Chef Sera Cuni Wins Food Network's Supermarket Stakeout Episode 7
Sera Cuni, local celebrity chef and owner of Cafe Root Cellar in Pittsboro and Root Cellar Cafe & Catering in Chapel Hill, can now be called a Food Network winner, after competing successfully against three other chefs on Season 5 of the game show Supermarket Stakeout.
In the episode “Fast Food Frenzy,” which aired on Tuesday, May 30, Cuni demonstrated her quick thinking and culinary skills through three rounds of competition, wowing the show’s judges, including celebrity host Chef Alex Guarnaschelli, who awarded Cuni the grand prize of $10,000.
“I felt really good going into the last round, so it was exciting finally hearing my name called,” Cuni said of the game show win. Over the past two years, the local chef had appeared twice on the Food Network’s Guy’s Grocery Games but came up short, landing in second place on each appearance.
For Supermarket Stakeout, which features a pop-up kitchen outside of a grocery store, chefs must convince shoppers to sell their recently purchased groceries, with hopes of snagging needed ingredients to complete their assigned themed dishes. In the Fast Food Frenzy episode, Guarnaschelli challenged the competitors with a theme of drive-thru cuisine, including burgers, tacos, and ice cream.
Cuni, who has a reputation as a rule breaker when it comes to the creativity of her own cuisine, demonstrated a similar willingness to push the rules with the show’s judges during the first two rounds of competition. But she advanced each time and ultimately sealed her fate on a PB&J crumb cake ice cream sandwich stuffed with peanut butter ice cream, and layered with a grape lemon glaze, chocolate caramel, and toasted marshmallow. Cuni cooked up a batch of her award winning dessert and surprised guests attending a watch party at the Pittsboro restaurant Tuesday night with the treats.
Cuni, who originally shot the episode in California in late January, said she’s already thinking about when she might get the chance to compete again.
“The whole experience was a blast,” she said. “I really enjoyed getting to know the other chefs and you know me, I’m always up for a good competition.”
About Chef Sera Cuni
Chef Sera Cuni is the chef and owner of two North Carolina restaurants: Root Cellar Cafe & Catering in Chapel Hill and a sister spin-off, Cafe Root Cellar in Pittsboro. Classically trained in the culinary arts, Chef Sera launched her career in her home state of Connecticut, where she grew up surrounded by a family of cooks who embraced their Italian and Czech foodie traditions. Her early kitchen experiences, including in restaurants Main and Hopewell, Americus on the Wharf, and Pastis, all in Connecticut, helped to inform and influence the cuisine she loves to cook today – creative and flavorful dishes that reflect the vast diversity of foods across the Midwestern and Southern United States. A founding member of the North Carolina Chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier and a selected member of Sterling Silver’s Signature Chefs, Chef Sera devotes her free time to supporting other women culinary entrepreneurs and working with nonprofits to address food insecurity in North Carolina. Connect with Chef Sera Cuni on Instagram.
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