Local 'Kitchen Cousins' Have the Family Recipe for Delicious Kitchens

In a reality TV world full of Kardashians, Manzos and Gosselins, viewers tuning in to HGTV's Kitchen Cousins will get a nary-seen, heartwarming reminder of what it means to really be family.

Wyckoff native John Colaneri and his cousin Anthony Carrino, from Franklin Lakes, are the hardworking, down-to-earth stars of the home improvement channel's newest design show. 

The pair were discovered when a friend hooked up a webcam while the comely cousins were working at Brunelleschi Construction. The friend then sent a demo to a production company. 

“About ten months passed before we heard that HGTV was interested and ordered thirteen episodes,” said Colaneri. 

The docudrama follows the pair as they transform mediocre kitchens into culinary masterpieces.

“The show is truly a family affair,” said Colaneri. 

Alfonso Carrino, Anthony’s dad, heads the company from a renovated 1890s firehouse in Jersey City. The cousins not only work, together but also live in the same condo complex in Jersey City.

One episode that Colaneri particularly enjoyed filming was the renovation of his parents' kitchen in Wyckoff.

If a kitchen is the heart and soul of a family, than that forty-year-old kitchen was definitely the nerve center of the Colaneri family.

“My brother Casey has been cooking since he was four," said Colaneri. "My mother Denise would cook huge trays of Italian food for all the football players when my brothers and I played on the team.”

Colaneri looked at the project ahead of him and consulted with Casey, a chef at the famed New York restaurant Le Cirque, for recommendations on making the kitchen “chef friendly” and functional.

The new contemporary designed kitchen is a blend of traditional and new design elements. It features a 12-by-5-foot island that seats six, a tree wall mural, double ovens, heated floors and a 33-inch wide sink. 

“My mother had two requests — a sink large enough for her big pots and a pot filler faucet at the stove,” said Colaneri.  “It is my most favorite design and layout of all the kitchens I have designed."

Kitchen Cousins was recently tasked with the light-speed redesign of a kitchen in Houston, Colaneri said.

“We had 24 hours to totally renovate the kitchen. It was intense,” said Colaneri. The Kitchen Cousins have also been guests on Design Stars, Mom Caves and Kitchen Impossible.

Filming begins this week for the second season of Kitchen Cousins. 

“We just returned from riding on the HGTV float in the Tournament of Roses parade in Pasadena which was an amazing experience,” said Colaneri.

There are four new episodes remaining of the first season of Kitchen Cousins.  Kitchen Cousins airs Wednesday at 9:30 p.m. on HGTV. You can catch reruns on Saturday mornings, and is scheduled to air on the DIY Network this spring.

For more information about the show visit www.kitchencousins.tv.