By Nicolette Turano, Co-Founder of My Dad’s Sauce
Our dad, Pat Turano came from Calabria, Italy, in 1971 and opened his first pizzeria, Casa Turano at 21 years old. From there he opened, operated, and sold several restaurants and pizzerias – his most recent was Trattoria Rustica in Montclair, N.J. In 2016, he won a competition on Restaurant Impossible with Robert Irvine. When asked why he loves what he does he said, “I love creating new dishes, it’s a lot about making people happy.”
In January 2019, my siblings Brianna and Ryan, and I decided to start jarring “My Dad’s Sauce”—the tomato sauce that we grew up enjoying with our family and friends. To keep our product fresh, we jar in small batches. Our product is vegan with no artificial flavors or preservatives and no added sugar.
During quarantine, we realized the potential we had to expose our sauce to a much larger audience. With the help of social media and a great community we are seeing our dream become a reality. Right now, we are selling online as well as a few local markets. We recently launched our product in Shoprite Bloomfield, N.J., as of May 22! We hope this sauce can become a household staple that symbolizes family.
We are so excited to be collaborating with the National Italian American Foundation for this giveaway in honor of Father’s Day!
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The NIAF Membership Giveaway with My Dad’s Sauce – Enter by June 10!
In honor of Father’s Day, NIAF is offering its members a chance to win a jar of My Dad’s Sauce along with: a NIAF Buon Appetito! apron, a NIAF “Make Sunday Italian Again” wooden spoon, and Celebrity Chef Mary Ann Esposito’s latest cookbook Ciao Italia: My Lifelong Food Adventures in Italy! NIAF Members eligible to win this gift must follow these three steps:
- Like NIAF, Mary Ann Esposito, and My Dad’s Sauce’s Facebook pages;
- Follow both NIAF and My Dad’s Sauce’s Instagram accounts; and
- Email media@niaf.org confirming that they did steps 1 and 2 above.
The contest will run until June 10. The winner will be announced on June 12. Not a NIAF Member? Join today to be eligible to win this fantastic giveaway: https://www.niaf.org/membership/join-niaf-today/.
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My Dad’s Sauce’s Connection to NIAF
2013 VOD in Le Castella, Calabria 
2018 VOD in Ostuni, Puglia
Brianna and Nicolette Turano, two of the three siblings that started “My Dad’s Sauce” have been fortunate enough to take part in the Ambassador Peter F. Secchia Voyage of Discovery (VOD) trip with NIAF in 2013 and 2018. Brianna and Nicolette still look back on these trips as one of their best life experiences!
Benvenuti to the NIAF Pensieri Blog 