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Nigella Lawson Dishes on New TV Series, Jamie Oliver and Food Blogs

Chris Harnick — 2010-04-24T15:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Food/Home/DIY, Interviews, Features, Celebrity Interviews

Don't look for Nigella Lawson to go on a crusade to help America eat better. While she admires what Jamie Oliver is doing, she also likes her potato chips. Lawson's book, 'Nigella Fresh,' recently hit shelves in paperback form on April 20 and the British food writer is getting ready to freshen up your kitchen year-round with new recipes and a new series.

TV Squad caught up with the cook fresh off her new paperback and a successful iPhone application and discussed KFC's new Double Down sandwich, 'Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution' and her time on 'Top Chef' and 'Iron Chef America.'

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'Next Food Network Star' Goes Hollywood

Laura Prudom — 2010-04-22T09:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Food/Home/DIY, Programming, Features, TV Schedules

Set your tastebuds to tingle, food fans: The latest season of 'The Next Food Network Star' is almost upon us, and it promises to be blockbuster big.

According to a press release, season 6 of the reality talent search will be based in Tinseltown itself, which means there will be plenty of Hollywood-style twists, turns and guest stars to spice up the proceedings, including Rachael Ray and Eva Longoria Parker.

Premiering on Jun. 6, the series will feature 12 new contestants battling it out in the hopes of winning their own Food Network show under the mentorship of Giada De Laurentiis, with Bobby Flay once again playing host.

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Four Cooking Channel Shows That Look Delicious

Bob Sassone — 2010-04-21T14:02:00+00:00

Filed under: Food/Home/DIY, OpEd, TV Squad Lists, Reality-Free, Features

If you take your remote control and surf on over to Fine Living Network on May 31, well, it won't be there. Instead, you're going to see The Cooking Channel, Food Network's new channel devoted to food (of course), drinks, and travel. They've announced the lineup for the network's debut, and while some of the shows seem like something we could see on the parent network, there's enough quirky new stuff to grab your attention.

Some are using the word "edgy" to describe the new channel too, but unless they're breaking the necks of live chickens right on television, this is still just a food channel. Oh, wait, they actually are going to break chicken necks! Alrighty.

After the jump, my picks for the four shows that look the most interesting, as well as a quick rundown on what else we're going to see on the new channel.

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Five Burning Questions About the Food Network

Allison Waldman — 2010-04-05T14:08:00+00:00

Filed under: Food/Home/DIY, OpEd, Celebrities, TV Squad Lists, Reality-Free, Features, TV News

Whether it's 'The Barefoot Contessa' or 'Tyler's Ultimate,' there's a wide variety of food, cooking, chefs and experts on The Food Network. For the most part, the diversity is great and if you're a food fan -- a foodie -- you can watch FN for hours on end and be entertained. However, if you do watch for more than a few hours, especially the 'in the kitchen' programming which is all about creating dishes, there are some things that stand out -- five burning questions about the Food Network.

1. What's with the hygiene?
On nearly every cooking show, the food preparers -- whether they're an American Iron Chef like Bobby Flay or a restaurant owner/home cook like Paula Deen -- are obsessive about washing their hands. Any time they touch meat or chicken, there's a camera following them to the sink to wash hands with soap.

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Are You Ready For Another Gordon Ramsay Cooking Competition Show?

Bob Sassone — 2010-03-26T14:04:00+00:00

Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Food/Home/DIY, Programming, Features, TV Schedules

Do we really need another food competition show on television? And do we need another show that stars chef Gordon Ramsay? Neither of those questions matter because we're getting one anyway.

'Masterchef' premieres on FOX July 29. Ramsay will be the head judge on this show, along with restaurateur/wine expert Joe Bastianich and chef Graham Elliot Bowles, who will also coach the contestants. This show will feature amateur chefs who have to go through a series of challenges, with one of them becoming the winner of the competition. I know, that description could be cut and pasted into a post about seven other food competition shows on the air right now, but if something isn't broken...etc, etc.

