This first week of April has been a busy one for Mariana Alvarado. Born in Mexico City and educated in the culinary arts at UNLV, the founder of popular pop-up concept and Mexican food supplier Masazul made her TV debut on April 5 in the Food Network’s new competition show, Big Restaurant Bet.

Alvarado is one of eight talented chefs competing for a $250,000 restaurant investment from Geoffrey Zakarian, a potential dream-come-true scenario for any aspiring restaurateur.

“It was perfect timing for me, and I’m very glad I did it,” Alvarado says. “Competing is a big deal, and it’s something I’ve never done before. It was a little bit scary ... but I felt like [everyone] was guiding me throughout the process, and it didn’t take long to get used to being in front of a camera. It became super fun.”

And then there’s Alvarado’s other “project,” due for delivery the same week.

“I would love to have a watch party, but my baby is due on April 7, so it’s a little hard to plan something around that,” she says with a laugh.

Alvarado married Good Pie proprietor Vincent Rotolo last year, a union of two of Downtown’s most talented chefs after she established a delicious reputation for Masazul with special-event dinners at Vegas Test Kitchen.

She’s hoping Big Restaurant Bet kick-starts her plans to turn her concept into a brick-and-mortar success, and the local food scene is cheering her on.

“I was the only chef [on the show] doing Mexican cuisine and really traditional Mexican, which I think is important because it’s so familiar, but we are presenting it in a manner that is closer to our roots,” she says. “There’s a lot of people, chefs like me, trying to open a restaurant, and it’s not easy. But we competed and presented our food and we just hope [the judges] believe in us.”

Click HERE to subscribe for free to the Weekly Fix, the digital edition of Las Vegas Weekly! Stay up to date with the latest on Las Vegas concerts, shows, restaurants, bars and more, sent directly to your inbox!