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Have You Been Watching Season 5's Next Food Network Star?

YumSugar — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 09:00:19 -0700

The fifth season of The Next Food Network Star is now four episodes deep, and I'm wondering how much you've been tuning in to watch it. After four seasons, does the show still feel compelling and fresh?

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Meet the Season 5 Contestants of The Next Food Network Star!

YumSugar — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 03:30:07 -0700

Clear your Sunday night schedules, because season five of The Next Food Network Star kicks off June 7! The last competition - which produced both Aaron McCargo and Adam Gertler - proved to be a major success, and this crop of contestants looks to be every bit as talented. Read on to find out who they are.
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The Next Food Network Star - 3.5 Recap

YumSugar — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 12:01:38 -0700

Based on the previews, I was actually looking forward to last night's Next Food Network Star. I'm a big Alton Brown fan and the commercials made it look like it was going to be an interesting drama-loaded trainwreck. So naturally, like all drama-loaded trainwrecks, I couldn't wait to watch.

Let me start with one word: Wow. And that's more of an "Are you serious?" sort of wow, as opposed to an "Amazing!" sort of wow.

We're down to five chefs and at this point none of them look like they're ready (or deserve) their own show. They're yelling, crying, flubbing lines, not cooking anything, and just failing in every way possible. I know that there's a lot of fancy editing, and that they're living in this unnatural pressure-cooker type of environment, but still, get it together folks. Quit your crying, start your cooking, and get ready to be a star!

To see what happened, find out who went home, and discover what causes Alton to breakdown and say, "Can we send them all home and start over?" read more

The show begins with Alton "the supreme educator of Food Network" Brown greeting the contestants in the kitchen for a quick challenge. For the first challenge they each pull three ingredients and are told they have 30 minutes to come up with a dish that they have to present to the camera. That's right, the contestants are finally going under the "gun" of Food Network and will have to present their own recipe in three minutes without stopping.

Once the cameras start rolling things were semi-ok. Rory should have cut stuff up, Jag should have been less gourmet, Paul shouldn't have told so many non-related stories, Amy should have been more put together and Adrien should have actually cooked something... anything.

When they're done with their first challenge, they're then presented with their least favorite food item. For Amy it's bokchoy; Jag, tofu; Paul, lima beans; Rory, goat cheese; Adrien, baby corn. They then have to design a dish that glorifies their ingredient, and then create a 5 minute demonstration with 4 major talking points. Oh and again, it's going to be live with no stops.

Here's where the already mediocre events take a turn for the worst. Amy can't concentrate and cries all night about going home. The next day, Jag throws a tantrum over missing banana peppers [note to self: do not piss off this guy]. Then, when the presentations start, you can actually see the pain and discomfort in Alton's face. He wants out of this room, and is probably wondering how he ended up having to do all of this anyway. Paul rambles on and makes an awkward joke about his hands burning. Amy forgets her script completely and goes blank. Jag has a bajillion ingredients, drops his tofu and says that it's "not half bad." Rory and her huge smile are boring. Adrien "roasts" things in a sauté pan, and tops his dish with a raw egg. See? Disaster. At this point I don't know who I'd watch, I can't tell who I like and I'm not even sure who did the worst.

During panel the judges are rightfully harsh and Amy tells them she wants to go home, only to change her mind immediately. So she stays, as does Rory and Paul - who was the "one person who showed a succinct upgrade" from the day before. Which means we are left with Jag and Adrien on the chopping block. After a few tense moments, they tell Adrien to leave. I'm a little bummed by this, but had already guessed the outcome. Also, what does it say when the one guy who already has a cooking show is kicked off?

Wow. I can't believe there are only 4 contestants left. I think I'm rooting for Paul at this point, and hope he makes it to the end. I guess we'll see what happens after next week's Iron Chef inspired challenge.

Did you guys watch? What did you think?

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The Next Food Network Star - 3.6 Recap

YumSugar — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 11:30:38 -0700

Oh Next Food Network Star, just when I think you can't get any worse... warning don't read on if you're not interested in spoilers.

What should have been an amazing episode - Iron Chef battle! - turned out to be dull and boring. The contestants have to battle against each other in "kitchen stadium junior" and are assisted by former contestants. Paul "The Party Budget" and his sous chef Mike, go up against Rory "The Backyard Bistro" and her sous chef Adrien in a striped bass battle. Jag "Latino Fusion" and his sous chef Colombe (who was made to look as slow and incompetent as possible) go up against Amy and her sous chef Tommy in a whole chicken battle. Now is it just me, or does striped bass seem a bit more difficult than whole chicken?

