Rocco DiSpirito (born November 19, 1966) is an American chef based in New York City. Born in Jamaica, Queens, New York City, New York, he is a 1986 graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, and a 1990 graduate of Boston University with a bachelor's degree in business. DiSpirito is known for his Italian-American cuisine and his innovative fusion cooking; his mother, Nicolina, is known for her Italian meatballs. is the 323rd day of the year (324th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Chef (disambiguation). ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... For other uses, see Queens (disambiguation) and Queen. ... This article is about the state. ... Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ... The Culinary Institute of America is a training institute for culinary arts in the United States, and is regarded as one of the worlds top culinary schools. ... Hyde Park is a town located in the northwest part of Dutchess County, New York, United States, just north of the city of Poughkeepsie. ... For the similarly named institution in Chestnut Hill, see Boston College. ... Language(s) American English, Italian, Sicilian, Neapolitan, other (predominantly southern) Italian dialects and languages of Italian historical minorities Religion(s) Roman Catholic An Italian American is an American of Italian descent. ... Fusion cuisine combines elements of various culinary traditions whilst not fitting specifically into any. ...

DiSpirito is primarily known as a celebrity chef and a prominent cookbook author. He is known for his involvement in Union Pacific, a restaurant he opened in 1997 in the Gramercy Park section of Manhattan to good reviews. 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, his mother, Nicolina, and restaurant co-owner and financier Jeffrey Chodorow during the opening of their restaurant, Rocco's 22nd Street. Due to disagreements between DiSpirito and Chodorow, Chodorow closed the restaurant and reopened it as Caviar and Banana. In its strictest sense, a celebrity chef is a someone who has become well-known for his/her cooking. ... A cookbook is a book that contains information on cooking, and a list of recipes. ... Gramercy Park (sometimes misspelled as Grammercy) is a small, fenced-in private park in the Gramercy neighborhood of the New York City borough of Manhattan, accessible only to residents of certain townhouses in the area who have keys to the park. ... For other uses, see Manhattan (disambiguation). ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the television network. ... // This article is about the genre of TV shows. ... The Restaurant is a reality television miniseries that broadcast on NBC in 2003, with a second season broadcasting in 2004. ... Jeffrey Chodorow is a financier. ...

DiSpirito hosted his own radio talk show for WOR from October 2004 through December 2005. He was set to replace retiring WOR host Bob Grant on his mid-afternoon show in 2006, but left because of creative differences with the management over the new show. [1] According to his official web site, as of 2007, he was developing a new cable television show in Manhattan. A talk show (U.S.) or chat show (Brit. ... WOR-AM is a class A (nighttime clear channel), AM radio station located in New York, New York, USA, operating on 710kHz. ... October 2004 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December See also: October 2004 in sports Events Deaths in October • 29 HRH Princess Alice • 25 John Peel • 24 James Cardinal Hickey • 23 Robert Merrill • 19 Paul Nitze • 18 K. M. Veerappan • 16 Pierre Salinger • 10 Christopher... December 2005 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- → 31 December 2005 (Saturday) 25-year-old Scottish human rights worker Kate Burton and her parents are freed unharmed in the Gaza Strip by the Palestinian gunmen who kidnapped them two days earlier. ... Bob Grant (born Robert Ciro Gigante on March 14, 1929 is an American radio personality, who has broadcast mostly from New York City stations and who has been widely credited as a pioneer of the angry or controversial talk radio show format. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Coaxial cable is often used to transmit cable television into the house. ...

Most recently, he was featured in a Lincoln MKX commercial, the ABC sitcom The Knights of Prosperity, and as a guest judge on Bravo's Top Chef. Lincoln is an American luxury automobile brand, operated under the Ford Motor Company. ... The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) operates television and radio networks in the United States and is also shown on basic cable in Canada. ... A sitcom or situation comedy is a genre of comedy performance originally devised for radio but today typically found on television. ... The Knights of Prosperity is a TV comedy series that premiered on ABC in the United States on Wednesday, January 3, 2007 and lasted less than one season. ... Top Chef is an American reality competition show that airs on the cable television network Bravo, in which chefs compete against each other in weekly challenges. ...

He then returned in the Season 3 Finale of Top Chef. Three "celebrity" chefs were brought to work as sous-chefs to the contestants. DiSpirito was the sous-chef for competitor Hung Huynh. The third season of American reality television series Top Chef (also advertised as Top Chef Miami) began airing on Bravo on June 13, 2007. ...

Cookbooks

• Flavor
• Rocco's Italian American
• Rocco's Five Minute Flavor
• How To Be A Hack Like Me!

External links

• Official website
• Food Network Biography
• New York Magazine feature story about fallout from the reality TV show
• iVillage Secret Sauce: Rocco DiSpirito's Uncle Joe's Sausage & Orecchiette with Broccoli Rabe