Eleven years ago this month, Luca Della Casa stepped to the edge of culinary stardom, chopping and filleting his way to the finals of “Food Network Star.” 

With big dimples, a muscled physique and an Italian accent, Della Casa won a legion of fans. With his knife and technique, he impressed judges Bobby Flay, Alton Brown and Giada De Laurentiis.

Winning the competition, he believed, would be like hitting the lottery. 

“My idea was to get popular and get rich and stop work,” Della Casa recalled recently. “As simple as a plan can be.”

Viewers vetoed the plan, voting instead for Lenny McNab, the “Gourmet Cowboy.” The result sent Della Casa back to the kitchen at Silo Alamo Heights and Nosh, a casual dining spot that later closed.

“I got a gift,” said Silo owner Patrick Richardson. “But Luca was heartbroken.”

Della Casa turned heartbreak into a big break. He partnered with Richardson to open Nonna Osteria at the Fairmount Hotel in 2017. Eight years later, Della Casa remains executive chef and helps manage the hotel, which includes Silo Prime and the Rooftop Oyster Bar.

Chef Luca Della Casa of Nonna Osteria poses for a photo in the “wine cellar” leading to his restaurant at the Fairmount Hotel on Aug. 20, 2025. Credit: Amber Esparza / San Antonio Report

“Our goal is to make the hotel Michelin level,” Richardson said, “and bring it back to its storied history.”

The Fairmount made Guinness World Records history in 1985, 79 years after it was built. The three-story, 3.2 million pound structure was transported half a mile on wheels from East Commerce to its present location on South Alamo, an engineering feat that took six days to accomplish. 

Chef Bruce Auden later turned Polo’s at the Fairmount into an upscale, destination restaurant. 

Eventually, when Auden left to launch Biga, the Fairmount fell into disrepair and the restaurant space lay empty until Richardson launched Nonna Osteria.

Today, natural light pours into the restaurant through wide windows, giving the space the feel of fresh, promising life, a contrasting vibe to the dust and rumble of construction on South Alamo. 

“The Nonna Osteria is a very exciting project for us,” Della Casa said. “We are in an amazing place in town. A lot of energy is happening around this location.”

Richardson expects a clean view of South Alamo by the end of October with beautification to follow. When completed, the Fairmount will sit in a park-like setting. Hotel, restaurant and site will eclipse anything Della Casa could have imagined in his youth.

Della Casa grew up in Torino, Italy, playing running back in the Italian Football League and studying English. He found work as a dishwasher and enjoyed the cooking of his maternal grandmother, Norma Mengotti, a one-time restaurateur who prepared family-style dinners every Sunday. 

“Gnocchi e coniglio was definitely the specialty,” Della Casa said. “She also made light potato gnocchi in this rich rabbit sauce and tiramisu.” 

In his early 20s, Della Casa moved to the Canary Islands and became a line cook at a bustling Spanish grill. He learned to make chicken, steak and pork chops and manage the kitchen.

“At that point, I was no longer looking for what I wanted to do,” he said. “I knew I wanted to become very good as a cook.”

Chef Luca Della Casa of Nonna Osteria prepares the burrata dish at the Fairmount Hotel on Aug. 20, 2025. Credit: Amber Esparza / San Antonio Report

After a few years at the grill, Della Casa followed two friends to the U.S., where he became a sous chef in San Antonio at the since-closed Sage, in the same hotel space that Nonna Osteria occupies.

With no formal culinary training, he left to work for Andrew Weissman at Le Reve (French for “The Dream”) and later at Il Sogno (Italian for “The Dream”), where he served as executive chef.  

“Andrew was definitely the best mentor when it came to cooking techniques and dedication to perfection and to pursue the perfect bite at the perfect time,” Della Casa said. “He was very successful in a very small restaurant.”

The next turn in life took Della Casa into consulting and then to Nosh, Richardson’s Austin Highway eatery on the bottom floor of Silo. That’s when the door opened to “Food Network Star.” A casting director invited Della Casa to audition. The catch: The show required Della Casa to miss three months of work. Would he have to quit Nosh?

A heart to heart with his boss left him stunned. Richardson said he would pay Della Casa’s salary for the three months he was away.

Della Casa failed to connect with the audience after the second episode and got cut. He was redirected to another show, “Star Salvation,” where he excelled after enrolling in Toastmasters. His delivery and presentation improved and Della Casa was invited back to “Food Network Star.” To summarize: He appeared on the show, was removed, brought back and finished second.

“It was a great experience,” he said.

Back in San Antonio, Della Casa and Richardson made plans for a new concept. In homage to Norma Mengotti, they agreed to combine two names: Nonna, Italian for “grandmother,” and Osteria, an Italian eatery that serves simple food and wine.

Eight years since opening, Della Casa takes pride in the menu’s most popular dish: tartufo. 

“It’s our table-side preparation,” he said. “Fresh tagliatelle tossed in a parmigiano reggiano wheel to create a creamy sauce.  And then, as we place it on the plate, we top it with jumbo lump crab and shave some fresh bagnoli black truffle.”

Della Casa looks around the dining room, natural light illuminating tables, floor and kitchen. Memories flicker. A childhood home in Italy. That first restaurant at the Fairmount. Competing on the Food Network. 

What would his grandmother make of this journey? 

Della Casa smiles. Norma Mengotti might think her grandson has done well.