rocco dispirito

The Sun Wine & Food Fest, held at Mohegan Sun, is just around the corner. This week on Seasoned, we preview the foodie event with two featured chefs: Rocco DiSpirito and Adam Young of Sift Bake Shop in Mystic. We talk with Rocco about the 20th anniversary of his first cookbook, why cooking for yourself is an act of kindness, and reminisce about his earliest cooking influences. Then, we talk with Adam about his passion for baking, and get tips for making crème brûlée at home. Chef Plum’s ingenious hack involves ice cream.

This show was produced by Robyn Doyon-Aitken and Catie Talarski.

Guests:

• Rocco DiSpirito – James Beard Award-winning chef, frequent host and guest of several TV cooking shows, and the author of 13 books about cooking and wellness. His latest cookbook is Rocco’s Keto Comfort Food Diet.
• Adam Young – Chef/owner of Sift Bake Shop, Mix and Young Buns Doughnuts in Mystic, Connecticut. Author of Adam Young’s Sift Cookbook.

Support the show: https://www.wnpr.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the day her movie A Fine Line: A Woman's Place Is In the Kitchen debuts in New York City, filmmaker Joanna James discusses her documentary's exploration of the struggles and triumphs of women chefs and restauranteurs, and the story of her mother Val's life in the industry. The movie intercuts Val James' story with interviews with top women chefs including Dominique Crenn, Barbara Lynch, and Mashama Bailey.

And, continuing a conversation from last week's show, chef and author Rocco DiSpirito discusses how he became focused on health and fitness, his new cookbook Rocco's Keto Comfort Food Diet, his years away from restaurants, why he came back, and what he's thinking of doing next. 

EPISODE GUIDE

0 - 4:25  Intro

4:25 - 51:35  Joanna James

51:35 - 54:20 Show Notes and Updates

54:20 - 1:55:50 - Rocco DiSpirito, part 2

1:55:50 - end  Outro

LINKS

ANDREW TALKS TO CHEFS official website 

A FINE LINE movie official website

MAPP (A Fine Line's social impact campaign)

Rocco's Keto Comfort Food Diet

Rocco DiSpirito website

Benno restaurant (hosted Rocco DiSpirito interview) 

Mermaid Inn (hosted Joanna James interview)

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:

Andrew is a writer by trade. If you'd like to support him, there's no better way than by purchasing his most recent book, The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food (October 2023), about all the key people (in the restaurant, on farms, in delivery trucks, etc.) whose stories and work come together in a single restaurant dish.

We'd love if you followed us on Instagram. 

Please also follow Andrew's real-time journal of the travel, research, writing, and production of/for his next book The Opening (working title), which will track four restaurants in different parts of the U.S. from inception to launch.

For Andrew's writing, dining, and personal adventures, follow along at his personal feed.

Thank you for listening—please don't hesitate to reach out with any feedback and/or suggestions!

Rocco DiSpirito's been in the national spotlight for so long that many fans don't know how he got there in the first place, or haven't thought about it in years. Andrew and Rocco have known each other since Rocco's first chef position, and in this very personal conversation--the first of 2 parts--they revisit his childhood in Queens, New York; his teenage gigs in neighborhood pizzerias; his training at the Culinary Institute of America and in great kitchens in France and New York; and his rise to the top of the New York City dining scene in the late 1990s. It's a side of Rocco many listeners don't know or haven't heard in his voice, and a great listen. (In part 2, we'll talk about his shift to fitness and healthful eating and his forthcoming Rocco's Keto Comfort Food Diet.)

In our second segment, Vero Beach, Florida chef-restaurateur Scott Varricchio shares the harrowing story of the night his restaurant (Citrus Grillhouse) was destroyed in a fire, and how he made the best of the year when it was being rebuilt--by spending time in such renowned kitchens as Eleven Madison Park and The French Laundry to take his acumen up a notch ... at age 59! A great lesson in perspective and resilience.

EPISODE GUIDE

0 - 8:48  Intro

8:48 - 45:00  Rocco DiSpirito

45:00 - 48:10 Show Notes & Personal Appearances

48:10 - 1:29:40 Scott Varricchio

***LINKS***

Andrew Talks to Chefs OFFICIAL site

Rocco DiSpirito

Rocco's Keto Comfort Food Diet (order a signed copy)

Citrus Grillhouse

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW:

Andrew is a writer by trade. If you'd like to support him, there's no better way than by purchasing his most recent book, The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food (October 2023), about all the key people (in the restaurant, on farms, in delivery trucks, etc.) whose stories and work come together in a single restaurant dish.

We'd love if you followed us on Instagram. 

Please also follow Andrew's real-time journal of the travel, research, writing, and production of/for his next book The Opening (working title), which will track four restaurants in different parts of the U.S. from inception to launch.

For Andrew's writing, dining, and personal adventures, follow along at his personal feed.

Thank you for listening—please don't hesitate to reach out with any feedback and/or suggestions!