David Rocco (born July 27, 1970) is a Canadian author, cook, and host of several internationally syndicated television series. He is most known for producing and hosting the television series ''David Rocco's Dolce Vita'', and publishing four cookbooks ''Avventura'', ''David Rocco's Dolce Vita'', ''Made in Italy'', and ''David Rocco's Dolce Famiglia''.

Early life

David Rocco was born on July 27, 1970, in

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada, to Italian immigrants from

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

, Italy. His parents were both hairdressers, and he is the youngest of three children. Rocco later moved with his family to

Woodbridge, Ontario Woodbridge is a very large suburban community in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada, along the city's border with Toronto. It occupies the city's entire southwest quadrant, west of Ontario Highway 400, Highway 400, east of Ontario Highway 50, Highway 50, n ...

as a teenager. In 1995, he married his high school sweetheart, Nina. The couple later moved to

Rosedale, Toronto Rosedale is a neighbourhood in central Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was formerly the estate of William Botsford Jarvis, and so named by his wife, granddaughter of William Dummer Powell, for the wild roses that grew there in abundance. It is loc ...

, and have twin daughters and a son. Rocco was a model as a teenager, and worked for agencies including Elite and Armstrong Men. He and Nina took acting classes together and both also studied at

York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...

. The couple ran a restaurant, La Madonnina, in Woodbridge, but gave it up a year later to pursue acting.

Career

In 1997, without success in the feature film world, Rocco figured a food show would be better. He and his wife, on holiday in Italy, shot a video showcasing different foods, and later showed it to a Toronto production company. This led to a 26-episode TV series featuring food and travel called ''Avventura: Journey in Italian Cuisine''. In 2005, Rocco's self-produced TV series ''David Rocco's Dolce Vita'' premiered on Food Network Canada. It ended in 2010 after five seasons, and reached an international audience, including in the U.S. on the

Cooking Channel Cooking Channel is an American basic cable channel owned by and spin-off of Food Network. Both are owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (69%) and Nexstar Media ...

. Several spin-offs of the show followed including, ''David Rocco's Dolce Napoli'' (2011–17), ''David Rocco's Amalfi Getaway'' (2012), ''David Rocco's Dolce India'' (2013–14), ''David Rocco's Dolce Africa'' (2018), ''David Rocco's Dolce Italia'' (2020), ''David Rocco's Dolce Southeast Asia'' (2020), and ''David Rocco's Dolce HomeMade'' (2022). In 2018, Rocco and

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

singer

Nicholas Tse Nicholas Tse Ting-fung (born 29 August 1980) is a Hong Kong actor, singer, songwriter, martial artist, entrepreneur and TV chef.EEGmusic.EEGmusic." ''Nicolas Tse profile.'' Retrieved on 22 April 2008. Tse debuted as a singer in 1996 before shif ...

co-hosted FOX Life's Celebrity Chef: East vs West.

Cook books

Rocco has published four cookbooks: *''Avventura'' (Bay Books; January 2001) *''David Rocco's Dolce Vita'' (HarperCollins; November 2008) *''Made In Italy'' (Clarkson Potter, HarperCollins; October 2011) *''Dolce Famiglia'' (HarperCollins; November 2016)

Other ventures

In 2015, Rocco launched a line of wines, a Chianti, a Prosecco and a Pinot Grigio named David Rocco's Dolce Vita. In 2021, Rocco opened a

Yorkville, Toronto Yorkville is a neighbourhood and former village in Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is roughly bounded by Bloor Street to the south, Davenport Road to the north, Yonge Street to the east and Avenue Road, Toronto, Avenue Road to the west, and ...

restaurant called David Rocco - Bar Aperitivo. In 2022, Rocco launched his own line of Italian-made pastas (orecchiette, strozzapreti and fusilli Pugliesi) and sauces (pomodoro & basilico, arrabbiata, puttanesca and ricotta & pecorino).

References

External links

*
David Rocco on Cooking ChannelDavid Rocco's ''Dolce Vita'' on Food TV Canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rocco, David 1970 births Living people 21st-century Canadian male actors Canadian cookbook writers Canadian chefs Canadian male television actors Canadian people of Italian descent Canadian television chefs Canadian television hosts Chefs of Italian cuisine Chefs from Toronto Male actors from Toronto Writers from Scarborough, Ontario