This Vintage Pasta Crank Makes Flawless Cavatelli in Minutes

Chef Peter Klein grew up with bags of cavatelli in the freezer. “I’m from North Jersey, so we called them ‘gavadeels,’” says Klein, now the executive chef of the Austin cocktail bar and restaurant Holiday. “The first time I said that in a restaurant to a server, the look on their face was utter shock and confusion. I was like, ‘Sorry, cavatelli.’” On any given Sunday, Klein’s mother would hand-crank big batches of cavatelli with her BeeBo cavatelli maker.

Made by the Berarducci Brothers Manufacturing Company in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, the BeeBo is a small hand-cranked machine with wooden rollers that easily attaches to your counter. Feed it long strips of dough, and you’ll be able to crank out cavatelli just as well as you could make them by hand, only a whole lot faster. Often a family heirloom, BeeBos were discontinued in 2008, but vintage models can be found on eBay or Etsy — though they’re often quickly snapped up by pasta aficionados. (Fante’s Kitchen Shop sells a similar model, called Cousin Elisa’s Cavatelli Maker, at fantes.com.)

Klein is just one of many chefs who cherish the BeeBo. At Frankies Spuntino in Brooklyn, co-owners Frank Castronovo and Frank Falcinelli use it to make their famous ricotta cavatelli. They offer high praise to the BeeBo’s efficiency in their 2010 cookbook, The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion & Cooking Manual: “One thing’s for sure: We would never make cavatelli without one.”

Seeing the BeeBo called out in the Frankies Spuntino cookbook was a lightbulb moment for Klein. “It kind of blew my mind,” he says. “It felt like, ‘Hey, I know this insider thing.’ This is something that’s been in my kitchen cabinet since as long as I can remember. To me, it didn’t seem like some heritage brand or specialty piece of cookware.”

The first time Klein served BeeBo-made cavatelli as a special at Holiday, it was a huge hit. Now, it’s a regular on the menu, currently served with brown butter, roasted butternut squash, and sage. “It’s been one of our top sellers, just behind the french fries and the burger. It’s hard to imagine not serving it.” 

The BeeBo is also a sentimental tool for Klein, who lost his mom to breast cancer when he was 15. “She was ill for the majority of my childhood,” he says. “On nights when she didn’t want to figure out what to cook, it was like, ‘We’ll just have the gavadeel with some tomato sauce from the freezer.’ That was an easy, quick meal, which I took for granted until much later.” Klein has since lost his grandmother and uncle, both of whom used the BeeBo. “[Using it] keeps me connected to my family, and it’s kind of a way to honor their legacy.” 

To Klein, there’s only one BeeBo. “I’ve tried other [cavatelli makers]. There might be some sentimental bias at play, but I don’t know of any other cavatelli machine that works as consistently­ — and as well.”