During his time at NVCC, Spinella was the president of the Naugatuck Events Management Club. He’s currently a sous chef at BRIO Tuscan Grille. Rosado is the current president of the NEM club and works as a line cook at a restaurant in Waterbury. He has hopes of starting a lunch truck serving exotic foods and eventually opening his own restaurant. Spinella and Rosado “always show dedication and professionalism in the kitchen,” said NVCC Hospitality Management Program Coordinator Karen Rotella.

Along with four students from Kaynor Technical High School, Spinella and Rosado worked behind the scenes to help prep the food for both the show and the pre-show VIP experience which featured a cooking seminar and food tasting. The unscripted, freewheeling main show included cooking challenges, questions and answers, never-before-seen interviews and a heaping helping of audience participation.

 “Having the chance to work with a professional culinary master such as Chef Irvine, as well as to participate in all that’s involved behind the scenes in the world of a live stage production, is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience that could spark a young person’s career goals,” said Jennifer Zembruski, chief operations officer at the Palace Theater. “This also speaks to the Palace’s mission to provide educational opportunities in a myriad of ways to the broad community we are here to serve.”

Irvine, known for his work on a number of television franchises including Dinner: Impossible and Restaurant: Impossible, performs dozens of the no-holds-barred live cooking shows each year, and he typically invites students from local culinary programs to participate.