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Food Network Stirs the Pot With New Lineup

YumSugar — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 15:00:06 -0700

Belong to the camp that loves watching the Food Network? You'll be happy to know that it's not only bringing back some of its popular shows for more seasons, but it'll also be adding some surprising new developments into the mix.

The Next Food Network Star is back for a fifth season in June - and a sixth is already planned for 2010. Once Top Chef Masters is over, you can tune into season two of The Next Iron Chef, which returns in October. Wondering what happened to season one contestants Chris Cosentino and Aaron Sanchez? Well, they'll be featured in a new program called Chef vs. City.

In the show, which debuts this July, the duo will be "pitted against two local foodies in a winner-takes-all race through a different city each week."

Intrigue is only one word we have for a new cooking show airing in August, starring none other than - you'll never guess - Olympic gold medalist Brian Boitano. In the daytime show - tentatively and humorously titled What Would Brian Boitano Make?, the ice skater will demonstrate how he entertains for friends.

Also coming this year is Sandra Lee's budget-friendly cooking show Sandra's Money Saving Meals and Extreme Cuisine With Jeff Corwin, which sounds like Food Network's answer to Bizarre Foods. In 2010's lineup, Rescue Chef Danny Boome will host a new series that shows diners how to prepare healthier, cheaper versions of their favorite take-out dishes; Alton Brown will host a miniseries on foods that have changed the world; and Anne Burrell tackles a team of hopeless home cooks in Worst Cooks in America.

I can't wait to check out Boitano's show, for the shock factor. I'll also tune into watch Chris Cosentino and Aaron Sanchez, some of my favorites from Next Iron Chef. What shows are you looking forward to watching?

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Happy Hour: Campari Squeeze

YumSugar — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:00:15 -0700

I'm still rather novice to the category of spirits known as aperitifs. These old-school standbys - which include liqueurs, dry champagne, and fortified wines - rose to fame in Europe in the 1800s, and have remained popular ever since.

I'd made it my mission to educate myself in aperitif studies, and after professing my love for Dubonnet, I felt adventurous enough to move onto the Italian spirit known as Campari. Invented in 1860, this bitter, which is used in a slew of different cocktails, is made by infusing alcohol and water with fruit, bitter herbs, and aromatic plants. Campari on the rocks is far too bitter for me, but I loved its complex, fruity, slightly medicinal flavor in the Campari Breeze, a cocktail that's perfect for warm-weather days.

To cool off on a sweltering weekend, I doubled the recipe for a bigger thirst quencher, employing Party's advice to save the ice until last. To see the recipe, read more.

Campari Squeeze
Adapted from Danny Boome

Ingredients

Ice cubes
2 shots Campari
2 splashes red grapefruit juice
2 splashes club soda
2 orange peels

Directions

Add the Campari and grapefruit in a shaker with ice, and shake.
Pour into 2 glasses filled with ice. Top off with some club soda and garnish with an orange peel.

Serves 2.

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Gastrosexual: The New Metrosexual?

YumSugar — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 09:00:28 -0700

Much like the sudden rise of the metrosexual, a recently released study discusses the rapid growth of the next major male demographic: the gastrosexual. According to the Daily Mail, these men use their culinary skills to impress their friends and potential love interests.

Leading the pack of gastrosexual men are celebrity chefs, like Jamie Oliver, Danny Boome, and Gordon Ramsay, who glorify the high-stakes world of the restaurant kitchen. PurAsia, the food company that published the report, entitled "Emergence of the Gastrosexual," said in a public statement:

We found that cooking for this new generation isn't simply a matter of refuelling. For them it's an enjoyable experience and something to be relished - they cook for pleasure, praise and potential seduction.

Restaurant chefs have always been macho, but I'm curious to see if this motivates more men to cook. What do you think of the development? Is there a gastrosexual in your life?

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Is the Food Television Industry Too Cheesy?

partysugar — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 13:43:33 -0700

In what is becoming a disturbing trend, more and more celebrity chefs are hamming it up on screen and being made to look like cartoon characters. Take the beginning of Hell's Kitchen, for example. The cheftestants frolic around stupidly: one throws a giant animated tomato, another catches the tomato, and yet another slices the tomato in half with a larger-than-life animated knife. Clearly these scenes were filmed on a green screen.

Rotoscoping - the film technique in which live action is mixed with animation - can also be scene in the opening credits of Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals. In it, Ray spins and sits on a colossal clock. The Rescue Chef - another Food Network show starting Danny Boome - is oozing with cheese. Even Bravo has jumped on the bandwagon with the super-cheesy portrait photos of the Season 4 Top Chef contestants.

Am I the only one whose noticed and is bothered by this trend? What do you think? Has food television becoming too cheesy?

