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Did Penny Sabotage Mary Beth on 'Food Network Star'? (VIDEO)
Mary Beth Albright knew she was in for trouble as soon as she saw Penny Davidi was going to be her sous-chef on 'Food Network Star' (Sundays, 9PM on the Food Network). She laughed when she drew the name, but it seemed more nervous than happy.Albright said having Davidi as a sous-chef would be "highly distracting," and she was right. The judges were all distracted by Davidi's snail pace, as was Albright. "At this point, Penny is costing me more time than she is saving me," said Albright. The judges asked Alton Brown to talk to Davidi. "Do you normally work at this kind of leisurely pace?" he said. Davidi reacted with mock surprise, and said she was being methodical, not leisurely. "You know, it seemed leisurely, which in Kitchen Stadium, often results in losing," said Brown.
He was right. Albright did wind up leaving 'Food Network Star,' no thanks to Davidi. Fans of the show, do you think Davidi deliberately sabotaged Albright? Let us know in the comments.
Alton Brown Shows Kelly Ripa the Ropes of 'Iron Chef' Judging (VIDEO)
Apparently there's more to being an 'Iron Chef' judge than looking thoughtful while chewing and saying that you like, or dislike, someone's food. That's what Kelly Ripa learned Thursday on 'Live With Regis and Kelly' (weekdays, syndicated), when 'Iron Chef America' host Alton Brown coached her on the lingo and a few rules of food judging.Rule number one? "Do not taste hungry," said Brown. "Because if you're hungry when you sit down at this table, whatever they give you first will taste the best. Make sure you snack before you come to the table." Rule number two? "Taste after everybody else tastes," said Brown. "While you're eating, the judges will be making comments that you can disagree with, and that always makes you look smarter."
Alton Brown calls Top Chef a "sous chef kind of show"... then takes it back
Given the popularity of the second-season opener of The Next Iron Chef, I figured it was a good time to pull out this interview I did with the show's host, Alton Brown, at the network's TCA party in July. It was definitely the tastiest party of the tour, as each Iron Chef contestant plied the critics with delectable morsels of their creativity at various stations. In a bit of a surprise, one of the contestants, Amanda Freitag, was being assisted by her friend Ariane Duarte, one of the more popular contestants from rival program Top Chef's New York season (I was so flabbergasted by the turn of events, I snapped a pic of the two with my cell phone). When I pointed this tidbit out to Brown, his response was very interesting...
The Next Iron Chef is sizzling

Even though I watch a lot of programming on the Food Network, I have to admit I missed almost all of the The Next Iron Chef in season one. Last Sunday, the second season of The Next Iron Chef blasted off with the best ratings for a series opener in Food Network history. Over two million viewers, a 1.1 rating among adults 25-54.
Why the big jump? Well, I think a lot of other people are like me. On Sunday, before I switched over to watch pro football, I clicked on Food Network where they were showing a marathon rerun of the first season of The Next Iron Chef. It only took half an episode for me to kick myself for not having watched the whole first season when it aired. It was terrific.
VIDEO: Alton Brown Dishes About 'Next Iron Chef,' Kitchen Gadgets & More
The title of Iron Chef is not something the Food Network takes lightly, which is why they gather only the best chefs from around the world to compete to become 'The Next Iron Chef.'As host, commentator and all around cooking guru on 'Iron Chef America,' Alton Brown has seen it all in Kitchen Stadium. Leading the reality competition once again for season 2 (premeires Sun., Oct. 4, 9PM ET on Food Network), Brown opened up exclusively to AOL TV about what it takes to win the title. "We're looking for something very specific," Brown admits. "We're looking for people that can tell stories with their food."
But how does he always know what the chefs are cooking up to tell those stories? (Something about pattern recognition.) And would he ever compete on 'Iron Chef' himself? (This question gets a big laugh out of him.) Lastly, I had to know -- after touting the usefulness of so many kitchen gadgets on his other hit show, 'Good Eats,' what's his favorite multi-tasking tool? (Panini, anyone?)
Click here to watch the full interview ...
Food Network Star runner-up gets a show, too!
Remember how in Miss America, the emcee would always say that in the event that Miss America cannot fulfill her duties, the first runner up would step in? Apparently that's how it works with The Next Food Network Star, too. Just three weeks after Melissa D'Arabian was declared the winner, her number one challenger -- the guy who placed second -- Jeffrey Saad has been given his own show. It's not on the network, but it's a show nonetheless. According to Food Network honcho Bob Tuschman's blog, Jeffrey Saad will be doing a mini-series on the web site -- exclusively for now -- called The Spice Smuggler. The premise is based on the Alton Brown directed pilot that Jeffrey presented in the finale of The Next Food Network Star.
Alton Brown jumps off the asphalt and into the water in new series
Over the last two years Food Network's Alton Brown has taken to America's roads less traveled in the Feasting on Asphalt series in order to find the little known jewels that were left behind as the Interstates began to rule the country. Along the way, Alton and his crew dined on alligator, various pieces of pig that are not normally consumed by the general public, sweet bread sandwiches, and lots and lots of doughnuts. Now, filled with fried dough and cow brains, Alton has decided to get off of his motorcycle and see what other delicacies are out there in warm waters of the Caribbean.
Ted Allen to host new show for Food Network
It sounds like the Food Network has finally come up with a show that will compliment Alton Brown's Peabody-award winner Good Eats. The foodiest member of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Ted Allen, has signed to host Food Detectives, a new Food Network series. Starting Tuesday, July 29th at 9 o'clock ET, the half-hour show will begin illuminating the world about the stuff we eat. They will be "pulling back the curtain and revealing the answers to some of the most puzzling food mysteries."Actually, the concept is kind of like a Mythbusters for food. Ted will host the show and folks from Popular Science Magazine will provide the expertise. For instance, does an apple a day keep the doctor away? What about baked beans, do they really give you gas? If not, what's Beano going to do with all those commercials and product?
