Rocco DiSpirito

Born: 1966-11-19

Rocco DiSpirito (born November 19, 1966) is an American celebrity chef, reality television personality, and cookbook author based in New York City. He is known for his involvement in Union Pacific, a restaurant he opened in 1997 in the Gramercy Park section of Manhattan. He departed Union Pacific in 2004. From 2003 to 2004, he starred in the NBC reality television show The Restaurant, which followed the launch and operation of a new Manhattan restaurant called Rocco's on 22nd. The show was canceled, and DiSpirito was successfully sued by the restaurant's financier Jeffrey Chodorow to have the restaurant shut down, and DiSpirito banned from entering the premises. He succeeded Arthur Schwartz as host of Food Talk, an hour-long morning talk show on New York Radio WOR (AM), from October 2004 through December 2005, and then hosted 12 episodes of the TV show Rocco Gets Real on A&E (October 4 through December 27, 2008). He was featured in a Lincoln MKX commercial and the ABC sitcom The Knights of Prosperity, and was a guest judge on Bravo's Top Chef. He was a contestant on season seven of Dancing with the Stars and was paired with professional ballroom dancer Karina Smirnoff. On June 15, 2011, he debuted as host of a weekly reality TV cooking competition, titled Rocco's Dinner Party, on Bravo TV. He hosted the syndicated television program Now Eat This! with Rocco Dispirito, which debuted on September 15, 2012. In 2013, he hosted the Food Network reality show Restaurant Divided, where he went to struggling restaurants where the owners had two differing visions and then picked which concept would save the restaurant. On August 20, 2017, he appeared on celebrity chef Guy Fieri's Guy's Grocery Games - Superstar Tournament Part 1, competing against other celebrity chefs. He has also appeared on other episodes of Guy's Grocery Games as well as Tournament of Champions and Guy's Ranch Kitchen.


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The Ugly Truth

as Guest Chef
Released: 2009-07-24

A romantically challenged morning show producer is reluctantly embroiled in a series of...

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Eat This New York

as himself
Released: 2004-01-30

Eat This New York is the story of two best friends' struggle to open a restaurant in the food...

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Sherri

as Self - Guest
First aired: 2022-09-12

Sherri Shepherd, actress, comic, and Emmy Award-winning longtime co-host of "The View", appears...

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Dancing with the Stars

as Self - Contestant
First aired: 2005-06-01

The competition sees celebrities perform choreographed dance routines which are judged by a...

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The Celebrity Apprentice

as uncredited
First aired: 2004-01-08

The ultimate sixteen-week job interview where eighteen Americans compete in a series of rigorous...

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Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

as Self
First aired: 2007-04-23

Host Guy Fieri takes a cross-country road trip to visit some of America's classic "greasy spoon"...

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The Ellen DeGeneres Show

as Self
First aired: 2003-09-08

The Ellen DeGeneres Show, often shortened to just Ellen, is an American television talk show...

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Castle

as Rocco DiSpirito
First aired: 2009-03-09

After a serial killer imitates the plots of his novels, successful mystery novelist Richard...

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The Mysteries of Laura

as uncredited
First aired: 2014-09-17

Laura Diamond, a brilliant NYPD homicide detective balances her “Columbo” day job with a crazy...

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Top Chef

as Himself - Guest Judge
First aired: 2006-03-08

An American reality competition show in which chefs compete against each other in culinary...

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The View

as Self
First aired: 1997-08-11

ABC Daytime's morning chatfest, currently featuring Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin,...

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Guy's Ranch Kitchen

as Self
First aired: 2017-11-12

Guy Fieri invites some of his heavy-hitter chef friends over for a spontaneous cook-off, where...

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Tamron Hall

as Self - Guest
First aired: 2019-09-09

Former news host and journalist Tamron Hall discusses all things topical and engages those she...

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Celebrity Name Game

as Self
First aired: 2014-09-22

Celebrity Name Game is an American syndicated game show which premiered on September 22, 2014....

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Tournament of Champions

as Self - Match 2 [1:3]
First aired: 2020-03-04

Host Guy Fieri gathers the world's greatest chefs for the most-intense culinary competition ever...

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The Knights of Prosperity

as uncredited
First aired: 2007-01-03

Eugene Gurkin has dreamt of opening his own bar for years, but his dead-end job as a janitor...

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Superchef Grudge Match

as Self
First aired: 2023-02-05

Darnell "Superchef" Ferguson invites superstar chefs to settle their disputes in a one dish,...

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Wildcard Kitchen

as Himself
First aired: 2024-03-12

Three chefs bring $5,000 each to play three hands of an underground culinary poker game,...

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Supermarket Stakeout

as Himself - Guest Judge
First aired: 2019-08-13

Alex Guarnaschelli hosts as chefs square off in a competitive pop-up kitchen outside a grocery...

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Outchef'd

as self
First aired: 2022-09-28

Home cooks face off against celebrity chefs for a chance to win $5,000.

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Outchef'd

as Self
First aired: 2022-09-28

Home cooks face off against celebrity chefs for a chance to win $5,000.

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Deliciously Twisted Classics

as Self
First aired: 2023-07-08

The all-new series features a panel of celebrity chefs and culinary influencers including Aarti...

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