Hands on at CookSpace

PHOTOS BY ANTHONY CONSILLIO

One recent CookSpace class covered how to make gnocchi

When asked about their level of cooking abilities, Jillian Parel and Gabriel Ricardos give a humorously cryptic response that probably would be typical for a lot of people: They simply look at each other and laugh.

But yet, here they are, delicately rolling out dough, and later, filling it with spinach and ricotta and folding it together to create ravioli. For any novice in the kitchen, this probably sounds impossible, but Parel and Ricardos are at CookSpace Hawaii, a cooking studio in Ward Village, and are among more than a dozen participants who are following along as Andrea Onetti of Onda Pasta guides them through making various kinds of pasta — tortellini and agnolotti in addition to the ravioli.

This handmade pasta class is just one of a number of instructional courses led by partner chefs and farmers that CookSpace offers. Co-founded by Melanie Kosaka and Jason Kim in 2013, CookSpace also hosts private events, tastings and customizable sessions. And it’s all served up in what feels like the real-life version of one of those chic, impossibly well-put-together Instagram photos.

Attendees of a pasta-making class got to munch on this rigatoni with olives and capers in a spicy tomato sauce

“Someone will take a class, they will learn how to make something and then they will be able to take that home,” Kosaka explains.

Onetti tells his class that he feels that, more and more, people are losing their connection to food. And he’s got a point. So many things come pre packaged, ready-to-eat. And often, busy schedules mean scarfing down a meal without really taking the time enjoy it.

It’s that tie between people and the food they eat that CookSpace hopes to strengthen.

“We spend so much time on all of our screens — whether it’s on your phone, on your computer — and when we are in a class like this, it’s very tactile,” Kosaka says.

“There is just something about a hands-on experience,” she continues. “I wanted to create opportunities for people to be able to connect with food.”

Its private events include things like corporate team-building sessions, and work-place wellness events where employees learn healthy cooking together. And its public classes have included step-by-step how-to’s for foods such as sushi, tamales and ceviche.

CookSpace students follow along during the pasta class held last month

Although still relatively new, CookSpace already has managed to partner with a credentialed — and growing — list of chefs. Just a couple of weeks ago, it hosted a Sunday brunch prepared by Jonathan Mizukami of The French Laundry and Vintage Cave. Next month, Lee Anne Wong of Top Chef, and head of the popular Koko Head Cafe, will stop in.

As if that list isn’t impressive enough, Roy Yamaguchi had a hand in the origins of CookSpace, as he introduced Kim and Kosaka. Kosaka worked with Yamaguchi for years as producer of his cooking show, Hawaii Cooks with Roy Yamaguchi.

The owner of a media production company, Kosaka also has produced a number of other programs, typically focusing on food and culture. Long before that, though, Kosaka traces her interest in all things culinary to her family — she has fond memories of homemade meals from her mother and aunties when she was a kid.

“It wasn’t anything fancy, but it was always good food that was made from scratch,” she recalls.

Kim’s family, meanwhile, managed ice cream shops throughout the state while he was growing up. More recently, he owned the now-closed kiawe-grilled steaks and seafood eatery Good to Grill.

CookSpace is predicated on Kim and Kosaka’s mutual lifelong love of food — and they say coming together over food is really what’s at the core of the studio.

“It’s educational, but at the same time, you get to eat the product that you are learning about,” Kim explains. “It’s hands-on, so it’s something different than just going out eating and drinking.”

Once the class has stored their own pastas in the fridge to take home for later, Onetti has a treat for his students: Rome-style gnocchi with corn pesto, followed by rigatoni with a tomato butter caper sauce.

Andrea Onetti of Onda Pasta (right) prepares gnocchi with CookSpace co-owner Melanie Kosaka

For the guest chefs, Kim and Kosaka feel, CookSpace provides a platform to share their knowledge.

“What (CookSpace) is doing is great because it allows people to learn things that, unless you go to culinary school and you make it your life, you are never going to learn,” Onetti says.

“How many people can make pasta from scratch?” participant Paul Witte muses. “It’s a cool thing to learn.”

Currently, CookSpace is looking to expand educational opportunities to new spaces. A couple of months ago, it launched cookspace.kitchen, an online resource where people can share their stories, recipes and tips. CookSpace also soon is looking to get out of the kitchen on occasion and into the field, by partnering with local farms to offer classes outdoors.

“We don’t feel we need to be confined by four walls,” Kosaka says. “Food and experiences happen (anywhere).

“What is really so gratifying is when people come and they really feel like they learned something,” Kosaka continues. “And sometimes, I will run into them somewhere, and they will say, ‘I went home and I made this and it was so good, and cooked it for my family’ — that is the most satisfying part.”

For more information about CookSpace Hawaii, call 695-2205 or visit cookspacehawaii.com.