“Okay, guys, listen up! The dinner rush is going to pick up an an hour and we need to be ON POINT tonight,” Sergio shouted to the busy kitchen staff at four pm on a Saturday.

“Yes, Chef!” they shouted in unison, not bothering to look up from their food prep.

Sergio felt frustration and pride. Frustration because part of him felt like his team wasn’t fully paying attention to him, and pride because they were clearly dedicated to their pre-dinner rush tasks.

Still, he wanted to test them. He clapped his hands, rubbed them together, and gritted his teeth. He said, “Okay, Sasha, skin the poodles for the soup of the day.”

“Yes, Chef!”

“And Michael, prepare the gorilla meat with the cajun beef seasoning.”

“Yes, Chef!”

“Morgan, I want you to remember to burn all the dishes just enough that the food leaves a slightly detectable sooty taste in their mouths.”

“Yes, Chef!”

“Danny, please spray each dish with this new olive oil/raw chicken run off finishing spray I’ve just created.”

“Yes, Chef! Wait, what?”

Everyone turned toward Sergio, realizing that they hadn’t been paying attention. He felt satisfied that all eyes were on him, if only for a few moments.

He placed his hands on the counter and said, “Guys, I love that you are working so hard, but let’s not get so caught up with routine that we stop paying attention to our surroundings. That’s how places go from good to mediocre. Now, we’ve got the Journal’s food critic coming tonight and we definitely want a five star write up. It is a great chance for free publicity and finally bringing us to the next level. The only problem is that we don’t know what this dude looks like or when he’ll be getting here. Our job, as always, is to send nothing but the best out of the kitchen tonight and every night. Let’s show the world what Nonna’s is made of!”

“Yes, Chef!”

Nonna’s has been Sergio’s dream since he was ten years old. He was adopted by an older Italian couple who couldn’t have any children. Most people want to adopt babies, and children often get lost in the system, but the Muzzettos felt differently. They wanted an older child because they believed in giving chances to kids who have been overlooked. They also weren’t entirely sure that they could handle the responsibility that comes with little babies. They rifled through file after file of children at the agency and when they opened Sergio’s, everything just clicked into place.

He was ten years old and very timid. He had been passed around so much in his young life that he was afraid he’d never find a forever family. He entered into each new familial placement with a degree of trepidation and fear. But things were different with the Muzzettos. He was introduced to the whole extended family, which included fourteen aunts and uncles and twenty cousins. He was welcomed with the warm and accepting open arms that are typical of big Italian families and he felt like maybe this time would be different.

The woman that he could come to know and love as his Nonna greeted Sergio with tears in her eyes, covered him in kisses, and nearly smothered him with hugs within minutes of meeting him. They all gathered around Nonna’s dining room table and she thanked God for bringing Sergio into their family during grace and they set out to eat the lasagna, ham, and desserts she spent days making just for his arrival. it was the first time he ever felt like he belonged anywhere and he thought he could taste the love and acceptance in the food, which made it that much more delicious.

He resolved then and there that he was going to do something big for Nonna when he grew up. He spent his childhood and adolescence in Nonna’s kitchen, learning her recipes and eating up her love. He went to culinary school and slowly worked his way up to head chef in a gourmet French restaurant. His family was proud, but being head chef at Chez Moi wasn’t enough for him.

At thirty, he managed to snag enough money from investors, who happened to be his cousins, to open up his own restaurant. He called it Nonna’s in honor of his favorite girl and lined the walls with family portraits, black and white photos of the old country that Nonna had in a box in her attic, photos of Nonna as a young woman, and, most importantly, a large picture he took with Nonna on the day he entered the Muzzetto family. They served only her recipes and the staff treated each customer with the welcoming attitude he felt when he first arrived.

The night of the food critic had finally arrived. He was nervous, but he knew deep down that everything was going to go off without a hitch. The prix-fix meal that night was the first meal he ever had at Nonna’s: lasagna with a side of meatballs and sausageㄧall homemade, down to the pasta and sauce, ham with vegetables, and cheesecake.

Sergio nervously awaited the review. Sure enough, it appeared in that Wednesday’s paper.

Nonna’s Feels Like Home

I visited Nonna’s this past Saturday night and I must say I’m pleasantly surprised. I thought it was going to be like any other Italian restaurant, but when you walk into Nonna’s, you’re home. Run by Sergio Muzzetto, the restaurant honors his adoptive family’s heritage. Family photos line the walls and the wait staff welcomes you like family. I had the prix-fix meal: lasagna, meatballs, sausage, ham, and cheesecake. It sounds like a lot, but it was worth it, with each bite more delectable than the last. Everything, I mean everything, at Sergio’s is homemadeㄧpasta, sauce, cheese, and meat all prepared fresh by the exquisite kitchen staff, and you can tell. It is absolutely wonderful, from beginning to end. I rate this establishment five out of five stars and urge you all to go as soon as possible.