the next food network star

A week ago -- in TV time -- Melissa D'Arabian was crowned the winner of The Next Food Network Star. Presto-chango and one week later, her new show debuted on The Food Network, called Ten Dollar Dinners with Melissa D'Arabian. That wasn't the concept she was talking about during the competition, but within hours of last Sunday's finale, FN had decided that this would be the format for Melissa.

It was with a lot of curiosity that I checked out the debut of Ten Dollar Dinners. Would Melissa be able to adapt her "kitchen survival guide" and perky homemaker style to a skin flint, sawbuck a dinner concept? Would the personality -- that the judges harped on wanting to see -- come out in a slickly-made premiere episode?

If you watched the finale of The Next Food Network Star, you know that homemaker, non-pro cook Melissa D'Arabian was the big winner. Hopefully, you really, really like Melissa and not just the pilot she created for the competition, Kitchen Survival Guide, because Food Network has shucked the concept.

That's right, less than 24 hours after cleaning up the confetti, Ms. D'Arabian was handed a new show with a new angle. The title will be Ten Dollar Dinners with Melissa D'Arabian.

Don't mess with Mom in the kitchen. Melissa d'Arabian, a mother of four young daughters from Texas, won the title of the 'Next Food Network Star' in last night's season 5 finale. She beat out frontrunner and fellow finalist Jeffrey Saad of Los Angeles.

In the finale, both contestants debuted their pilot presentations. After viewing them, the judges -- star chef Bobby Flay and Food Network executives Bob Tuschman and Susie Fogelson -- declared this to be the most difficult decision in the five seasons of the series.

Jacob at FoodNetworkAddict.com has come up with five good reasons why he thinks Melissa Darabian will win The Next Food Network Star when the competition wraps next Sunday. His points are well thought out, especially the one that suggests that Melissa's journey on the show has been dramatically edited to make her seem like an underdog who has now emerged as a dynamic player. However, I'm banking on Jeffrey Saad to win. Here's my five reasons:

1. The likability factor
Since the opening episode, there hasn't been a more attractive and likable competitor on The Next Food Network Star. Jeffrey makes viewers feel comfortable, like a Tom Selleck or James Garner, and when you're talking about TV personalities, that's the most important asset. Jeffrey would be welcomed on TVs in living rooms -- and kitchens -- around the country.

'Grey's Anatomy,' 'The Office' and 'American Idol' may be over, but the 2009 TV season is just heating up.

We're giving you the lowdown on all of this summer's hottest returning shows -- 'Mad Men,' 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' and 'The Closer,' just to name a few -- to keep TV fans cooking over the next three months.

Check out all the big returning shows in our 2009 Summer TV gallery.

Thanks Chef Michael Symon, but your services are no longer needed on Dinner: Impossible. Yes, he's been given the pink slip because it seems the folks at Food Network realize that they may have acted a bit rashly when they changed chefs last April. The Food Network has rehired Robert Irvine and will reinstate him as the host of Dinner: Impossible.

Apparently, fudging his resume wasn't quite the high crime and misdemeanor it was made out to be. In fact, the network's dramatic reversal is proof positive that Dinner: Impossible has not been the same show with Chef Robert.

It's easier to forgive Irvine for padding his credits -- including facts like cooking for the Queen and preparing meals at the White House -- than it was to find as charismatic a star to anchor the weekly show.

Even though Food Network has had a few hiccups lately especially on The Next Food Network Star, I'm happy to see that the execs still can spot talent when it crosses their path. I watched the finale of The Next Food Network Star and saw Aaron McCargo Jr. win the title and then caught his new show Big Daddy's House. He was excellent and far more relaxed and appealing than he was on the competition show.

In fact, in the finale episode, I was more impressed with one of the two contestants that didn't win, Adam Gertler. Now Food Network is giving Gertler his own show. The program is called Will Work for Food and it's going to be premiering on September 30 on Food Network.

A couple of week's ago, I noticed -- and ranted here -- about the Food Network showing a promo for the penultimate (or nearly penultimate) episode of The Next Food Network Star which revealed who would be eliminated in the show that I was viewing. It seemed like bad form to me, but some people defended FN and advised me to get a DVR and use it. Just to be clear, I have two and use them extensively. This was a case where I was watching a rebroadcast a day after the airing, commercials and all. My point was that FN should know better than to schedule a promo for that reveals so much about the show you're watching even on a rebroadcast.

Anyway, now it turns out that Food Network has made yet another flub that's spoiled the surprise of The Next Food Network Star reveal. This one occurred on their web site. D Magazine reported that a week before the finale of the competition reality show, video interviews with the three finalists were broadcast on the web site and the winner was clearly indicated. In case you have the finale on your DVR and haven't watched it yet, The Next Food Network Star will be shown after the jump.

The Food Network is one of my favorite channels, I admit it. I can tune in just about anytime and enjoy Ace of Cakes or Good Eats or Boy Meets Grill or Paula Deen, whatever. Generally speaking, they seem to have a good, consistent and enjoyable programming package.

Okay, that's what's good about FN. Now for the sour to go with the sweet. Last night I was catching up with The Next Food Network Star, watching the second showing of the reality competition show because I wasn't able to watch the original broadcast. No big deal, right? Wrong!

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?

Okay, I admit it. I like reality TV. Or maybe I should say unscripted TV. These days the parsing of the term "reality" has become as much a discussion as the genre itself. And don't kill me for calling it a genre. It is. It's here to stay. As long as producers can come up with ideas that make money and networks give them air time, reality/non-fiction/unscripted television is going to continue to proliferate the tube.

It's not with any great pride that I admit I'm hooked on reality shows -- some reality shows. My favorites include the high quality, classy shows, like The Amazing Race and Top Chef and Project Runway, as well as trashy ones, i.e. The Real Housewives of Orange County (and New York), Hell's Kitchen and Bridezillas. I like some of the competition-oriented shows, but that doesn't stop me from gazing in astonishment at the train wreck docu-series like Hey Paula and Being Bobby Brown. In fact, when I hear Kathy Griffin riffing on those shows -- her imitation of Whitney screaming "Bobby!" is classic -- I want to cry out, "Yes, yes, I watch that one, too."
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