MOORHEAD – He didn’t get to the final round, but the co-owner of Sarello’s Restaurant and Wine Lounge got plenty of chances to show his love of North Dakota while competing on a Food Network show that aired Sunday night.
Tony Nasello, who with his wife, Sarah Nasello, writes the “Home With the Lost Italian” column for The Forum, competed on Guy Fieri’s “Guy’s Grocery Games” in February against three other chefs for a shot at up to $20,000.
Competitors had 30 minutes to prepare a dish in each round, but with a twist: They had to get their ingredients from a fully stocked supermarket on the set in Santa Rosa, Calif., and had to make their dishes under Fieri’s rules each round.
They first made French toast, but were instructed they couldn’t use fresh bread. Nasello opted for frozen baguettes defrosted in the microwave before being dipped in his custard mixture.
After cooking up the kid-friendly breakfast, he plated it with chocolate hazelnut spread and fresh fruit for a final dish that earned praise from the three judges – and concerns it was too sweet.
Nasello was eliminated in the second round when competitors made a steak dinner using only canned food. He got high marks for his handling of canned potatoes, but judges said the texture was too soft in his take on a “Neapolitan” meat dish with corned beef and crab.
While Nasello said he thought the dish was good, there’s no plan to add it to the Sarello’s menu.
“We don’t use cans when we cook steak dinner, especially up here in North Dakota,” he said.
It was a “bummer” to lose, but Nasello said it was a “blast” to showcase the Midwest on the episode, complete with wearing a bomber hat during his introduction on the set.
“I was just so happy to be able to represent our great state of North Dakota,” he said.
