Recently, some producers put out the call through Boston
Casting for a new reality show, now called Chefs vs. City. It was
billed as a cross between Iron Chef and The
Amazing Race. They were looking for one perfect pair of Boston food
people, along with teams of two from half a dozen other cities, to compete
against a duo of Food Network phenoms. For a few antic days, hordes of
Bostonians were buddying up for a chance to be on the show. After completing
the two-minute taped audition, more than a hundred were called back. And then
there was silence. Speculation was rampant. Out of the blue, brothers Peter and
Robert DePesa, the tank-sized Celtic-, Sox-, and Bruins-loving owners of the
Wilmington restaurant Focaccia, got the call. After their audition, they’d
heard nothing, so they figured they were out. Then a call came. Could they be
free next week to film? A fat contract arrived via FedEx, and they were off to
the races.
So, why you?
Peter: They said they liked our dynamic. We’re siblings.
We’re comfortable with each other — not afraid to argue with each other on TV.
Listen. We’re one year and two days apart. We’re very competitive guys,
generally, and always with each other.
Robert: Yeah. When I’d be catching for one team, he would be
catching for the other. We play off against each other as goalies in ice
hockey. And we’re two locals — we couldn’t be from any place other than Boston.
We love food, running an Italian family place 20 minutes north of Boston.
Another thing: our attitude. We showed up in our black chef’s coats. Everyone
else wore white.
How did you find out you were the ones?
Robert: We never got the callback, and lots of people we
knew did. So, we figured we were out. Nothing. And then we got a call. My
brother was on plane to Las Vegas, and I called him on his cell and said,
“Guess what? We got it.”
Did you get any prep time for the show?
Peter: No. They told us nothing. Everything was hush-hush.
They told us when they were starting, sent a contract, and told us to be ready
on such-and-such a day. No details. They had a team scouting locations for two
weeks, but they didn’t want us or the professional Food Network chefs to know
anything ahead of time that would give either team an advantage. They didn’t
tell us where to go until 11 p.m. the night before the shoot; they called and
said, “Be here at 9 a.m.”
So, what did you do for the show? Where did you shoot?
Peter: Can’t tell you much because of the confidentiality
agreement. But we had five challenges in one day — from stomping grapes to
diving for sea urchins. We were in one car, the chefs in another.
Robert: We were kind of worried when we met the two pros,
Aaron Sanchez and Chris Cosentino. They were trained by Johnson & Wales. We
were trained by our mother. And they were in much better shape than we were.
But funny stuff happened — like us getting pulled over by the police while we
were racing across the city.
So, are you done?
Peter: They said we’d done really well, and they are coming
back to film us again for another challenge in a few weeks. So, I guess we get
to go another round.
Robert: We’re living the dream.