The challenges are done back to back, and when they're not cooking, the contestants have to provide commentary to the camera. Amy does a great job and even researches Panko crumbs, Jag is okay, while Rory and Paul are just terrible. Paul declares that plum tomatoes are from "plummy" and Rory thinks she's being cute by attacking Alton Brown. Speaking of AB, he should seriously start reading through his contracts better. He does not seem like he wants to be there and it feels as though he is "contractually obligated" to show up - maybe that's not the case, but it sure comes across that way. Not that I'm complaining, he was - for the second week in a row - actually the most entertaining part of the show.

To find out who won and who went home, read more

In the end, Amy's dishes are declared a "home run" and her perfect commentary secures her a place in the final 3. They also let Rory (who I am now calling Rachael-lite) stick around until next week, leaving Jag and Paul on the chopping block. Here is where I thought we would finally say farewell to Jag (whose breakdown cry-baby tendencies are starting to get to me), but nope, we bid adieu to Paul who (according to Bobby Flay) "needs to learn how to use a spice rack.

What did you guys think, were you sad to see Paul go? Are you even watching this still? Who do you want to win? Let us know in the comments!

Who Should Win The Next Food Network Star?

YumSugar — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 12:40:18 -0700

If you're watching this season of Next Food Network Star, I have to know, who do you think should win?

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Yummy Link: The Next Food Network Star

YumSugar — Tue, 29 May 2007 10:43:18 -0700

In all of my Top Chef excitement, I've completely forgotten that The Next Food Network Star starts this Sunday, June 3. Word is the show is going to kick things up a notch in order to compete with other food-related reality shows. - Food Network Addict

The Next Food Network Star - 3.1 Recap

YumSugar — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 09:57:18 -0700

I never got into the first two seasons of "The Next Food Network Star." However, when I heard that the producers were "stepping up their game" this season, I decided to give it another try. Last night's two-hour premiere introduced us to 11 hopeful stars and you know what? It wasn't that bad. As the promos say, it's an all new season, all new rules. And from the look of things, it looks like the producers have taken a page out of Top Chef's rule book. There's more behind the scenes, at the dorms and in the kitchen, as well as faster-paced editing. To see what I thought of last night's premiere, read more

The show starts off immediately with Bobby Flay (each week a new Food Network personality will be the guest judge and host) telling them that they have one hour to create a dish for a potluck. The most successful dish ended up being from Colombe, a yoga instructor who wants an organic cooking show.

Next they're told they have 90 minutes to decorate a three-tiered wedding cake, which will be judged by none-other than Duff from Food Network's Ace of Cakes. At this point I was pretty surprised that they'd have a wedding challenge so soon in the game. However, it must be a quick way to sort out the folks that get it, from those that don't (what was with some of those cakes?!?). The winning cake was a simple white cake with blue dots, created by Amy, who also happened to be the only person who had ever worked with fondant before.

After the wedding cakes were rated, they're then greeted by Robert Irvine from Dinner Impossible. If you thought the 90 minute wedding cake was a zinger, he's there to raise the bar. Try a complete semi-vegetarian wedding for 100 people in just 6 hours. That's right 6 hours. The winners of the two previous challenges become team captains, and Amy (in a stroke of genius) purposely chooses the folks who are caterers. Also one team has 6 folks and the other has 5, but gets an extra $500 to make up for it. Surprisingly, the team that has $2300 to spend, only spends $800. Whaaat? I could spend more than $800 cooking for 30, let alone 100.

The show gets pretty interesting around this point as the orange team seems to do everything wrong. They don't buy enough food, they put chicken stock in the vegetarian dish, they run out of food, and my favorite part, they leave their table and Bobby Flay ends up covering for them! I could not believe that, I understand running back to get something real quick, but what went through the last person to leave's head? Oh yah I'll just leave the station alone, no one's going to notice.

At this point there are still too many faces and personalities for me too chose from. No one is standing out and since both "Top Chef" and "Hell's Kitchen" begin this week, I hope my brain can keep all these food hopefuls sorted out. Only time will tell, but until then, discuss:

How many times did Amy say the word Paris?
How about Salmon and "like the fish?"
What was with some of those wedding cakes? Were they channeling 3rd graders?

What would you do if you spilled dessert all over Bobby Flay?
If Colombe ends up winning, would Food Network actually air an all organic, all natural food show? I'd love it if they would, but I thought they were getting away from that.
Did Robert Irvine seem a bit rude to anyone else?
Berry skewers for a dessert? Seriously?
Anyone else notice the lovely fresh lemon wall during the interview portions? So refreshing!

So, did you watch? If so, what did you think?

Were You Surprised by Who Won The Next Food Network Star?

YumSugar — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 07:50:00 -0700

Last night was the season finale of The Next Food Network Star, and I couldn't wait to tune in to find out the winner. Was it going to be the laid-back, well-spoken world traveler, Jeffrey Saad - or the resourceful, vivacious mom, Melissa d'Arabian?

In my opinion, it was obvious which contestant was more marketable, so I wasn't the least bit surprised when the winner was announced. What about you?

