No more meal tickets for chef

Celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito, who rose to national prominence in the reality TV series “The Restaurant” only to see the venture dissolve in legal acrimony with his partners, is leaving his other New York eatery.

As of next week, DiSpirito, 37, will step down as executive chef at Union Pacific, where he first gained notoriety after it opened in 1997. The restaurant will close at the end of the year.

DiSpirito said he intends to focus on opportunities outside the restaurant world.

NBC chronicled the opening of Rocco’s 22nd Street for two seasons. There has been an ongoing legal dispute among DiSpirito and owners Jeffrey Chodorow and China Grill Management, and the restaurant closed last week.