Where the minestrone meets the melodrama

By Samantha Critchell
Associated Press

Manhattan chef Rocco DiSpirito has tapped into 'reality' TV to get a prime-time boost for his new restaurant. NBC 'The Restaurant' 9 p.m. Sundays NBC

NBC obliged, and "The Restaurant" opened for business.

Soap operas play out in restaurants every night: Sex and romance, greed and even fires are practically daily specials — not to mention that waiters are usually aspiring performers disguised in white shirts and black pants.

Rocco's, which serves the Italian-American food that DiSpirito remembers from his mother's table, growing up in the borough of Queens, was going to happen anyway. But a TV show provides the kind of publicity that even a good review can't.

DiSpirito, 36, also is chef-owner of the much fancier and well-reviewed "global fusion" restaurant Union Pacific and a revolving host of Food Network's "Melting Pot." He'll have a cookbook in stores this fall titled "Flavor" (Hyperion). Five questions:

Q: Is it difficult to balance celebrity with your day-to-day kitchen duties?

DiSpirito: "Promoting yourself and your restaurants is a necessary evil. My ultimate goal, though, is to bring people to my restaurants. I do worry about the perceived conflict between a 'TV chef' and a 'real chef.' ... I can be a little bit of both. It's what I've asked for."

Q: The camera followed you for months, including the opening two weeks ago of Rocco's. Were there times you wished for privacy?

DiSpirito: "One time I went to pick up my newspaper outside my door in my boxers and I really wished they (the cameras) weren't there then!"

Q: Did diners hold back on their portions or refrain from ordering messy foods, knowing that they might be seen eating on television?

DiSpirito: "Some people really do eat it all. I think once the food comes and the wine is flowing, they forgot about the TV part."

Q: Is your mother, who is the chef de cuisine at Rocco's and a former cafeteria worker at a New York public school, a better cook than you?

DiSpirito: "There's no cooking question I don't defer to her on. I certainly can't touch her Italian cooking. My favorites are her spaghetti with garlic, and meatballs."

Q: What do you do besides cook and eat?

DiSpirito: "I play guitar — I have a great teacher named Val. I always wanted to be a musician. I'm also really into the history of turn-of-the-century New York, and reading is sort of a hobby and luxury for me."

On the Web:

• "The Restaurant" on NBC: www.nbc.com/The_Restaurant
• Union Pacific Restaurant: www.unionpacificrestaurant.com