Roundtable Talk with Chef Rocco DiSpirito

Continuing with the celebrity chef interviews from the Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival, today’s post features a Roundtable Talk with Chef Rocco DiSpirito.  Chef Rocco DiSpirito was also one of the headlining chefs from the 2013 festival.  

Chef Rocco DiSpirito began his career at the age of eleven slicing pizza and serving sodas and water ice at a New York City eatery.  A life-time New Yorker, born in Queens, Rocco rose to culinary fame in 1997 through his work with Union Pacific in the Grammercy Park section of Manhattan. Now, with eight cookbooks under his belt, Chef Rocco’s recent focus has been on his “Now Eat This” series of books, television programs and a recent collaboration with AOL.  “Now Eat This” focuses on healthy comfort food and low-calorie recipes.  Chef Rocco DiSpirito believes healthy eating doesn’t have to mean sacrifice.  According to Rocco, a satisfying diet is all about knowing how to “stretch a calorie” and get the most fiber and water into every meal.     

Here, in a Roundtable Talk with Giggles, Gobbles and Gulps and other local media, Chef Rocco dishes on his memories of Atlantic City, Hurricane Sandy, his career, his Mom and his work with the “Now Eat This” series. 

In this interview Chef Rocco DiSpirito talks about how convenience foods often have a bad reputation and suggests some convenience foods are really a gift to home cooks.  Chef Rocco’s favorite convenience products include “stock-in-a-box,” canned beans, whole-wheat pizza dough and condiments, such as hot sauce and mustards.  

This “Now Eat This” chef isn’t all about the calorie count.  When indulging, Rocco loves a good piece of pepperoni pizza or single-malt scotches.   He even shared ones of his favorite, quick “cures all” soup recipes for those nights when he indulged a bit too much.

Special thanks to Chef Rocco DiSpirito for taking the time to chat during the roundtable sessions.   As a long-time fan, I was thrilled to get the chance to talk with him.  I’d be remiss if I didn’t include a photo I happened to snap with the ever-so-charming chef. (Note:  I was totally blushing in this photo).