Best of the New 2010: People & Ideas

Boston’s notoriously ruthless dining scene seldom grants second chances. A wobbly launch can mean a restaurant gets relegated to a shadowy also-ran field. Such seemed the fate of Rocca, the South End Italian eatery that languished. Then Tiffani Faison achieved the improbable. Taking over the kitchen in April, the 33-year-old gastro-wunderkind (and Top Chef alum) so nimbly overhauled the menu that local critics lined up to reevaluate the place, transforming a fading neighborhood haunt into a multi-starred culinary destination. Turns out all it takes are sufficiently addictive signature dishes to secure second, even third chances – often in the very same sitting.