ROCCO DiSPIRITO
On March 14, The New Brunswick Performing Arts Center will launch a monthly lecture series titled “Culinary Conversations”; it will feature interviews with celebrity chefs and be moderated by restaurateurs Mark Pascal and Francis Schott, who co-own the New Brunswick restaurants Stage Left Steak and Catherine Lombardi, and co-host the “Restaurant Guys” podcast.
Rocco DiSpirito, who will participate in the first talk, first gained fame as the executive chef at Union Pacific in New York, and has appeared on television shows such as Bravo’s “Top Chef” and “Rocco’s Dinner Party,” A&E’s “Rocco Gets Real,” and NBC’s “The Restaurant.” His books include 2003’s “Flavor,” which won a James Beard Foundation Book Award in the Cooking From a Professional Point of View category; and last year’s “Everyday Delicious: 30 Minute(ish) Home-Cooked Meals Made Simple.”
Here is the schedule:
March 14: Rocco DiSpirito
April 17: Scott Conant
May 12: Alex Guarnaschelli
June 27: Andrew Zimmern
The talks will be at 7:30 p.m., and will be followed by after-parties at either Stage Left Steak or Catherine Lombardi (both are close to The New Brunswick Performing Arts Center) at which VIP ticket-holders can meet the chefs.
A portion of the proceeds from the series will benefit the Promise Culinary School, created by the New Brunswick-based social service agency Elijah’s Promise.
More tickets, visit nbpac.org. For more on the “Restaurant Guys” podcast, visit restaurantguyspodcast.com.
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