed. I didn’t buy the book, I went home and googled, and you tubed and started experimenting in my kitchen at home. My friends, family, and neighbors would taste test my recipes. Before I knew it, they started asking for more or asking me to show them how to make pasta. Then after about a year of making pasta at home, I found myself with an opportunity to work as a pasta maker in a high volume Italian restaurant in Bankers Hill. It wasn’t ideal at all since I was a single mother who was already working a full time job and this restaurant was 30 miles from where I lived. But as I said, I was a bit obsessed so I started working nights there. Pretty soon I found myself calculating how much pasta I was making each day and it was up to 60 lbs. per day, nine to ten different varieties of pasta. I loved it so much.
However, it took such a toll on my body that eventually I ended up with tendinitis. I was pretty devastated since, after a year and a half, I had changed my pasta making the position to full time, and even relocated to Point Loma with my child. I found a cute little Wine Bar in Point Loma called The Wine Pub. I started working a few nights a week as a bartender and grew to become a part of this small family. Eventually, the idea to teach pasta making workshops blossomed due to my inability to refrain from buying so many pasta tools! I taught a few workshops in different locations in San Diego until it dawned on me that the Wine Pubs sister restaurant The Coffee Hub was an ideal location to host my workshops. Ever since then I have been teaching my workshops with an intent to share my passion and craft for the art as well as create an environment in which those who attend have a lasting and memorable experience. It is all about making memories and bringing people together.
Has it been a smooth road?
Looking back it doesn’t seem I had to struggle as much as I thought when I was in the moment or having a tough time. My family has been very encouraging and supportive, which has helped me tremendously. My work family at the Wine Pub has also been supportive as well. The biggest problem I run into and still do to this day is just getting out of my way to be successful and stay on a consistent level of progress. I have a terrible habit of talking myself out of good ideas for fear of failure. I suppose others may deal with this as well, it is just a very scary step to go out on a limb and say. “hey everyone. This is my idea. This is what I want to do”! Haha, the struggle is real when your insecurities and fears hold you back.
Tell us more about the business.
My business is very small. I am a one woman operation. I teach pasta making workshops in an intimate and comfortable environment. I think my workshops are unique because my class size is small (no more than 12 people), I teach hands-on instruction, and I create an environment where each and every guest interacts with me on a personal level, side by side. It feels special because, after the instruction part of the workshop, I cook and present a meal to my guests that is unassuming, humble, yet satisfying in a family setting (which I think is essential for bringing my guests together). I find that my workshops ignite my passion for the craft of pasta making. It also serves as a great date night experience and pairs well with the wine that is offered at The Wine Pub. I am most proud of the fact that often when the workshop is over, several of my guests will hug me and say they had a wonderful time, or they leave with smiles on their faces. That feeling is priceless.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
For my business, I would, of course, like to see growth, expansion in terms of my own community space. I think it would be wonderful to get more people out and away from their phones and TV’s and socializing in a community environment that allows for workshops of specials interests, such as cooking, creating art, etc. Who knows where the industry will be by then? I hope that they will still exist simply by the need or desire to learn new things.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.PastaBellaSanDiego.com
- Email: melissapastabella@gmail.com
- Instagram: PastaBellaSanDiego
- Facebook: PastaBellaSanDiego
Image Credit:
Alyssa Mopia. Laura Arias
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