Rocco DiSpirito

“I came literally to the table with a wealth of knowledge by simply understanding how food should taste.”

“Just over 800 people were gathered around the cooking stage, all eager to learn about my five-minute flavor cooking. The demonstration had to be done right then and there, in front of everyone.”

“After guest appearances, I got the offer to do the show as the successor of Arthur Schwartz. It's so much fun.”

“As a restaurateur, my job is to basically control the chaos and the drama. There's always going to be chaos in the restaurant business.”

“Flavor Five is a book with recipes using five ingredients to possibly be cooked in just five minutes. It will be very user-friendly for the home cook on the run.”

“There are many great wine producers from all over the world making fantastic wines. Italian wines especially are making an enormous comeback after sometimes being labeled as inexpensive jug wines.”

“It's a very, very difficult space to operate in, the restaurant business-it requires a lot of human beings to intersect at just the right place to make it all work out.”

“We are offering to the American public a line of delicious Italian-American foods. They will be available through the Internet, shopping networks and national store distribution.”

“At times, it was an incredible blessing to have all the attention; at times it was a logistical nightmare.”

“I wanted to share my life story and honor my roots. I am very proud of my family and mother.”

“I definitely think there was some overacting on the part of the customers and the wait staff. The people who came in during the shooting were clearly there to have a moment on television, and that's fine.”

“In all my work I like to convey the fact that I like cooks, that it's noble toil and that it is hard.”

“You have to stick out the toughness of the business and form relationships with the people in it.”

“It is important to experiment and endlessly seek after creating the best possible flavors when preparing foods. That means not being afraid to experiment with various ingredients.”

“I can now focus on a huge audience through TV, books, cookware and foods.”

“The 1,000 tasting portions were to be served over a period of six hours, starting at noon, so we would have to prep those another way, to keep them as fresh as possible.”

“I was pleasantly surprised after the book came out. It was like, hey, the home team put down a nice score.”

“Talking up a storm about food is so easy for me, it's second nature.”

“I was on the show previously as a guest host, so I had a little practice.”

“Be curious, learn and read as much as you can about food. Don't worry about making money. Focus on learning at various venues before you settle down for a steady position.”