Rocco DiSpirito facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Rocco DiSpirito
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Rocco DiSpirito in 2008
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| Born | November 19, 1966 Queens, New York, U.S.
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| Alma mater | Culinary Institute of America Boston University |
| Occupation | Chef, author |
Rocco DiSpirito was born on November 19, 1966. He is an American chef and a well-known person on reality television. He lives in New York City and is famous for being on the TV show The Restaurant.
Contents
Early Life and Schooling
Rocco DiSpirito was born in Queens, a part of New York. He went to the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. He finished there in 1986. Later, in 1990, he earned a bachelor's degree from Boston University. His degree was in hospitality administration, which is about managing hotels and restaurants.
Rocco's Career as a Chef
Rocco DiSpirito is known for his amazing cooking. He often uses Italian American recipes. He also likes to mix different cooking styles, which is called fusion cuisine.
Becoming a Celebrity Chef
Rocco is a famous chef and has written many cookbooks. He opened a restaurant called Union Pacific in 1997. It was in the Gramercy Park area of Manhattan. A year later, a food reviewer from New York Times gave his restaurant a great review. She said the food was so good it made people very happy. Rocco left Union Pacific in 2004.
TV Shows and Appearances
From 2003 to 2004, Rocco starred in an NBC reality television show. It was called The Restaurant. The show followed him as he opened and ran a new restaurant in Manhattan named Rocco's on 22nd. The show ended, and the restaurant later closed.
Rocco also hosted a radio show called Food Talk from 2004 to 2005. After that, he hosted a TV show called Rocco Gets Real on A&E in 2008.
He appeared in a commercial for a car, the Lincoln MKX. He was also on the ABC sitcom The Knights of Prosperity. Rocco was a guest judge on Bravo's Top Chef several times. He helped contestants and judged their cooking.
Rocco also appeared on The Biggest Loser, a show about weight loss. In 2008, he taught contestants how to cook healthy meals. He judged their dishes to see who made the best healthy food.
Dancing and Helping Others
In 2008, Rocco was a contestant on Dancing with the Stars. He danced with a professional dancer named Karina Smirnoff. They placed ninth in the competition.
In 2006, Rocco helped a group called DoSomething. He made a public announcement to encourage schools to collect food for people in need.
More TV and Cooking Shows
On May 3, 2010, Rocco appeared as himself on the ABC show Castle. The episode was called "Food to Die For."
In 2011, Rocco started hosting a new cooking competition show on Bravo TV. It was called Rocco's Dinner Party.
He also appeared on a dating game show called The Choice in 2012. Later that year, he hosted a TV show called Now Eat This! with Rocco Dispirito.
In 2013, Rocco hosted a Food Network show called Restaurant Divided. On this show, he helped restaurants that were having trouble. He would help owners decide which new idea would save their business.
Rocco has competed on other cooking shows too. In 2017, he was on Guy's Grocery Games - Superstar Tournament Part 1. He won the competition and gave the $40,000 prize to his chosen charity. He has also appeared on Tournament of Champions and Guy's Ranch Kitchen. Both of these shows are hosted by his friend, Guy Fieri.
Returning to Restaurants
After some time away from owning restaurants, Rocco returned to the kitchen in 2019. He became the chef at the Standard Grill in New York City. However, he left the restaurant in October 2019.
Rocco's Health Journey
In 2015, Rocco had an important surgery. It was a spinal surgery for a back problem called sciatica. After the surgery, Rocco had to use a wheelchair. He worked hard to learn how to walk again.
Awards and Recognition
Rocco DiSpirito has won many awards for his cooking and books:
- James Beard Foundation Award for his book Flavor.
- In 1999, Food & Wine magazine named him America's Best New Chef.
- In 2000, Gourmet magazine called him Most Exciting Young Chef.
- He was nominated for Best Chef: New York City by the James Beard Foundation in 2000, 2001, and 2003.
- In 2004, he won a James Beard Award for Best Cookbook. This was for his book Cooking From A Professional Point of View.
Cookbooks by Rocco
Rocco DiSpirito has written many cookbooks. Here are some of them:
- (2003) Flavor
- (2004) Rocco's Italian American
- (2005) Rocco's Five Minute Flavor: Fabulous Meals with 5 Ingredients in 5 Minutes
- (2007) Rocco's Real Life Recipes: Fast Flavor for Everyday
- (2008) Rocco Gets Real: Cook at Home, Every Day
- (2010) Now Eat This!: 150 of America's Favorite Comfort Foods, All Under 350 Calories
- (2011) Now Eat This! Diet: Lose Up to 10 Pounds in Just 2 Weeks Eating 6 Meals a Day!
- (2012) Now Eat This! Italian: Favorite Dishes from the Real Mamas of Italy—All Under 350 Calories
- (2014) The Pound a Day Diet: Lose Up to 5 Pounds in 5 Days by Eating the Foods You Love
- (2016) The Negative Calorie Diet: Lose Up to 10 Pounds in 10 Days with 10 All You Can Eat Foods
- (2017) Rocco's Healthy & Delicious: More than 200 (Mostly) Plant-Based Recipes for Everyday Life
- (2020) Rocco's Keto Comfort Food Diet: Eat the Foods You Miss and Still Lose Up to a Pound a Day
- (2024) Everyday Delicious
See also
In Spanish: Rocco DiSpirito para niños