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Speaking With Renaissance Man Danny Boome

partysugar — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 11:01:31 -0800

Earlier this week I got a call from Food Network's latest star, the British charmer and self-proclaimed renaissance man, Danny Boome. Danny's new show, The Rescue Chef, debuts tomorrow at noon and I'll be watching. The show pairs Danny with home cooks who are desperate to overcome culinary obstacles. And according to Danny, there is no problem he can't solve, no dish he can't make. To see what he had to say when we spoke over the phone, read more.

Danny became interested in cooking while working as a manny - a male nanny - in Switzerland. Before leaping across the pond, he had a successful television career in the UK. He points out that cooking is not rocket science and enjoys providing home cooks with the basic techniques needed to build culinary confidence. Here's what he had to say:

PartySugar: What's it like dealing with people who aren't used to the camera?
Danny Boome: Surprisingly the people become very comfortable. They forget the cameras are there and are really more interested in the recipes. They want to learn how to deal with their culinary faux pas so I help them look at the language of cooking and break it down.

PS: With your show, what do you hope to teach the American people?
DB: I want to change the way people look at cookery. It's about practice, confidence, and fun. Don't get caught up in the ingredient in the recipes, if you only have chicken on hand, use that.
PS: Do you cook at home like you do on the show?
DB: Of course. I'm a bachelor, but I like to cook with the ingredients that I have on hand. It's a basic and quick way to do things. I'm always experimenting. With cookery you can really make it as basic and fun as you like.

PS: What's your advice to the everyday home cook?
DB: I've got loads of tips! Look at the show, look in cookbooks, experiment in your kitchen. Own it. It's about confidence, don't ever think "I can't do that." Push yourself!

PS: What did you have for lunch today?
DB: Well I haven't eaten lunch yet. I always eat on the go because I am very busy. Usually I have one big meal a day. Because I cook so much, I am so used to cooking all time, that I don't sit down to three meals.

I'm really curious to see what he does as he "sweeps the nation in a culinary revolution." Check out his show and let me know what you guys think of The Rescue Chef.

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Get Ready to Get Rescued

YumSugar — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 07:27:31 -0800

It seems like Food Network is rolling out several new shows this season. We're already looking forward to the Neelys, but now we can add Rescue Chef to the list of things to check out. Rescue Chef is actually British-born Danny Boome - veteran of both Canadian and English TV shows - and in the show he will be rescuing everyday cooks from their culinary catastrophes. It sounds a bit like Tyler Florence's old show Food 911, but I think it could be interesting. I always enjoyed those old episodes; it was always fun to see home cooks turn mush into culinary gold. And besides, I'm a sucker for a British accent and he looks easy on the eyes, no?

If any of this has piqued your interest, then set your TiVos; Rescue Chef starts March 1.

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Ted Allen to Join Food Network

partysugar — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 10:15:12 -0700

I'm not sure if you've noticed, but the Food Network is overhauling its programing schedule. It seems like every week a new series debuts. It started back in February with the introduction of Pat and Gina Neely followed swiftly by Danny Boome. Other recent newcomers include Sunny Anderson and Mary Nolan.

Although I find it overwhelming - new chefs, new concepts, new shows, how can I get to know them all? - I'm looking forward to checking out Ted Allen! The Network announced today that they've nabbed the Top Chef judge to host a new primetime program called Food Detectives. Good Eats meets Myth Busters in the show, with Allen answering popular food questions like: Can an apple a day keep the doctor away?

The show sounds informative and interesting, and I look forward to checking it out when it debuts on July 29. What do you think, will you watch? How do you feel about all the new shows on Food Network?

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Are a New Rachael and the Return of Jamie Enough to Help Food Network?

YumSugar — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 11:18:31 -0800

Yesterday, the New York Times ran an interesting article about the current state of the Food Network. Not only has it canceled Emeril Live - Emeril himself is not leaving the network and enough new episodes have been filmed to fill 2008 - but ratings have slumped over the last year. According to the article, the network's ratings have slipped to a daytime average of 544,000 people from 580,000 a year ago. Likewise, its weekend shows have lost 15 percent of their audience, causing Food Network to pay back several advertisers.

Although they're losing out on new Emeril episodes, as well as the upcoming Mario Batali and Gwyneth Paltrow show (strange note - the article states that Food Network passed on it as it wasn't "the right fit," however Batali says he never offered them the show), the network still has media-maven Rachael Ray. There will be 60 new episodes of 30-Minute Meals, as well as a new travel show called Rachael's Vacation. They are also planning new shows from British chefs Jamie Oliver and Danny Boome and Memphis restaurateurs Gina and Pat Neely. However is this going to be enough? Currently Food Network doesn't even hold the top-rated food show on cable. That honor goes to Bravo's Top Chef.

So you tell me, is it the end of an era at Food Network, or is it capable of pulling off a comeback?