The press release uses phrases like "follow their dream" and "unique platform" and "passion and excitement," but I don't see anything about what the exact prize will be, whether it's cash or a position at a restaurant or a set of cookware. Unless the prize is knowing that three food and wine experts declare you the winner.

Paula Deen's Getting Sued, Y'all

Danny Gallagher — 2010-03-23T18:45:00+00:00

Filed under: Food/Home/DIY, Industry, Celebrities, Reality-Free, Features, TV News

She may seem like America's sweet, down home cooking mama, but at least one grumpy Gus out there sees her as Tony Soprano's mother, at least if you read the lawsuit filed against her and her company.

Celebrity Chef Tours filed a $40 million lawsuit against the TV cook and her sons for what appears to be a breach of contract dispute.

Apparently, she was supposed to go on a 10-city tour but the promoter claims she pulled the plug on it at the last minute. The promoter also took issue with some of the "language" she used in her promotional videos, claiming they were loaded with "profanity and sexual innuendo." Did one of her tour stops include a visit to Russell Simmons' "Def Cooking Jam"?

[via Fark]

CBS Wants to Know if You Can 'Beat the Chefs'

Bob Sassone — 2010-03-18T17:02:00+00:00

Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Food/Home/DIY, Programming, Features, TV Schedules

Food competition shows seem to be popular with everyone (not just Food Network) and now CBS is getting into the act. The Tiffany Network has ordered 'Beat The Chefs,' a new reality/game show that will pit amateur cooks and their families against veteran chefs. Both will make the signature dish of the amateur and a panel of judges will decide who made it better. It sounds a little like 'Throwdown with Bobby Flay' only on a bigger scale. Winner gets a bunch of $$$$$.

I wonder if the signature dishes of these amateurs could be canned soup? What if these cooks only know how to open a can of Campbell's Chunky Soup and a package of Ritz crackers? Then the chefs could try to make soup and crackers that are better than Campbell's and Ritz but they won't be able to because they know that Campbell's and Ritz products are AWESOME and the chefs will be embarrassed on national television because they lost to supermarket products.

Chef Bobby Flay Cooks Up NBC Restaurant Show

Allison Waldman — 2010-03-14T11:19:00+00:00

Filed under: Food/Home/DIY, OpEd, Celebrities, Features, TV News

NBC is determined to get a piece of the delicious pie that's known and cooking television. While Food Network would seem to be the destination of choice for all things culinary, Bravo's had successes with 'Top Chef' and 'Top Chef Masters,' so NBC is enlisting those producers to cook up something foodie for its network that'll actually succeed. NBC has hired chef Bobby Flay to top line 'America's Next Great Restaurant,' a new food competition show to air next season.

Bobby Flay's already one of the most prolific stars at Food Network. He's on 'Iron Chef' as one of America's iron chefs, he's a judge on 'The Next Food Network Star,' and hosts (or has hosted) 'Throwdown,' 'Boy Meets Grill' and 'Grill It.' You would think he's busy enough with FN -- as well as four restaurants of his own -- but the lure of NBC has clearly gotten to him. This new show, formerly called 'United Plates of America' will likely get a major promotion by NBC.

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Jamie Oliver Getting the Sunday Slot, Acing Out 'Castle'

Danny Gallagher — 2010-03-11T19:08:00+00:00

Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Food/Home/DIY, Programming, Video, Features, TV Schedules

'Castle' might be reeling that they aren't scoring the coveted Sunday slot, but at least it's not going to some dreary rerun and maybe even a worthy cause.

'Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution,' the reality series in which the famed British chef attempts to spark change in the West Virginia city that the Centers for Disease Control named the unhealthiest in America, will air on Sunday, March 21 in the 10 p.m. slot followed by repeats and new episodes every Friday.

The show mirrors his attempt to revamp the British school food program. This time, it chronicles the chef's attempt to "plant the seed" of change in Huntington, W.V., the same town that scorned his help and drove him to the brink of tears. Here's just a taste of the town's reaction to his offer to help. I'm shocked that the guy in this clip was spitting hamburger crumbs at Jamie as he refused to eat "lettuce".

Anthony Bourdain Guests on 'Yo Gabba Gabba!' Really!

