The Return of Rocco
Friday, July 20, 2007 | posted by Mike
First off, a little housekeeping...
I'd like to welcome a whole bunch of new regulars that we have here at TVFF. Lots of folks came by to check out the JAG stuff and I'm very happy to say that lots of them have decided to stick around. I know I sound like a broken record, but all you newbies could do us a huge favor by telling your foodie friends about us. The "professionals" call this viral marketing. I call it begging.
I got home late the other night, so I had to catch the rebroadcast of the latest Top Chef, which was just nominated for an Emmy. That means I was watching from 11pm to midnight. In other words, it was pretty late by the time we got to the teaser promo for next week's episode. And that's why I had to question exactly what I saw...
As they usually do, they showed the guest judge who will come on and provide the challenge for the contestants. In this case, the guest judge certainly looked familiar. Like someone we used to know, but who now only conjured up feelings of déjà vu and a vague feeling of dread. It couldn't be...it couldn't be...
Yes, our old buddy Rocco DiSpirito will be making his triumphant(?) return to reality television as this coming week's guest judge. And, based on the pictures on the Village Voice article, he'll be sporting a snazzy new haircut, about 20 fewer pounds and (according to a friend of mine) possibly some plastic surgery. Yes, that last part is complete conjecture, but apparently the commenters on the article page agree.
Once upon a time, Rocco's show actually appeared on Bravo, so it would appear that relations between the network and chef remain relatively good.
As far as I know, there is no truth to the rumor that Rocco spends the entire episode hitting on Casey instead of doing whatever he's supposed to be doing.
Also: While you're checking out that Village Voice article, be sure to check out the writer's hilarious list of new rules for next season. We couldn't agree more, especially about the sweating...which was also addressed in Ted Allen's latest blog entry.
Labels: Rocco DiSpirito, Top Chef
