Contestant Nikol Zarbalas, as seen on Guy’s Grocery Games, Season 36. {Food Network}
Nicol Zarbalas, chef and owner of Hellenic Republic, once again showcased her cooking skills in a Guy Fieri show, this time in Guy’s Grocery Games.
In December 2022, Guy Fieri filmed an episode of his Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives show at her restaurant located at 2764 N University Drive, stating that Zarbalas’ signature Lamb Burger and Kataifi Fried Shrimp was “hands down, the best Greek food he’s had.”
In the DDD Budget Battle episode, which premiered on April 17, 2024, Zarbalas joined three other chefs Fieri featured in previous Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives to prove her budgeting skills.
In the show, the chefs first play a game to determine the budget allowed to make their restaurant’s bestselling dish. Zarbalas made chicken and waffles with a budget of $18. Not having enough money for some of the necessary ingredients, she improvised and made her own hot sauce and powdered sugar.
Grocery Games contestants and Guy Fieri {Food Network}
In the second round, the remaining three competitors make their personal seafood favorites while working with a $25 budget and a limited grocery list. Zarbalas made the Hellenic Republic’s famous shrimp and grits using phyllo dough and came in second place.
Zarbalas shared that the show was a very different experience than Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, filmed in her Coral Springs restaurant. She had fun flying to California to film Grocery Games competing against other chefs.
“At times, it felt like 20 cameras were on me from every angle. That was probably the most challenging part for me until I was in the kitchen and in my element. Running around the grocery store was fun and posed many challenges with such a small budget, but I was able to utilize my pantry ingredients to the fullest and make it happen,” she said.
As a restaurant owner and a mother of five, Zarbalas is very good at budgeting, she told Fieri during the show.
A Coral Springs resident for 18 years, Zarbalas opened the Hellenic Republic at The Walk in 2019. The restaurant quickly became the locals’ go-to for traditional Greek cuisine.
Fieri, a Florida resident since 2022, featured a few other local spots in the March episodes of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives’ new season, including Rose’s Daughter in Delray Beach, La Cosinita Latina in West Palm Beach, and The Butcher and the Bar in Boynton Beach.
When Coral Springs Talk asked if she plans to participate in any more cooking shows in the future, she shared that she is currently involved in many projects and collaborations.
“You’ll just have to stay tuned to find out more details,” she said.
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- Agrippina Fadel grew up in Siberia and received her master's in journalism from Tyumen State University. Agrippina is also a writer and editor at Draftsy.net. She has been a US resident for over ten years and speaks English and Russian.
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