Rocco DiSpirito (born November 19, 1966) is an American celebrity chef, reality television personality, and cookbook author based in New York City. He is known for his involvement in Union Pacific, a restaurant he opened in 1997 in the Gramercy Park section of Manhattan. He departed Union Pacific in 2004. From 2003 to 2004, he starred in the NBC reality television show The Restaurant, which followed the launch and operation of a new Manhattan restaurant called Rocco's on 22nd. The show was canceled, and DiSpirito was successfully sued by the …