Rocco DiSpirito barred from 'The Restaurant,' as format change planned July 28, 2004 In a ruling from the bench on July 27, New York state judicial hearing officer Ira Gammerman held that China Grill Management could bar chef Rocco DiSpirito from his namesake restaurant, Rocco's on 22nd Street, and that China Grill was also free to sell or change the format of the eatery.
NY courts begin Rocco DiSpirito's 'The Restaurant' ownership hearings July 27, 2004 Reality TV's nastiest legal battle -- the ownership fight between chef Rocco DiSpirito (owner of Spirit Media) and "money man" Jeffrey Chodorow (owner of China Grill Management) over the ownership of Rocco's on 22nd Street, the restaurant featured on NBC's The Restaurant -- moved on to its next round on Monday, as a court hearing began in Manhattan.
NBC's 'The Restaurant' struggles in second season premiere, draws only 6.5 million viewers April 26, 2004 The food at chef Rocco DiSpirito's poor service-plagued "Rocco's on 22nd Street" restaurant might finally be hot, but if the initial ratings are any indication, the NBC show chronicling the establishment's happenings doesn't appear to be, having premiered to only 6.5 million overall viewers on Monday, April 19 at 10PM ET/PT.
'Restaurant' co-owner Jeffrey Chodorow: convicted felon with long legal history April 20, 2004 On last night's premiere of the second season of NBC's The Restaurant, viewers learned that success had gone to the head of Chef Rocco DiSpirito, the conceited and apparently philandering celebrity chef featured in the original series. Perhaps the Australians read Rocco correctly when they rejected his personality and the original series. However, what viewers may not know is that Rocco's antagonist in the battle for control of "the restaurant" -- Rocco's on 22nd Street -- is a convicted felon with a long history of pursuing litigation battles.
'Restaurant's Rocco Dispirito sued by partners for the restaurant's failure February 12, 2004 While operating a restaurant that appears on national television might be fun for Rocco Dispirito, according to his partners in the "Rocco's 22nd St." restaurant which appears on NBC's The Restaurant reality show, its been disastrous from a financial standpoint -- and chef Rocco is to blame.
Rocco DiSpirito returning for NBC's 'The Restaurant' sequel November 15, 2003 Celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito, the star of NBC's The Restaurant, will apparently be returning for the sequel to the hit summer reality series after all. In a recent wide-ranging interview with Australian's The Melbourne Age newspaper, Mark Burnett, executive producer of the series, announced DiSpirito's return, which was previously considered questionable. "You're hearing it from me now," Burnett told The Age, "Rocco is returning. I haven't actually [previously] told any journalist that."