| Rocco DiSpirito | |
|---|---|
Rocco DiSpirito (second from right) in a panel discussion with Amanda Hesser, Marion Nestle and Julie Powell. |
|
| Born | November 19, 1966 Jamaica, Queens, New York City |
Rocco DiSpirito (born November 19, 1966) is an Italian American chef based in New York City.
Contents |
DiSpirito was born in Queens, New York City, New York. He graduated in 1986 from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, and in 1990 from Boston University with a bachelor's degree in business. DiSpirito is known for his Italian-American cuisine and his innovative fusion cooking.
DiSpirito is best known as a celebrity chef and a cookbook author. He is known for his involvement in Union Pacific, a restaurant he opened in 1997 in the Gramercy Park section of Manhattan. A year later, New York Times reviewer Ruth Reichl, in an ecstatic three-star review, reported that a woman at the next table was moaning in uncontrollable ecstasy as she ate, but it was impossible to determine what dish had provoked that reaction, since just about every entree was worthy of such moans.[1] He left Union Pacific in 2004.
In 2003 and 2004, DiSpirito was the subject of the NBC reality television show The Restaurant, which followed DiSpirito and his mother during the opening of their restaurant, Rocco's 22nd Street, and his subsequent lack of cooperation with his investor, Jeffrey Chodorow. An episode showed Rocco and Chodorow taking a meeting at a table in the restaurant. Rocco complained about Chodorow's changes to the restaurant; Chodorow responded with his own complaint that Rocco never responded to emails. Rocco walked away from the table with no explanation, despite the fact that the meeting was not yet adjourned. Chodorow gave Rocco's chef a raise, and that same afternoon, Rocco fired the chef. Rocco claimed to be a part-owner, and Chodorow said Rocco was not an owner. The television viewer never did see whether or not Rocco produced a partnership agreement to support his claim.
DiSpirito succeeded Arthur Schwartz as host of Food Talk,[2] an hour-long morning talk show on New York Radio WOR (AM), from October 2004 through December 2005, and then hosted 12 episodes of a TV show called Rocco Gets Real on A&E (October 4 through December 27, 2008).[3][4]
He was also featured in a Lincoln MKX commercial and the ABC sitcom The Knights of Prosperity, and was a guest judge on Bravo's Top Chef. DiSpirito returned in the Top Chef season three finale (Top Chef: Miami) — in which three celebrity chefs were brought to work as sous chefs to the contestants, with DiSpirito assisting Hung Huynh — and was a guest judge on the March 14, 2008 Top Chef season four premiere (Top Chef: Chicago). He appeared on NBC's The Biggest Loser: Couples (season 5) in an episode that aired on February 5, 2008 (episode 506), in which contestants were challenged to prepare three healthy courses based on DiSpirito's recipes; DiSpirito judged the food and determined the winning team. The following season he appeared on the second episode (airing September 23, 2008) of The Biggest Loser: Families, taking the "worst" cook of each pair shopping and teaching them to prepare healthy recipes.
DiSpirito was a contestant on season seven of Dancing With The Stars (which premiered September 22, 2008), paired with Karina Smirnoff. He was eliminated on the October 14, 2008 broadcast of the show, placing ninth overall.
In 2006, DiSpirito performed a public service announcement for Do Something to promote food drives for schools.[5]
On June 15, 2011, DiSpirito debuted as host of a weekly reality TV cooking competition, titled Rocco's Dinner Party, on Bravo TV.
|
|
|||||