Name a Food Network personality with drool-worthy good looks and a no-fuss attitude toward cooking who has launched a new book, designed a line of kitchen products and is on a mission to make over school meals.
No, it's not Jamie Oliver.
Mostly by coincidence does David Rocco share so much with the Naked Chef.
But David Rocco Dolce Vita - the name of both his popular series and his hot-off-the-presses tome - is equal parts homegrown and Italian, whereas Mr. Oliver sticks to Britain and Australia.
The Tuscany-via-Toronto approach is one of the reasons why Mr. Rocco, 38, seems like the perfect front man to encourage Ontario kids to rethink fast food in favour of cucina povera: simple but honest dishes such as rice salad and stuffed tomatoes. As the father of seven-month-old twin girls Emma and Georgia, he is more compelled than ever to transcend his TV role.
In September, Mr. Rocco joined up with Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and visited student-run cafeterias in Guelph, Kingston and Brampton. He grew particularly attached to the ninth graders in North Bay who learned to cook couscous. "They were extremely enthusiastic," he says from Monteloro, Italy, where he is shooting DRDV's fifth season. That he lives by the saying q uanto basta, or "as much as you need," eliminates any formality around cooking - a definite bonus when attracting newcomers.
"We have an opportunity to inspire kids and create change. What's different from the Jamie Oliver project is that I'm hoping to make this part of the curriculum where, like math and science, kids can learn how to cook basic meals and connect with their families. Kids who cook eat better and are more confident. These are tools for life," he explains.
But is it feasible? "It's been hard right now because I haven't been in Toronto, but when I meet the Premier in January and discuss where the program could go, I would like to donate a lot of my time and set the groundwork for this program."
He continues: "We have to develop an infrastructure that is simple and accessible for kids across Ontario - not just wealthy or urban kids. When kids learn a recipe or two, they get so excited and that opens up a whole world for them."
Mr. Rocco cites eggs poached in tomato sauce with melted scamorza cheese as one of his favourite childhood dishes. Then there's pasta fritta, fried leftover pasta formed into a disc shape. "That's when I was the cat's meow with my friends. Everyone else would have peanut butter and jelly. I felt like the poor Italian immigrant. I was torn between wanting to fit in and wanting to eat well."
He never expected to become a chef, a moniker that he still bristles at today. "I'm not a chef, I'm Italian," he often says. Mr. Rocco is married to his high-school sweetheart, Nina, who is the show's executive producer. "She has a great sense of style and taste," he says.
Ditto could be said of Mr. Rocco. A former fashion and commercial model, he is an effortlessly impeccable dresser.
After long production days that always involve some degree of preparing and consuming food, he is happiest to eat a meal in which he has played no part.
"I'm constantly cooking and eating and eating and cooking. It gets tiresome," says Mr. Rocco, who lightheartedly admits that the potential for gaining weight is a "hazard of being on the Food Network."
Although he adores spending time in Italy, Mr. Rocco craves Chinese food from Lee Garden or a burger at the Four Seasons Hotel.
But his daughters are the main reason why his plans don't include moving to Italy for good. "Now that we have kids, we're happy to be in Toronto. It's the right place to have roots," he says.
For the moment, Emma and Georgia are limited to a diet of breast milk, but that's not stopping Mr. Rocco from giving them an early start on family dinners. "We're introducing them to the dinner table. They're on our laps, or we bring the big stroller over. It may sound ridiculous, but when they're participating, they're so happy."
Fans can expect to see them in the new season, watching from the sidelines as he makes recipes such as acqua cotta, a Tuscan vegetable soup. "I thought I'd have a tough time with their agent," Mr. Rocco jokes. He says the increased emphasis on families united by food all but necessitated their cameos. Time will tell whether they follow in the food steps of their dad.
As he says, "They're not making Bolognese just yet."
Amy Verner