giada de laurentis

The panel on 'The View' (weekdays, syndicated on ABC) tried to do a little talking with their mouths full today when Bobby Flay and Giada De Laurentiis dropped by with plates of cupcakes. The pair were there to talk about food, and more specifically, 'The Next Food Network Star,' on which they both judge.

Over De Laurentiis's mac and cheese cupcakes and Flay's gingerbread cupcakes, they talked about what makes a good Food Network personality. "They need to do two really basic things," said Flay, "and it sounds easy but it's really hard. They need to be able to cook and talk to the camera at the same time."

Flay said the contestants may have learned what's coming from watching previous seasons of 'Star,' but once they actually get in front of the camera and have to produce, it's a whole new layer of pressure.

If you think this image of french fries looks delicious and appetizing, this post is for you.

There are so many cooking shows and food competition shows, everything from Hell's Kitchen to Top Chef to Man v. Food, but there's a new one that started up recently that I'm really, really enjoying. Maybe because it's just about the joy of eating! Whatever the reason, The Best Thing I Ever Ate is a winner.

Are Today Show viewers - even the most loyal Today Show viewers - asking for a fourth hour of the show every single day?

Looks that way. As we reported earlier, NBC is going ahead with their plans for a fourth hour of the morning show, and Broadcasting & Cable is reporting that the hosts have been named: Ann Curry, Natalie Morales, and Hoda Kotb. Giada De Laurentis and Tiki Barber will be correspondents on the show.

I assume that NBC has done some sort of market research that pushes them in this direction, but as a viewer I'm kind of nauseated. Look at all that TV space that's being taken up by having four hours of Today on Monday through Friday (and another two hours each on Saturday and Sunday). Yikes.

[via TV Newser]