La Costa Nostra: Our Little Thing... and Our Cooking Tradition.
Mafia family meets cooking competition meets bracket challenge. The intensity of The Sopranos with the culinary stakes of Top Chef.
The Show
"It's mafia family meets cooking competition meets bracket challenge."
La Costa Nostra means "Our Little Thing" in Italian. Our little thing in Spaghetti Wars is celebrating and nurturing the greatest Italian family tradition of cooking. What is more challenging or rewarding than cooking for the Boss of the family to earn your place?
The show combines elements of Family Feud and Top Chef with the cinematic feel of The Soprano's. An Elite Eight Mob Madness seasonal structure brings rooting interest and regional rivalries.
The Sopranos
Top Chef
Family Feud
Intense Competition
Historical Insights
Cultural Idiosyncrasies
Wise-Guy Humor
Elite Eight Mob Madness
Structure is everything in this bracket-style Italian cooking competition. The format is built for 10+ seasons of regional rivalries, family honor, and culinary excellence.
Regional Specialty
Each family showcases the signature dish of their Italian-American regional heritage.
Multi-Course Live Event
La Festa Dinner — 100 paying guests judge a full multi-course Italian feast.
Nonna's Sunday Dinner
The ultimate test: recreate the sacred Sunday sauce recipe that defines the family.
The Commission
The show is built on an "organized" food family structure to add layers of drama and intrigue. It all starts at the top — with the boss.
Head of La Famiglia — Final Word on Everything
Gino "The Joker" D'Acampo
Born in Torre del Greco, Naples, Gino inherited his grandfather Giovanni's passion for cooking. With 2.2M Instagram followers and 17 cookbooks, he has been a regular chef on ITV's This Morning since 2009 and famously went head-to-head with Gordon Ramsay in 2017.
The Key Orchestrator — Original Creator
Pepe Kehm
As the original creator of Spaghetti Wars, Pepe Kehm is an esteemed chef and restaurateur bringing over 40 years of industry experience. He helms two restaurants in St. Louis — Peno Southern Italian Soul Food and Rose' by Peno — and is the heart and soul behind the concept.
Strategic Business Advisor
Ereka Vetrini
TV Host, Lifestyle Expert, Brand Spokesperson, Producer, Food Blogger, and proud Mom of two. Her Italian-inspired Instagram channel, featuring an Ita-LEAN bent, has 1.1 million followers. Raised in an Italian restaurant family, she brings a vast array of skills to the Consigliere role.
Cooking with Nonna — Food Mentor
Rossella Rago
Residing in Brooklyn, New York, Rossella is the creator, producer and host of the immensely popular web series Cooking with Nonna. With 164K Instagram followers and a highly successful online store, she is a 100% self-made Capo and author of two acclaimed cookbooks.
The Funky Fishmonger — Food Mentor
Mark "The Fish Monger" Drabich
From Lebanon, New Jersey, Mark is the CEO of Metro Seafood and an electric Internet personality with a passion for making people happy. With 56K+ Instagram followers built around cooking fish and seafood, his signature style, sharp wit, and raspy voice make him the Capo from Jersey everyone loves.
The Stakes
Our Italian American family has brought a 100% Italian Boss in from Italy to grow its family cooking business.
The bigger and better the family; the bigger and better the business.
There are livelihoods and lives at stake.
For Gino the Boss, you only get one first chance to make your mark in America.Failure is not an option.
One Hundred Thousand Dollars
Plus the ultimate honor: the winning family's recipe permanently placed on the Boss's restaurant menu — immortalized in Italian-American culinary history.
Signature Segments
Each episode is structured around five signature segments that build drama, reveal character, and deliver the cinematic storytelling that sets this show apart.
Breaking Bread
The contestants come before The Commission — the stage is set, expectations are laid down. Every episode begins with this ritual of respect and revelation.
Boss's Kitchen
Our bosses love to cook and tell stories. This is where they get to flex their culinary muscle relevant to each episode, sharing wisdom and technique.
The Sit Down
Issues arise, tensions flare. Sometimes you have to sit the parties down to realign the 'natural order' of things. Conflict resolution, mob style.
The Boss Walk
Out of earshot of the crews and capos, the Boss gets to air his feelings with the Underboss and/or Consigliere to make sure all goes according to plan.
Wine Down
Moments of reflection, good or bad. Mistakes made, lessons learned, thanks given. The day ends with honesty and a glass of something worth savoring.
The Producers
Emmy winners. Network veterans. Proven showrunners. The team behind Spaghetti Wars delivers on time, on budget, and at network quality.
Barry Mendelson
Beyond the Glory (7-yr Network run) · Madison Square Garden EVP · New Orleans Jazz NBA EVP · Lightwire Theater (300 annual shows, 8-yr run)
President and CEO of Mendelson Entertainment Group, Barry is a pioneer and prolific producer with shows airing in all 50 states and 11 countries. His partnership in Beyond the Glory and its 7-year run on Network TV solidified his spot as a top contributor to sports programming in Hollywood.
Karl Kimbrough
Emmy-Nominated Editor · Real Screen Award Winner · The Masked Singer · Extreme Makeover Home Edition · Lego Masters
Karl has established himself as a creative force behind some of the most successful unscripted programming on television. He sets the style, format, and creative direction for productions across major networks including FOX, NBC, ABC, CBS, and streaming platforms like Netflix, Amazon, and Disney+. His unique blend of storytelling and technical expertise transforms raw footage into polished, engaging content that connects with viewers.
King Hollis
ABC · FOX · CW · Universal · PBS · Sony · Vertical Entertainment
A creative executive for 26 of his 32 years in the content creation space. King has developed episodic shows and content for ABC, FOX, CW, Universal, PBS, and Sony. He is an industry leader in building out universal content opportunities that enhance project and brand value.
Patrick "Pepe" Kehm
Spaghetti Wars Creator · Peno Southern Italian Soul Food · Rose' by Peno · Culinary Events Producer
A lifelong restauranteur, entrepreneur and author in the commercial art and entertainment spaces. His international training and southern Italian and French roots created his passion for Italian Soul Food. He is the heart and soul behind the Spaghetti Wars concept.
Tim Breitbach
Emmy Award Winner · NAACP Best Reality Series (Welcome to Sweetie Pies) · Sundance Award (Dopamine, 2003) · Fast n Loud (Discovery)
An award-winning filmmaker, showrunner, screenwriter and television development executive. Tim won Emmy Awards for two series set at Children's Hospitals, multiple NAACP Awards for Welcome to Sweetie Pies, and developed the mega-hit Fast n Loud on Discovery.
"Get Toasted"
The Hill, St. Louis, MO · John Viviano and Sons Market & Deli
The pilot episode is available for qualified network executives. Enter the Executive Screening Room to watch the full pilot and experience the Spaghetti Wars world firsthand.