July 9, 2007 -
PRLog -- The owner of LA’s favorite catering company, Cannoli Kings, takes Cannoli mainstream. Cannoli Kings offers an iconic Italian dessert for sweeter events. Parise's personalized cannolis come in 350 flavors, from cappuccino to cookies and cream, peach cobbler to peanut butter and jelly. The 3- or 5-inch treats can also be wrapped and tied with a ribbon. For a twist on the decadent dessert, the Los Angeles-based company makes cannoli cakes.Wheels is a triple threat as he balances being Cannoli King’s owner, Dice’s road manager, and Dice’s opening act. Wheels can be seen in all seven episodes of “Dice Undisputed.”
“After giving up comedy so long ago and going into the cooking world it’s nice to do a show on VH1 that’s about comedy and also has the catering element involved,” said Wheels.About Chef Michael: Comedian chef Michael “Wheels” Parise grew up in an area known as ‘The Five Towns’ in Long Island, New York. His family later moved to Florida where he earned his high school diploma from Citrus High School in Inverness, Florida. In 1986, he moved back to New York to pursue his dream at becoming a comedian and to attend the Culinary Institute of America. In 1987 Wheels started performing stand up comedy in New York City. His natural talent earned him spots in New York comedy clubs such as Catch a Rising Star, Caroline’s, Improv and the Comic Strip. Comedy was his only job after leaving culinary school. He stayed with family and performed in clubs at night. He befriended comedians such as Chris Rock, Adam Sandler and Eddie Griffin. During one of his performances, fellow comedian Andrew “Dice” Clay realized his talent and asked Wheels to open for him in a national tour. In 1991, Wheels stared in a movie with Dice Clay called “ Dice Rules”. Eventually Wheels permanently moved to Los Angeles. While in Los Angeles, he headlined comedy clubs such as Laugh Factory and the Comedy Store. Wheels started touring with Andrew “Dice” Clay in1990. He has headlined some of the biggest comedy venues from Pip’s in Brooklyn to the World Famous Comedy Store in Los Angeles. He has appeared in over 15 movies and 70 TV shows. His career as a professional comedian was a promising one but when he met his future wife he traded the comedy stage for the kitchen. Wheels started his own full service catering business in 2003 called Cannoli Kings. What started off as a Cannoli Mail order service and drop off catering to small businesses grew into personal chef services for celebrities as well as catering for elaborate Hollywood parties. The company started in a West Hollywood apartment and has flourished into a million dollar empire in a state of the art 4,000 square foot kitchen in North Hollywood. Wheels was very aggressive with marketing the business. About 99.9% of the marketing was done on the internet. In 2007, Citysearch.com declared the Cannoli Kings as the best caterer in Los Angeles. The Cannoli Kings have been branded as one of LA’s favorite catering companiesrated best of CitySearch 2007. Wheels and his team of servers, bartenders, chefs, cooks, ice carvers, and fruit sculptures have catered for some of the biggest names and parties in Hollywood, from Halle Berry to Michael Jackson and The Emmy’s to Reality Remix Awards. Currently Wheels has found himself back on the comedy circuit alongside his friend Andrew “Dice” Clay in the new VH1 reality series titled “Dice Undisputed”, premiering spring 2007. Wheels and the Connoli Kings have been mentioned in The Great Chefs of LA, LA Magazine, Hollywood Reporter, and more. Wheels is very family oriented. He enjoys spending time with his wife and his 2-year-old daughter. He currently resides in Los Angeles.About Cannoli KingsComing from a family of chefs, Parise started his own catering business in 2003 called Cannoli Kings. Cannoli Kings has been branded as LA’s favorite catering company and rated best of CitySearch 2007.” Cannoli Kings have catered for many of Hollywood’s top celebrities such as Michael Jackson and Hale Berry. The Cannoli Kings have also been hired by high profile events such as The Emmys and Fox’s Reality Remix Awards.They are one of the most sort after catering companies in Los Angeles.
