Bravo announced it has ordered Rocco's Dinner Party, a new culinary competition series starring former The Restaurant star and Dancing with the Stars celebrity participant Rocco DiSpirito.
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"There is no greater gift or gesture than to cook for another human being," said DiSpirito.
"My favorite moments are when I am entertaining for friends and loved ones. This partnership with Bravo brings to bear all I love about the craft and artistry of cooking in a setting where I am most comfortable -- the dinner table."
Each Rocco's Dinner Party episode will feature four different chefs who are tasked with creating their favorite dish for DiSpirito, who will subsequently eliminate one of them based on the results.
DiSpirito will then reveal that episode's dinner-party theme, and the three remaining chefs will create an appetizer and also present their proposed menu for the theme -- with one more being eliminated after this task.
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The two remaining chefs will then have the opportunity to create a compete menu and decor for the dinner party incorporating that episode's theme, with the winner receiving a cash prize.
"We love this concept because it continues Bravo's goal of providing additional forums for creative industries like the culinary arts, with a dramatic personality like Rocco DiSpirito at the head of the table" said network executive Cori Abraham.
Rocco's Dinner Party is being developed by Bravo in partnership with Notional, an IAC company.
The Restaurant premiered in 2003 on NBC and followed DiSpirito as he prepared to open Manhattan's Rocco's 22nd Street restaurant with business partner Jeffrey Chodorow's China Grill Management LLC.
Although the show got off to a decent ratings start, The Restaurant's 2004 second season was short-lived due to poor ratings and infighting between Chodorow and DiSpirito. Chodorow closed Rocco's 22nd Street that September after a New York state court ruled that -- despite DiSpirito's ownership interest -- China Grill Management could shut down the eatery due to its financial problems.
In Fall 2008, DiSpirito competed on Dancing with the Stars' seventh season and also starred in A&E's Rocco Gets Real, which followed him as he helped people with big culinary projects to overcome.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio