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A new season of NBC's "Food Fighters" brings in more celebrity chefs to vie against talented amateurs who get a shot at a $100,000 grand prize. And in a new twist, some of the civilians aren't even old enough to vote or drive. A prospect that at first didn't thrill Rocco DiSpirito ("The Restaurant"), one of the pros in Season 2. "Are you kidding?" says the New York-based chef, restaurateur and cookbook author. "It was a no-win situation. If I beat him, I'm a jerk; if I don't beat him, I'm a bad chef. That's how I felt going into it but also I just did the best I could with the resources I had." In the second season, which gets underway Thursday, July 2, each contestant – adult or child – must face off one by one with five professionals, putting their signature dishes to the test in a series of showdowns. Those that make it to the finals square off against another pro. Celebs competing this time around include DiSpirito, Nadia G., Lorena Garcia, Duff Goldman, Eric Greenspan, Antonia Lofaso and Brian Malarkey. Despite his initial ambivalence, DiSpirito – who himself got started in the business as a youngster – felt an empathy with his 15-year-old adversary. "I wanted him to understand I wasn't there as purely a competitor," the 48-year-old Queens, N.Y., native says. "And the reason I did the show wasn't to prove that I'm capable of doing something. "I gave him something that my mentor gave to me immediately to make him feel like this was a camaraderie, this was a friendship; this was not pure competition. Gray Kunz, my mentor from Lespinasse (in New York), built this spoon called the Kunz spoon that's now legendary among very sophisticated cooks and we all have them. And he reissued the Kunz spoon in gold at the 20-year anniversary and I had an extra one so I brought it and gave it to him. "I think the wonderful thing about chefs," DiSpirito continues, "is we are really teachers and students at the same time and we share knowledge, tools, techniques; time, of course, and we enjoy seeing other people produce wonderful things. When another chef is good, it makes us happy." BY GEORGE DICKIE What book are you currently reading? "I have about 10 of them on my side stand, half-read. I can't remember a single name right now." What did you have for dinner last night? "I had wild Alaskan salmon with rhubarb and fava beans and onion soubise that I made myself." What is your next project? "My next project is I'm expanding my Pound a Day fresh food delivery service. I currently manage the health care and healthy weight goals of 60 people. I send them food every day and I coach them and use technology to account for their progress – success or failure. And it's a small, handmade, high- touch business, and I'm working on phase two, which is to further my overall goal in life as a person and professional to reverse the obesity trend in the United States. So phase two of this is to scale it out so that it's affordable and available to everyone." When was the last vacation you took, where and why? "Way too long ago. It was Los Cabos (Mexico) – 2008, maybe, 2009. I'm running a start-up, so ... it's basically 24/7." Rocco DiSpirito No kidding around in Season 2 of 'Food Fighters' After "Say Anything," "Singles," "Almost Famous" and very particularly "Jerry Maguire," Cameron Crowe has a near-endless reserve of goodwill from this reviewer. That's mildly fortunate in regard to the journalist-turned-filmmaker's latest movie, "Aloha," since looking for the traditional dose of offbeat heart he puts into his characters keeps the picture intriguing to a degree. In the end, though, it's not enough to sustain a plot that just isn't all that interesting ... and, frankly, pretty contrived as love stories go. You can't fault Crowe for handing it over to an attractive cast, though. Bradley Cooper plays a shady military contractor who returns to Hawaii (hence the title) on a mission to help a tycoon (Bill Murray) put his own rocket into orbit. Emma Stone portrays Cooper's government liaison – and potential romantic interest, of course – with new "True Detective" co-star Rachel McAdams (reunited from "Wedding Crashers" with Cooper) as his ex-girlfriend, whose new life as a wife and mother may not preclude them from hooking up again. With that gathering of actors and Crowe's touch for relationship tales, "Aloha" should hit it out of the park, but it barely gets to first base. You get the definite sense that a lot of it was shaved in the editing room, which doesn't help matters. And even though the Hawaiian scenery is as stunning as ever, this isn't supposed to be a travelogue. John Krasinski also is on hand, typically smartly doing what's required of him, in this case playing the husband meant to show why McAdams presumably would be better off with Cooper. With that working against the scenes of the burgeoning Cooper-Stone relationship, it's questionable whether anyone here will emerge with a particularly good deal on the love front. The stars have a tough time indicating that as a probable outcome. Crowe's efforts to stay in the game are reminiscent of those of James L. Brooks, another writer-director who struck gold with the same sort of film early on, then began scoring diminished returns as he kept going. This critic fought like crazy to like his "How Do You Know" over several viewings, and "Aloha" seems destined for the same fate. Taking a cue from its title, bidding it farewell here and now might be the better path. Bradley Cooper and Emma Stone BY JAY BOBBIN A hello, and a well-advised goodbye, to 'Aloha' Page 8 June 29 - July 5, 2015

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