Rocco DiSpirito talks technique, content creation, and the path of the modern chef

#145

Josh sits down with chef, restaurateur, author, and television pioneer Rocco DiSpirito for a wide-ranging conversation about how dramatically the path of a chef has changed. Recorded at Bar Rocco, the episode begins with Josh realizing that Rocco actually judged a cooking competition he entered 25 years ago, before the two revisit their shared connection to legendary chef Gray Kunz. Rocco traces his own path from earning 50 cents an hour at a Queens pizzeria to culinary school, Europe, Lespinasse, Union Pacific, television, health and wellness, and eventually back into restaurants. Along the way, they unpack what young cooks once had to endure to gain access to culinary knowledge and whether today's chefs really need the same years of repetition and classical training now that so much information is instantly available online.  

Rocco and Josh also get into the realities of building a sustainable career as a chef, from why great food alone may no longer be enough to why Rocco's former business partner taught him to balance "perfecting" with "promoting." They discuss social media, chef IP, restaurant ownership, licensing and management deals, and why Rocco believes younger chefs shouldn't become overly protective of a name or trademark. Rocco shares how triathlon training transformed his approach to health and led to nine health and wellness books, names some of the cookbooks that shaped him, and gets deep into the technique behind cooking with black truffles. The conversation closes with what's ahead: more Bar Rocco, a new book blending recipes and stories, his work with CookUnity, and, above all, a desire to keep cooking.  

Links and resources 📌

Visit meez: https://www.getmeez.com

Follow meez on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getmeez

Follow Josh on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joshlsharkey/?hl=en

Follow Josh on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-sharkey-406965b/

Follow Rocco on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rocco-dispirito-27125916/

Follow Rocco on Instagram: @roccodispirito

Visit Rocco DiSpirito: https://www.roccodispirito.com/

Visit Bar Rocco: https://www.barroccony.com/

Timestamps

00:00 Reconnecting 25 years after Josh first met Rocco

06:42 Rocco's early career, culinary school, and Gray Kunz

14:11 How a Queens pizzeria changed Rocco's life

18:02 Why the traditional path to becoming a chef has changed

23:42 Training cooks when fundamentals are no longer assumed

27:26 Why chefs need media to build sustainable careers

37:46 Protecting chef IP and rethinking restaurant ownership

41:45 How health and triathlons transformed Rocco's cooking

49:52 The cookbooks that shaped Rocco as a chef

53:17 Black truffles, flavor, and the value of hands-on experience