TBTL: Mo Rocca says casting grandparents isn’t easy

Mo Rocca’s love of his grandmother’s signature
ravioli (and his inability to recreate it) inspired his
latest television venture, aptly titled, “My Grandmother’s Ravioli.”

The show, which airs on the Cooking Channel, follows Rocca as he
learns to cook “treasured family recipes” from grandparents in their own
kitchens.

But casting for the show wasn’t easy.

“Reality television casting is really, really difficult
because you have to weed out people who just want to be
famous,” Rocca told TBTL’s Luke
Burbank. “I think there are people trying to escape
assisted living that dream of becoming reality TV stars.”

Rocca recalls an interview between the casting director
and a grandmother who wanted to be on the show. Only
problem: she not only didn’t cook, but she had no interest in food.

When the casting director asked, ‘What dish would you
teach Mo?’ the woman replied, ‘Well, I don’t really know
what I’d teach him to cook, but I could teach him to sing
JAZZ!’

Her voice was decent but that wasn’t enough to make her right for the
show.

Rocca said some of the best grandparents featured on the
show were ones that didn’t care about being on TV.

“Which of course, makes them better for the show,” says
the comedian.

Rocca said these strong grandparents taught him how to be
confident in the kitchen.

“This is so cliché : Just go for it.”

TBTL with Luke Burbank airs Sundays at noon on the
all-new 97.3 KIRO FM weekend and is available anytime at
TBTL.net.