Celebrity chef and author Rocco DiSpirito combines his world-class cooking with a passion for empowering home cooks. The James Beard award-winning chef began his career in a Queen's pizzeria at age 11. Graduating with honors from the Culinary Institute of America in 1997, Rocco opened the 3-star Union Pacific in New York City where he established his culinary credentials. He was named Food & Wine's Best New Chef and--as the first chef to grace its cover--was called 'America's Most Exciting Young Chef' by Gourmet. In 2003 he launched Rocco's for NBC's The Restaurant, and in 2004, he hosted Food Talk with Rocco on WOR 710AM. His new television series, Rocco Gets Real, launched on A&E this October, coinciding with the publication of its companion cookbook, Rocco Gets Real: Cook at Home Every Day. His cookbooks include Rocco's Real-Life Recipes, Rocco's Italian American, Rocco's Five Minute Flavor, and his James Beard award-winning Flavor, which New York magazine summed up as, 'Dare I whisper, genius?' Rocco appears regularly on The Biggest Loser and Top Chef.