Joel Keller — 2010-02-24T16:38:00+00:00

Filed under: Food/Home/DIY, OpEd, Video, Children, Reality-Free, Features

It's not a stretch to say that anyone who's watched Anthony Bourdain on his various cable shows has either wanted to be his drinking buddy or slug him right in the mouth, a feeling that usually changes from hour to hour.

He reminds me of those friends I had in college who would stop listening to bands the second their videos were played on '120 Minutes' or they somehow made it past the confines of college radio. But at the same time, the guy seems like he'd be fun as hell to hang out with, where a visit with him always ensured you of great food, great drink, and great conversation.

So it's with great amusement that I give you the following clip, which is Bourdain playing "Doctor Tony" on Nickelodeon's fantastically trippy kids' show 'Yo Gabba Gabba!'. It's a preview of his guest stint, which is set to air on March 10:

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TLC Orders 'Cupcake Sisters'

Bob Sassone — 2010-02-12T11:28:00+00:00

Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Food/Home/DIY, Pickups and Renewals, Features, TV News

Who would have thought, even ten years ago, that we would have so many shows on TV right now that either have "cake" in the title or are about people who make cakes and other desserts? We have 'Cake Boss' and 'Ace of Cakes' and 'Ultimate Cake Off' and various shows where little people make chocolates, and it's all beginning to get a little out of hand. Talk about a specific genre.

And now there's more coming, only with smaller cakes. The Hollywood Reporter says that TLC has ordered 6 episodes of 'Cupcake Sisters.'

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Food Network Chef Gets Cooked by the Cops

Danny Gallagher — 2010-02-10T18:02:00+00:00

Filed under: Food/Home/DIY, Celebrities, Reality-Free, Features, TV News

It seems that one of the stars of the Food Networks' "Worst Chefs in America" is also one of America's worst drivers.

Beau MacMillan, one of the show's stars, told TMZ that he got nabbed by the fuzz in Arizona over the weekend on an outstanding warrant for an unpaid traffic ticket.

He claimed he was pulled over for failing to stop at a red light and when police ran his driver's license, they found a warrant attached to his record. MacMillan said the warrant was for an unpaid ticket caught by a traffic enforcement camera, but he never received the ticket because he had moved to a new address. He also missed his court date because he was in New York filming for his show. So get ready for Food Network's newest show, "Worst Chefs in America's Penal System."

I love Sandra Lee but not her new show

Bob Sassone — 2010-01-25T17:27:00+00:00

Filed under: Food/Home/DIY, OpEd, Celebrities, Reality-Free, Features, TV News

Before I go any further I want to say that this isn't another one of those Sandra Lee-bashing articles. I actually like her. Semi-Homemade Cooking is one of my favorite Food Network shows. Having said that, I have a lot of problems with her new (or should I say new-ish) show Money Saving Meals.

I mean, seriously, does this show need to exist? I know times are tough for a lot of families right now, but I don't think that we need to figure out our meals to the point where we know how much each serving costs when we cook the meal for our family. She's always talking about how each serving "only cost $1.07" or "if you buy this you'll save 22 cents!"

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Things I Hate About TV: Designers' Challenge on HGTV

Bob Sassone — 2010-01-22T20:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Food/Home/DIY, OpEd, Things I Hate About TV, Reality-Free, Features

I went through a very long period when I was rather addicted to the design and makeover shows on HGTV. I loved shows like Design on a Dime and Divine Design and that show where the woman shows you how to take an old hobby horse and recondition it so it can be used as a wine rack.

I don't watch them half as much as I used to, but I still like them. They're shows that actually show us how we can redo our rooms and homes easily and without spending a ton of money. I find shows like that useful. I might not do exactly what the hosts say, but they always give me ideas for something I might want to do in my own place.

I can't say that same about Designers' Challenge though. I think this might be the worst show on HGTV, and here's why.

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Overweight Americans say no to Jamie Oliver

Bob Sassone — 2010-01-20T16:02:00+00:00

Filed under: Food/Home/DIY, Celebrities, Reality-Free, Features, TV News

According to statistics, over half the people who live in Hungtington, WV are officially obese. But that doesn't mean they want to eat better.

