michael symon

As part of our Best of 2008 series, you told us who was the best rising celebrity chef of the year. You love The Neelys and Curtis Stone, but your number one favorite is Next Iron Chef winner Michael Symon. We agree with you; he's our favorite at Yum.

There's more than one reason we like the Cleveland chef: He's talented yet modest; on Iron Chef America, he's got a great sense of humor and an infectious laugh; and his Greek-inspired food is always heads above the rest.

Why do you like Michael Symon?

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For Food Network star Robert Irvine, 2008 was dicier and more stressful than completing any challenge on Dinner: Impossible.

In February, news surfaced that the show's host had embellished his résumé. Many of Irvine's claims — that he was a KCVO Knight, awarded a castle by the Queen of England, attended the University of Leeds, and helped make the wedding cake for Prince Charles and Princess Diana — turned out to be made up.

The news, once it broke, seemed to be career suicide for Robert Irvine.

Food Network immediately distanced itself from Irvine, failing to renew his contract and replacing him as the host of the show with Next Iron Chef winner Michael Symon.

Last month, Food Network announced the near-impossible: It would be bringing the fallen Irvine back to host the show again. Many of you were excited about the turn of events, as you love Chef Symon but thought he was better suited for Iron Chefdom, anyway. New episodes with Irvine will debut in March 2009. Will you tune in to watch him again?

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Last February, everyone was shocked to find out that Robert Irvine, the star of the Food Network show Dinner: Impossible, lied on his résumé. Although most of you said the incident didn't change your feelings about him, Irvine still got the boot from the Food Network and was subsequently replaced by Iron Chef Michael Symon.

Today I'm excited to have heard news of what I thought to be near-impossible: Irvine will be returning to host the show again. In a written statement, the Food Network announced it would shoot six new episodes with Irvine this month.

Our audience has continued to demonstrate its interest in and support for Robert . . . He has taken responsibility and made a conscious effort to clear the air, rebuild the relationship with Food Network and apologize for the earlier inaccuracies.

New episodes of the show, which challenges Irvine to prepare meals under strained situations, will debut in March 2009. I'm personally excited to hear this news, because we are big fans of Robert Irvine at my house. Do you feel the same way? Do you think that Irvine was a more compelling host than his replacement, Michael Symon?

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The most hyped part of the Food and Wine Classic is the culinary competition that takes place on the last day of the festivities. The Classic Cook-Off pits the reigning Top Chef winner — this year it was Hung — against master French chef Jacques Pepin and his BFF Jean-Claude. The chefs were given a whole salmon, a bunch of ingredients leftover from the previous day's demos, and 18 minutes to create a dish and a cocktail. While Hung created a delicious-looking salmon and a frothy coconut-milk cocktail, the Frenchmen wowed the crowd with their salmon appetizer, salmon entree, wasabi cocktail, and souffle dessert. To catch a glimpse of the competition, check out our exclusive video below!

For more pictures of the cook-off challenge, including images from the second competition that featured Michael Symon and Tom Colicchio vs. Roy Yamaguchi; and a look at the celebrity chefs who were in the audience, read more

Remember when Robert Irvine was fired from his job at Food Network, and how many of you lamented the fact because you really enjoy Dinner: Impossible. Well quit your crying the show's not going anywhere. Food Network has said that they've been hoping to replace Irvine, and it appears they finally have.

Last year's Next Iron Chef winner, Michael Symon, will take over the Impossible reigns. The show's format won't be changing, Symon won't know where he's headed and he won't know his mission until he gets there. However, fans of the show will now be thrilled — or disappointed, depending on which camp you're in — to hear that the show will now be 60 minutes instead of 30. I personally think this is a great call, 30 minutes always seemed too heavily edited.

In addition to starring in this show — which officially begins in September, with one episode airing in July — Symon will also appear on Iron Chef America. And, if that wasn't enough, he's still got his restaurants Lola and Lolita in Cleveland, as well as a new restaurant opening in Detroit.

So tell me, are you planning on checking out the all-new Dinner: Impossible?

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