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  '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.

• 'The Restaurant' chef Rocco DiSpirito and business partners continue trading lawsuits

  April 15, 2004
  No wonder reality TV superproducer Mark Burnett decided to feature celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito in the second season of his hit NBC show The Restaurant, which debuts Monday, April 19 on NBC for a six-episode run through May sweeps. Hot food and spicy lawsuits all in one show: how can it miss?

• NBC's second season of 'The Restaurant' to premiere April 19

  March 18, 2004
  NBC has announced that the second season of celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito's The Restaurant series will premiere on Monday, April 19 at 10 PM ET/PT.

• '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."

• Australian network pulls 'The Restaurant' after only one episode due to Rocco's "nasty" personality

  November 3, 2003
  Rocco might have been so popular during his run on The Restaurant that NBC is still debating whether or not to bring him back for a follow-up sequel, but apparently his personality didn't translate very well down under, as the "nasty" chef's program was pulled from the Australian airwaves after only one episode due to unfavorable viewer reaction.

• 'The Restaurant' plans midseason return to NBC, but is chef Rocco on the menu?

  September 30, 2003
  Is it the concept that makes a hit, or is it the star? In the case of NBC's The Restaurant, the network and the producers disagree -- even though the show has been renewed and a new six-episode season is scheduled to begin as soon as the February 2004 sweeps.

• NBC's 'The Restaurant' to air on Bravo at 9PM Tuesdays starting September 16

  September 9, 2003
  NBC and Bravo have announced that the NBC-owned Bravo network will begin re-airing NBC's "The Restaurant" series of this past summer on Tuesdays at 9 PM ET starting on Tuesday, September 16.

• NBC's 'The Restaurant' finale draws highest Adults 18-49 ratings of the night

  August 25, 2003
  NBC’s “The Restaurant” concluded its summer 2003 run with the evening's #1 rating for any program on any network among adults 18-49.

• NBC official says "offer on the table" for a second season of Rocco DiSpirito's 'The Restaurant'

  August 22, 2003
  The New York Post is reporting that NBC is interested in filming a second season of "The Restaurant" with chef Rocco DiSpirito -- and apparently so is Rocco.

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