Rocco DiSpirito Is Out at Union Pacific

Hmmmmm...... I wonder if his attitude from the show had anything to do with this?

Could he be a "Reality TV Show" victim?

http://www.restaurantedge.com/index.phtml?news=1&newsid=871

Nacho

Or could it be that -- from everything I've heard -- his food actually sucks and he's only made it as far as he has on relentless self-promotion?

Or his relentless good looks!?

quote:

Originally posted by Lucky Bishop

Or could it be that -- from everything I've heard -- his food actually sucks and he's only made it as far as he has on relentless self-promotion?

I don't know Lucky, from what I saw on the show, Rocco seemed to do very little actual cooking. However, everyone seemed to agree that "Momma's" meatballs were very good. Looks more like a case of poor business practices and financial mismanagement. It's hard to keep an eye on business when you're running all over town for publicity appearances, then you're not even in the restaurant to hobnob with the guests who want to see you and get your autograph.

I know some chefs that have worked with Rocco in the past. All of them said the same thing about the guy when they heard he was doing the reality show: "Why Rocco?"

The second thing they all wondered was how he would be able to watch his language since every other word that comes out of him in the "real world" is profane.

Oh well. We all get our chance at glory, he had his I suppose.....

Nacho

Although I do wish Rocco the best in his future endeavors, when he visited my city, he gave a press release stating how cool it was that we had this great Chinatown. Well, we don't have a Chinatown at all, it's mainly southeast asian markets, and some Korean markets. We certainly do have many asian nationalities represented here, but there is no Chinatown, that really bugged me. And his cookbook "Flavors" was positively goofy.

You know, I liked Rocco when he shared that cooking show on FoodTV-the one with all the ethnic cuisines. But on his reality show he seemed so stressed and frantic all the time. And his judgement, really flakey. I thought maybe the director was setting that all up, for ratings.
But after all of your posts and his demise at UP, maybe not....Also, why would you put your Mama through all that stress? Ciao.

Having been a part of opening several new restaurants (never again) I can see why Rocco was so very stressed out. It is incredibly stressful. So why on earth would one want to broadcast that stress on prime time? Arrogance, perhaps? He is terribly cute, though.

Good looking, cute? I thought he looked scruffy and unkempt, if not downright dirty.

Loved both seasons of the "restaurant" and thought the tension brought out by Mark Burnett was perfect for some compelling reality t.v. It was interesting to see Rocco sort of meltdown slowly in front of your eyes in terms of his cooking and attitude.
I swear the guy looked so bored and disinterested the few times he spent more tha two minutes in his own kitchen.
I am thinking his priorities got tangled in the lights of the camera. Obviously he has skill and talent and I hope he finds his way into the kitchen again. But this time I think he needs to stay in the kitchen for more than a few minutes.

quote:

Originally posted by signman

Good looking, cute? I thought he looked scruffy and unkempt, if not downright dirty.

Well, ya know, some of us like 'em down and dirty. Or a little rough around the edges. But, no dirty fingernails, Please!

quote:

Originally posted by leslie1787

quote:

Originally posted by signman

Good looking, cute? I thought he looked scruffy and unkempt, if not downright dirty.

Well, ya know, some of us like 'em down and dirty. Or a little rough around the edges. But, no dirty fingernails, Please!

Amen. You are saying what I was thinking....