Restaurant on Food Network Show

ORILLIA - They came for the food and left with a story about family.

It was in late January when John Catucci, the upbeat and hungry host of the Food Network's "You Gotta Eat Here" arrived at Orillia's Tre Sorelle, camera crew in tow.

Sisters Gina White and Lisa Particelli run the downtown cafe and take-out with more than a little help from their parents and other relatives – a morsel of information that apparently appealed to the show’s producers.

"It's a family affair," says White during an interview at the local business, which offers sit-down lunches and food to go, all of it Italian and made fresh on the premises.

The show's producers contacted the restaurant in the fall after perusing its web site, and expressed interest in a possible shoot there. An hour-and-a-half phone interview followed, with the caller peppering Particelli with questions about particular dishes and the extent of the family's involvement.

Photographs of particular dishes were e-mailed.

"We were quite flattered they came to us," she says of the attention.

Despite her own nervousness at the prospect of being filmed, Particelli says Catucci quickly put her at ease before the cameras started to roll in late January.

"He's an actor, we're not," she adds. "We cook, that's what we do."

Catucci and his crew spent the first of two days of filming focusing on three of the restaurant's dishes: lasagna, butternut squash ravioli with caramelized onions and pancetta, and stromboli, an open-faced calzone.

"He loved that one," says White.

The sisters prepared each dish twice as the cameras hovered nearby – the second take necessary for those all-important close-up shots that leave viewers salivating.

The following day Catucci returned to interview customers, while tasting a range of dishes, including the classic Italian desert cannoli.

At the request of the producers, the sisters filled the café with regular customers, with the show picking up the tab for the meals.

"(Customers) had to be here for three hours while they filmed," Particelli adds.

Catucci samples the food on camera, taking bites and offering commentary on the savory dishes.

When shooting wrapped up, host and crew made sure the victuals did not go to waste.

"He has a big appetite," White adds. "He ate all of the food afterwards with the help of the crew."

Also on hand for the shoot was their father, Domenico, who makes fresh pasta for the restaurant.

Their mother, Diane, bakes.

"I was supposed to retire at 51, but I’m still working at 74," Domenico says while topping a dish with a layer of spinach.

Working for his daughters has its advantages.

"I can leave any time I want," he adds with a smile.

Particelli's husband, David, lends a hand at the shop, and their sister, Carla Paluzzi, assists with the web site.

Tre Sorelle will be featured on the May 4 episode of 'You Gotta Eat Here' at 9 p.m.