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The Next Food Network Star Recap: Episode One

YumSugar — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 11:45:53 -0700

A week ago, I introduced you to this season's contestants on The Next Food Network Star, and last night we saw the 10 competitors in action for the first time. They'd barely settled into their new digs before facing their first challenge: to cater the network's sweet 16 party for more than 75 guests, including Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto and stars like Giada De Laurentiis and Alton Brown.

Although all 10 cast members appeared to bond right away, I wasn't experiencing the same connection to them on the small screen. Hopefully, I'll soon be convinced otherwise. Find out my thoughts on the show - and share yours! - when you read more.

Most of the contestants didn't seem comfortable speaking. Were you as stunned as I was to find that outgoing personalities like Brett and Eddie became awkward and flat in front of the camera?
I was surprised that dietitian Katie Cavuto, with her plain Swiss chard and stereotypical spinach salad, didn't wind up on the chopping block. What did you think of her dishes?
Debbie, with her awful leadership skills, also should have faced elimination. Although she jumped at the opportunity to take charge, she turned out to be an ineffective leader and poor judge of character. Shouldn't she have taken ownership of the atrocious angel food dessert?
I thought the judges were spot on to eliminate Jen. Her food looked bland, and I couldn't take her seriously at all. In fact, I felt like she set womankind back a few decades with some of her remarks. What makes her a "housewife 2.0" anyway? It's entirely de rigueur for women to work full-time and cook every night. And what was with the parting comment about "making babies"?
Who are you rooting for so far? I don't mind watching Michael, Jeffrey, and Teddy. I already can't stand Brett and Debbie.

What were your initial thoughts about the season? Share them with me below.

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The Next Food Network Star - 3.7 Recap

YumSugar — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 09:01:38 -0700

So um, wow. Did you guys see this coming? If you haven't watched the latest episode of the Next Food Network Star and are afraid of spoilers, then move right along, because something interesting actually happened this time.

I knew there had been a bunch of controversy over Jag's background - and thought it was a bit weird that Food Network has made no official comment about it - however I didn't think he would actually make it to the final two, so I assumed it wouldn't be a problem. Guess I was wrong. Jag made it to the final two only, you can't vote for him. To find out what happened, and why Jag was eliminated, read more

Okay, I've jumped ahead of myself, so let's back up a minute and start at the beginning of the episode. It starts off with Jag, Rory and Amy mixing up breakfast and what looks like mimosas, only to be joined by guest judge Bobby Flay and several folks from Food Network's PR team. They're told that they're doing a mini-media junket and are then whisked off to the XM Radio Stations to join the Ron & Fez show. Amy does wonderfully, Jag ends up talking trash about Food Network and Rory falls into every trap possible.

After the radio interview, the contestants are whisked back to the studios where they are interviewed and photographed by Star magazine. Jag keeps it positive and avoids questions about his past, Rory talks about how Food Network needs a bolder female personality (really? RR isn't bold enough?), and Amy keeps it real.

Once the interviews are over, they then head over to the Rachael Ray studios where they will each present their signature dish in front of a live studio audience. Amy is up first and does a good job of presenting, but accidentally comes across as snobby. Rory gets some funny looks from Bobby Flay (who seems bored out of his mind to be here) and pushes Rachael out of the way. While Jag wows the audience with jokes and charm, despite the fact that his recipe seemed more difficult. Oh and I wanted to take a second to note, despite what you think of RR, she's really good at her job. I noticed that whenever the contestants started to falter, she asked just the right question to get them back on track. Too bad she couldn't have come in and coached them earlier...

When the press junket is finally over, the judges decide that Rory is staying (my theory: RR is getting bigger than Food Network and Rachael lite is better than no RR at all) as is Jag (the guy is unstable and ridiculous, but he can sure entertain a crowd). I was absolutely stunned when they sent Amy home. She wasn't my favorite (I stopped having one of those weeks ago), but I thought she had the largest chance of staying in.

Now's where the interesting part comes in. We cut to commercial break, and when we return there is some white text on a black background describing the fact that Jag lied about both his service in Afghanistan, as well as his culinary education. They then show Jag telling the judges that he doesn't want to tarnish the FN name and is therefore resigning. I don't know about you guys, but I thought it felt more than just a little rehearsed. It's as if they said, you broke the rules, you're out of here, but so that we don't look dumb and you look like a good guy, you have a chance to resign on film. I mean, Jag's speech seemed like acting, don't you think? Oh and don't they do background checks on these folks? Shouldn't they have found this out before the public did???

So with Jag eliminated, who are you going to vote for? Amy or Rory? You've got until tomorrow - Tuesday, July 17 - at 9am/8c to get your decision in.

Does the fact that Amy is a "side-talker" (as in usually talks out of the side of her mouth) drive anyone else crazy? I think I'd vote for her over Rory, but it still drives me insane.