British chef Jamie Oliver has a new series for ABC starting in March titled Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, and as part of the show Oliver wanted to help the people of Huntington eat healthier and lose weight. The people had other plans. They said no to his help, which actually caused Oliver to cry. One radio person in the area actually said "we don't want to sit around and eat lettuce all day," which I'm sure is exactly what Oliver was proposing.

I'd love to hear the complete story about this. Was Oliver really pushed away from the town with pitchforks and torches, or did they simply not want to participate in the show? And did schoolkids really think that potatoes were tomatoes??

You know what I had for dinner last night? Nachos.

And now, another exciting episode of Martha Stewart: Pole Dancer

Bob Sassone — 2010-01-20T13:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Food/Home/DIY, Daytime, Video, Celebrities, Reality-Free, Features, TV News

All of you people searching for "Martha Stewart" and "pole dancing" on Google finally have the video you've been looking for. She took to the pole (a sentence I hope I never have to type again) on her syndicated show. And yes, that's L.A. Law's Sheila Kelley with Martha. She instructs people on how to do this exercise (and she's married to The West Wing's Richard Schiff).

Jennifer Garner is no friend of Ina Garten's

Bob Sassone — 2010-01-04T17:04:00+00:00

Filed under: Food/Home/DIY, Celebrities, Reality-Free, Features, TV News

So Jennifer Garner contacted the people at The Barefoot Contessa, saying she was a big fan and she'd like to be on the show. And they turned her down!

Ina Garten says that she won't have the former Alias star on the show because she only has real friends on the show with her. I actually have to admire that. A lot of shows would jump at the chance to have any sort of TV or movie celebrity on, just to get some buzz or ratings or celebrity gravitas. It's refreshing that Garten sees the phoniness behind that and actually has people on the show that she knows. I guess Garner has to get to know her first and then they can make soup together.

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Here's what worries me about Worst Cooks in America

Bob Sassone — 2010-01-03T15:00:00+00:00

Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Food/Home/DIY, Features

Tonight at 10, Food Network's 10,000th food competition show debuts. It's called The Worst Cooks in America, and it's hosted by Anne Burrell and Beau MacMillan. I have a big problem with it, and it's not just that it's the 10,000th food competition show on Food Network (OK, maybe I have two problems with it).

Here's the set-up: ten horrible cooks compete in a ten week "boot camp," and whoever improves the most gets $25,000. That sounds like a lot of fun, right? We all know people who can't cook, and if they're trying to cook something a little bit more complex than canned soup, it could be entertaining.

But here's my question: what's to stop these people from lying?

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Food Network and HGTV pulled off Cablevision in Northeast

Allison Waldman — 2010-01-02T10:31:00+00:00

Filed under: Food/Home/DIY, Industry, OpEd, Cable/Satellite, Reality-Free, Features, TV News

Repeat after me, "I want my Food Network, I want my HGTV!" That's what the disgruntled Cablevision subscribers might be shouting soon if Scripps Networks and Cablevision don't reach a deal on fees.

As of 12:01 on New Year's Day, three million TV subscribers in suburban New York, New Jersey and Connecticut were shocked that Food Network and DIY and HGTV and all the Scripps networks were off Cablevision.

I don't know how the corporate folks feel about this kind of negotiation, but as a TV viewer I think it sucks. I used to live in that market and if I was expecting to watch Food Network, I would expect to see it.

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Slashfood picks the ten greatest cooking shows of all-time

Bob Sassone — 2009-12-31T18:01:00+00:00

Filed under: Food/Home/DIY, Web, Reality-Free, Features

I'm sort of a cooking show geek. I can watch Martha Stewart bake a pie or Alton Brown explain how a convection oven works any time of the day, even two in the morning. And it's not like I just started watching cooking shows in the past several years because it was hip to do so, I've been watching them since I was a kid. I was rather addicted to The French Chef and The Galloping Gourmet when I was younger.

Both shows make it to our sister site Slashfood's list of the ten greatest cooking shows of all-time.

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