Bravo Invites You To "Rocco's Dinner Party"

Bravo's latest spin on the cooking reality show is ready to heat up the airwaves in an already crowded spice rack of culinary programming. Hosted by chef bad boy Rocco DiSpirito, "Rocco's Dinner Party" is a self-contained show that features a new competition every week, rather than 12 weeks of challenges leading to a showdown. Here, three renowned chefs are brought in to throw a dinner party in Rocco's (fake) loft for him and his celebrity friends. In a twist on the Top Chef Quickfire challenge, the three chefs must make a signature dish in thirty minutes in order to impress DiSpirito. His least favorite will be sent packing, while the remaining will battle it out for a win of twenty thousand dollars.

Each week DiSpirito will announce the theme to which the chefs must adhere. In the pilot episode, the two chefs preparing for their cook-off are instructed to give a speakeasy-inspired dinner party. The chefs not only have to cook a full meal inspired by that theme, but they also must design a room that reflects theme.

Of course, it wouldn't be much fun without the requisite curve ball. Here, after the chefs create their menus and shop for their food, DiSpirito announces that one guest is a vegetarian, and one doesn't drink alcohol, throwing a monkey wrench into some of the chef's plans.

Among the guests in the first week are actor and interior designer Bryan Batt ("Mad Men"), Tony award winning actress Christine Ebersole, television host Kelly Choi, actor Michael Kenneth Williams ("Boardwalk"), and past Top Chef winner and restaurateur Marcus Samuelsson - the owner of a speakeasy in Harlem.

In the end DiSpirito alone will decide who wins based on his personal opinion, as well as how much his guests enjoyed each individual dinner.

As usual, Bravo keeps the action moving along and despite it being a close variation on "Top Chef," it still manages to entertain. And the dueling dinner parties are a fun idea. The only drawback is DiSpirito himself. When first judging the Quickfire challenge, his endless snarky questions to the chefs were manipulative, arrogant, and somewhat rude. Where Tom Colichio manages to smirk his way through his Top Chef snark and Padme offers her opinions and twists with a bit of charm, DiSpirito just comes across like a prick.

If Bravo can manage to rein him in so he is as fun and light-hearted as this type of show should be, they might have a hit on their hands. Otherwise, audiences might not really want to sit at DiSpirito's table.

"Rocco's Dinner Party" begins Wednesday June 15th at 11pm/ET/PT.