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.

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.

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!"

This was not what I was expecting.

I don't think I've ever been as confused by a TV show while I was actually watching it. Maybe because Gordon Ramsay's Cookalong was live or maybe it was because Chef Gordon Ramsay had to move at such a frantic pace to get everything done in an hour.

Whatever the reason, I found myself hating the show at first, then kinda liking it, then hating, then liking it, then finding it a little stupid, and then kinda liking it. On a scale of 1 to 10, which 1 being "I hated it" and 10 being "I loved it," I'll give it a 5.

How's that for a politician-like decision?

TV viewers who only know Kitchen Nightmares from the FOX version might be surprised by the original UK version. Sure, he gets ticked off and swears in the UK version (and some of the swears are unbleeped!), but it's also a quieter, more serious show than the FOX version. Ramsay narrates himself, unlike the FOX version which uses a Hell's Kitchen-like narrator and approach that is more loud and abrasive.

Last night was the season premiereon BBC America. What did you think?

So last night was the big battle between Chef Garces and Chef Mehta, the two finalists on Food Network's Next Iron Chef with two very different cooking styles. I didn't watch much of this season, but judging from last night's episode I wish I had. Jeffrey Steingarten is one of my favorite judges, and it's interesting to see other iron chefs in the judging chairs.

Did the right chef win?

The only things I know about umami comes from those Kikkoman commecials, the ones that talk about umami being the fifth taste (after sweet, salty, sour, and bitter). Last night's Next Iron Chef was all about that, and they even had Iron Chef Morimoto as a judge.

What did you think? The show is down to its final three contestants. Can you picture one of them standing next to other Iron Chefs like Morimoto, Flay, Cora, Batali, and Symon in Kitchen Stadium?

For Top Chef fans, especially the ones disapointed by Top Chef Masters, tonight is a big night. It's the premiere of Top Chef: Las Vegas, when we get back to the regular version of the show. Here's a preview of the first episode (and you can meet the contestants and see more previews here).

I could probably write something about politics, sex, healthcare, education, or religion and it wouldn't be as controversial as what I'm about to say: Anthony Bourdain is wrong and Sandra Lee is right.

If you haven't been keeping track of the things Bourdain has been saying about the Food Network host, here's a quick summary. Bourdain wrote some unkind things about Lee and her Semi-Homemade Show (and some other Food Network hosts) a couple of years ago. Among other things he called her "pure evil," a "hell spawn," and said "she must be stopped." Ouch. There's also this video of Bourdain at a food festival dumping on Lee, and now Bourdain has written on his blog about his recent brief encounter with Lee. at the premiere of Julie & Julia.

So we're down to two.

One thing that I was wondering while watching this episode was ... is Emeril Lagasse even on Food Network anymore? I know there are repeats of his shows still running, but I wasn't aware that he was still doing new things (his show now airs on Fine Living).

It seems like The Next Food Network Star just started, but here we are already down to the final four contestants. One of these people - Jamika, Melissa, Jeffrey, or Debbie - is going to have their own show on the channel. The season finale is only three episodes away. Who do you think is going to win? Who do you think should win?

Every single season - hell, every single episode - the dramatic announcer of Hell's Kitchen tells us that "this will be the most explosive episode of Hell's Kitchen ever!" or "for the first time on Hell's Kitchen..." But this season, all of those proclamations might actually be true.

Of course, that's not necessarily a good thing, because it could easily turn into The Real World or Big Brother and be more about the confrontations and the personality conflicts than the actual cooking and choosing of a chef. I mean, in the first two episodes alone there are more confrontations and yelling and accusations and fisticuffs - yes, fisticuffs - than in whole seasons of other cooking reality shows.

We're really down to the nitty-gritty on The Next Food Network Star. After tonight's elimination, we're down to four contestants, and just think: one of them is going to have their own show on Food Network.

None of these people strike me as having the presence of a Guy Fieri, but he was raw once too so maybe one of these people will really shine in the next few weeks and the coming months.

Top Chef Masters returns to Bravo tonight (after a week off), but some fans aren't into this more "professional" edition of the reality show and are waiting patiently (or maybe not too patiently) for the "real" Top Chef to return. You only have about six more weeks to wait.

Top Chef Las Vegas will premiere on August 26. According to the press release, we're going to see a lot of stars in this season too (only not as contestants, of course), including Penn & Teller, Todd English, Natalie Portman, Wolfgang Puck, Charlie Palmer, Daniel Bouland, and Nigella Lawson. Padma Lakshmi will be back as host, along with judges Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons, and Toby Young (who a lot of fans don't seem to like that much, at least in his role here).

This could be a very fun season, considering what Las Vegas is like (as famous now for its restaurants as its gambling).

No, the next Food Network star isn't going to be Rachael Ray. She already has several shows on the network. "Rachael Ray" was the title of last night's episode, as the remaining contestants had to go on her show and do a team cooking presentation.

Does someone know if this episode is going to air or will it air when new episodes of the show start up again? It would be weird for the episode to air after the winner of NFNS is crowned.