Commercial pasta makers produce fresh pasta in-house for restaurants, cafés, Italian-cuisine venues, delicatessens and catering kitchens. Hospitality Connect supplies manual, electric and high-volume extruder pasta machines from Marcato, Imperia, La Monferrina, Bottene and Brice - in 150mm hand-crank to 600mm production-line widths.
Types of commercial pasta maker
- Manual hand-crank rollers (150-180mm): Marcato Atlas, Imperia. Sheet roller with snap-on cutter heads. 5-8kg/hour skilled production.
- Motorised hand-crank machines: Atlas Motor and Imperia Electric attachments; 8-12kg/hour with reduced operator fatigue.
- Combined sheeter-cutter machines: Bottene CL and similar; integrated rolling and cutting in one unit. 15-25kg/hour.
- Pasta extruders: La Monferrina and Brice extruders push dough through dies for spaghetti, penne, rigatoni and short pasta. 30-100kg/hour.
- Ravioli and stuffed-pasta makers: Sheet-and-fill machines for ravioli, tortellini and pierogi production.
Sizing for production
Match the machine to daily fresh-pasta volume. A small Italian café making 5-8kg per day runs an Atlas 150 manual. A trattoria at 15-20kg/day needs a motorised Atlas or combined sheeter-cutter. A pasta-focused restaurant or delicatessen at 30-50kg/day needs an extruder. Specialty operations (ravioli, tortellini) need dedicated stuffed-pasta machines. Confirm power: manual machines need only bench space; motorised attachments draw 10A 240V; commercial extruders need 15A or three-phase. Plan flour-storage and pasta-drying space - extrusion produces faster than drying capacity in most kitchens.
Operating notes
- Don't wash with water: Most pasta machines are brush-cleaned only; water rusts the chromed rollers and dies.
- Flour type matters: 00 flour (fine semolina) for sheets; durum semolina for extruded pasta. Mismatch produces poor pasta.
- Dough hydration: Sheeted pasta runs 35-40% hydration; extruded runs 25-30%. Too wet jams the machine.
- Daily breakdown: Strip rollers, cutters and dies daily; flour residue hardens overnight and damages the next batch.
- Drying rack and pasta tree: Plan drying space - 20-30kg of fresh pasta needs 4-6m of drying rack length.
Operational tip: schedule pasta production in the morning before service so dough has time to rest, sheets can dry slightly before cutting, and cutters run cleaner. For restaurants serving fresh pasta on the menu, two pasta types per day (one long, one short or stuffed) is achievable with a manual or motorised setup; more variety needs an extruder. Genuine Italian dies (bronze for traditional, Teflon for fine-dining) affect mouth-feel and sauce-adhesion - bronze dies produce a rougher surface that holds sauce better. Stock spare cutter heads, dies and a backup motor as critical-path equipment.
Pair with
Combine with marcato, dough sheeters and roller and noodles pasta cookers for full pasta production.