Rocco DiSpirito: Top Chef Chicago

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Addicted or disdainful of Bravo's Top Chef, it is hard to resist a sneak peak at the fourth season of this reality TV show that premiers on March 12 at 10 pm ET/PT. The set up is the same: 16 "rising" chefs at different points in their careers (click here for their bios) are pitted against each other in timed and unusual cooking competitions until one of them emerges victorious - all of this takes place in Chicago. The chef contestants themselves are like other reality show contestant - reduced to stereotypes. In the case of this season's Top Chef, there's a the lesbian couple - who don't really shock anyone since there are plenty of lesbians in the restaurant industry. There are various tough, foul mouthed cooks, an African-American Muslim woman, a New Zealander, some ethnic cooks, many women, but they are largely a blur of one liners and spiky hair-do, jitters, and foul mouth bravado. It is the judges that deserve most of our interest. How do professional, successful chefs mete out criticism to a group of ambitious younger chefs? What separates them from the chefs on the other side - beyond the fact that the are celebrities? For their first test, the "quickfire" the contestants have to prepare deep dish Chicago pizzas and bring them to a surprise chef at a surprise location. It's Rocco DiSpirito and with him is Padma Lakshmi, Tom Colicchio's capable model-chef sidekick. The contestants are impressed and in awe of Rocco - a chef who flopped on The Restaurant and lost his own restaurants. Rocco and Padma look a pair on the couch in this luxurious mansion. Rocco dutifully eats a bite of each pizza - some of which seem painfully awful. Rocco turns the house over to the contestants - its their living quarters while they are in Chicago and then meets them in the kitchen to discuss his verdict. He doesn't get to say much - a few words about the absolute worst and surprisingly good pizzas (the Aussie's marmite version and a Southern peach topped pie) but he doesn't have time to comment on each one. Rocco, for his part, is subdued and softened. Unfortunately, he doesn't have time to give them advice on dealing with celebrity and the paparazzi - that's too bad since he really has learned some important lessons he could teach these aspiring celebrity chefs. Perhaps the reason why Rocco doesn't go into any depth is that he is a New Yorker. He probably is more familiar with Grimaldi's and Patsy's than Chicago style deep-dish. What is he doing in the episode? Even one of the contestants from New York remarks that she isn't familiar with this dough-y version. Is Padma any more familiar with the local fare? Didn't it occur to the producers that they were in Chicago and that maybe they could get a great Chicago chef - one who is a bit more familiar with Chicago food than Padma or Rocco? Let's just hope that Top Chef Chicago does showcase more of the windy city's culinary talent in later episodes. Isn't this city home to the likes of Charlie Trotter, Rick Bayless, Grant Achatz and many other brilliant chefs? Now they could teach a thing or two. Related news: Washington Post Entertainment Weekly Mercury News Seattle Post Intelligencer San Francisco Chronicle Tine Out New York Previous articles: Rocco DiSpirito Would You Buy a Car from Rocco DiSpirito? Rocco Does Broadway via Chicago Rossant on Rocco: New York Daily News Rocco DiSpirito: Super Duper Bowl "F" is for... "Rocco"? Xmas Spirits: "Club Rocco" Brand? Rocco DiSpirito Wins TV Turkey Dinner Rocco DiSpirito: Pretty in Pink? Rocco DiSpirito: Ridiculed in the Rainbow Room More Reality TV Chefs (or Less)? Video Killed the Radio Star: Can Radio Resurrect Rocco DiSpirito? Rocco DiSpirito: Be Warned by Me! Claude Troisgros: Riding de Rocco DiSpirito Star Rocco Barred from Reality TV Restaurant Rocco: Trapped in Reality TV's Twilight Zone? Tom Colicchio Top Chef's Tom Colicchio Courts Sara Lee Tom Colicchio: Top Chef 2 Top Chef 2: Already Casting Top Chef: Tom Colicchio Fast Company: Tom Colicchio's Dream Job Tom Colicchio: a-Kickin' and a-Copin' Padma Lakshmi Padma Lakshmi: Tangy Tart Hot Sweet [Chefs & Branding - complete] [Food Television - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging, Tom Colicchio, Padma Lakshmi, Rocco DiSpirito, Top Chef --> back to Super Chef