Feasting On Asphalt: The River Run - DVD Review
Alton Brown is a unique commodity on Food Network. In an environment where most of the action is in front of the stove or above the cutting board, Brown's Good Eats takes us beyond that. Sometimes it's to the origins of the food or the recipe; other times it's into the science of how all of the ingredients of a particular combination of foods work together. He does this with a bit of nerdiness, a bit of hipness, and a good amount of humor.
When he took his love for food on the road in the first Feasting on Asphalt it produced a very successful mini-series that showed the non-corporate side of America's eateries. It also showed us some of the small cities and towns, and their personalities, that we don't normally see off of the interstate at our Applebee's booth.
Now, his second series of Asphalt is out on DVD. While not as fresh as the first series (and, what is the second time around?) it is still a fascinating look into the America that has been nearly forgotten as the corporations took over the country. You'll want to savor this journey because, frankly, that's about all there is in this 3-DVD set.
Oui, Wii! Iron Chef: America becomes a video game
Here's a video game that promises to slice up the competition. A cut above. It will serve up a dish full of fun for gamers everywhere. It'll be... All right, you get it. Food cliches. Chop-chop. But, seriously, in a marriage between the Food Network and United Media, Iron Chef: America is coming to the home market. Destineer today announced plans to publish the video game Iron Chef America: Supreme Cuisine exclusively for the Wii system and Nintendo DS. It's based on the popular food network competition show, which in turn is based on the original Iron Chef in Japan, produced by Fuji Television.Chef Irvine gets axed
Remember when you were young and your parents told you things like "cheaters never prosper"? Well, it's true. (All right, not all the time, but at least this time!) As TV Squad reported recently, Chef Robert Irvine, star of Food Network's Dinner: Impossible, has been hoist on his own petard. Now that the truth is out -- that he lied and padded his resume -- the network has dumped him. His fire has been extinguished. Dinner: Impossible will go on, but not with Chef Irvine as chief cook and chef extraordinaire. Food Network president Brooke Johnson said in a statement, "We appreciate Robert's remorse about his actions, and we can revisit this decision at the end of the production cycle, but for now we will be looking for a replacement host."
Food Network wants three more years of Alton Brown
The Food Network is making headlines lately! They have not renewed Emeril Lagasse's nightly Live show and recently declined carrying Mario Batali's new series. So, who does the Food Network want? Apparently, they want Alton Brown who they just signed to a three year deal. Brown will continue to host Iron Chef America, continue to produce and host his show Good Eats, and he's getting a new show called Feasting on Waves (a follow-up to Feasting on Asphalt). Why so much Alton? The Food Network is aggressively pushing for a younger audience. Bob Tuschman, Senior VP, said that their campaign is working citing that the average age of the network's audience dropped from 50 in 2003 to 46 in 2007. Wow, what a big drop! (Note the sarcasm.)
Celebrities pick their favorite movies for TCM
Turner Classic Movies has asked several well-known celebrities to pick their favorite movies, which will be shown every night throughout November, and I have to say I'm very impressed with their picks.
Some of the choices fit the celeb. For example, Martha Stewart picked Enchanted April, Madame Bovary, Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, and Anna Karenina, which you can imagine Martha watching at home, a bowl of popcorn in her lap (and critiquing the job Mr. Blandings did), and James Ellroy's picks (Stakeout On Dope Street, The Lineup, Armored Car Robbery, and Murder By Contract) stay along the lines of his noir/mystery background. But a few picks are interesting. Access Hollywood co-host Maria Menounos picked the 1932 cult classic Freaks, and Food Network icon Alton Brown picked the Lee Marvin classic Point Blank. As for non-human celebs, Kermit The Frog picked Singin' in the Rain and The Band Wagon.
Alton Brown feasts on more asphalt starting this weekend
Food uber-nerd Alton Brown is heading back on the road starting this weekend in a new series of Feasting on Asphalt adventures. However, instead of traversing the back-roads of America like he did in last year's series, Alton will be going up the river.
The Mississippi River, to be precise. In Feasting on Asphalt 2: The River Run, premiering August 4th at 9:00 pm on The Food Network, the host of Good Eats and his cast of not many journey the length of Mightily Mississip in search of honest to goodness road food. They begin their adventure at the mouth of the Gulf of Mexico, stopping along the way to dine on crawfish, alligator, fried chicken, chicken livers, tamales, donuts and authentic home-cooked favorites.
What's On Tonight: Jericho, Crossing Jordan, Mythbusters, Sherlock Holmes
At 8, ABC has a new George Lopez. - CBS has a new Jericho at 8.
- NBC has new episodes of Dateline, Crossing Jordan, and Medium.
- There's a new American Idol on FOX at 8, followed by the premiere of The Wedding Bells.
- The CW has a new America's Next Top Model at 8.
- TNT has an ER marathon starting at 8.
- At 9, HGTV has a new Design on a Dime.
- Discovery has a new Mythbusters at 9.
- More marathons: TCM has a Sherlock Holmes movie marathon starting at 9 (the ones with Basi Rathbone and Nigel Bruce).
- At 10, ABC has a new Lost.
- Food Network has a new Good Eats at 10, then a new Dinner: Impossible.
- Comedy Central has a new South Park at 10, then a new Sarah Silverman Program.
Check your local TV listings for more.
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