Food Network in the Media

[backformore]

I wonder if FN put him on radio silence in light of his previous social media efforts.

Yeah, I wonder if the network execs saw what a disaster his online presence has been, and want time to 're-brand' him. It could be part of his contract that they own his image, and he can't do anything without approval from the network.

Of course, th e y can't stop family members from doing whatever they want.

[GaT]

Maybe Lenny is just freaked out by all the bad reactions to his previous posts & videos? He filmed the show & life was the same as it always was, but then when it aired & things became public & so many people hated what he had posted previously that he couldn't handle it. I've never been on a reality show, but I would guess that knowing in your head that strangers will know who you are, & the reality of strangers knowing who you are is pretty unnerving, especially if so much of the attention is negative.

[LazyToaster]

I think FN probably couldn't let him go to the NY Food & Wine show (hope I called it the right thing) because it was too soon after all the negative attention.

I also wouldn't be surprised if the real FN stars didn't say keep him away from us! Imagine being them and having to play nice, act like everything is fine, pose for pictures, all with Chef Weird Lenny!

[chessiegal]

I'd think FN could "give" Lenny an out and say that because of personal obligations he wasn't able to do the show. They've tanked people for less than what is out there about him. But then, I don't think it got the media attention that others did. I'm interested in seeing what happens.

[Intuition]

Back to being a sleuth again - Just for giggles I searched for Lenny's name on one of those people search sites and found out that he has had two criminal traffic arrests in 2005 and 2009 in North Carolina and I think Florida.  Don't know what they were for but it sounds like it could be DWI.  Man, even just from what I have found on this guy with very little effort you would think FN would have seen the red flags waving....

[howmanywords]

Lenny posted earlier today on that he's going away for 2 1/2 months hunting. He's silent for weeks and he chooses to post only to say he's going away? Gosh I can see how much FN is itching to get his show ready to start filming!

[cooksdelight]

Where do you go to hunt for that long of a time? Deer season in most places is only a few weeks. Same with any other critter. Something is up, since his show should be in the can by now, ready to air sometime this fall.

[chessiegal]

So Lenny's mother has cancer and family and friend are posting about raising money, and all he has to say is he's going camping for several months? What a son! This is all very strange. I'm hoping FN has ditched him.

[xaxat]

It sure doesn't look like FN is rushing to embrace him as the newest member of their "family".

 

It's one thing that FN hasn't been able to produce a star out of this show since Guy, but between Lenny and Justin, they are apparently having troubles producing a single show featuring the winner. 

Edited September 13, 2014 by xaxat

[cooksdelight]

Jeff Mauro was nominated for an Emmy last year for his show, The Sandwich King. I think that puts him in "star" territory.

[chessiegal]

Last year's winner, Damaris Phillips, is starting her 3rd season end of October.

[Intuition]

His mother just got out of the hospital from breast cancer and he makes a schticky post about going hunting like he's still "in character".  Plus it's his first post anywhere since winning.  This ass knows nothing about how to handle his public image.  I still think the guy is certifiable.  I hope Food Network puts him on the next stagecoach to nowhere.

[howmanywords]

Not only did Sandwich King get an Emmy nod (the only FNS show winner since Guy to accomplish that) but Jeff is still regularly seen on FN, not only on SK but the popular The Kitchen and he's often used as a judge on other shows.  They may not find another Guy megastar but they should be so lucky to even find another Jeff...especially considering the ass they got stuck with this year.

[Intuition]

Guy didn't become a megastar either overnight and Jeff is rapidly going places with the network so I hope he will one day eclipse Guy.  That network needs less of Guy by now and it seems like most of the public agrees from what I read on comment boards.

[cooksdelight]

Guy was the only one nominated for an Emmy this year, for DDD, so there's that.

[Aquarius]

Maybe it's me, or maybe it was the Paula Deen thing, but it seems like I heard a lot more about Damaris after she won FNS than I am hearing about Lenny.  I refuse to look him up though (I get my updates here), so maybe I am just missing the buzz.  But it seems so strange to me . . . all I've seen is one interview about the win . . . then nothing.  Knowing what I do about his online presence it just seems weird.  I wonder.

[JTMacc99]

2 1/2 months, eh?

 

If there is a grain of truth to that statement, and I have no reason to believe anything he says, it would be that he's not currently scheduled to do anything for the Food Network.

 

But until I see an actual statement from the network itself, I don't think I can make a decent guess about what is going on with Lenny.  It sure looks and feels like they're putting him in the freezer for now, and his fate will either to be defrosted at some point in the future or just left there until he can be tossed out quietly.

[RealityGal]

Maybe it's me, or maybe it was the Paula Deen thing, but it seems like I heard a lot more about Damaris after she won FNS than I am hearing about Lenny.  I refuse to look him up though (I get my updates here), so maybe I am just missing the buzz.  But it seems so strange to me . . . all I've seen is one interview about the win . . . then nothing.  Knowing what I do about his online presence it just seems weird.  I wonder.

 

 

2 1/2 months, eh?

 

If there is a grain of truth to that statement, and I have no reason to believe anything he says, it would be that he's not currently scheduled to do anything for the Food Network.

 

But until I see an actual statement from the network itself, I don't think I can make a decent guess about what is going on with Lenny.  It sure looks and feels like they're putting him in the freezer for now, and his fate will either to be defrosted at some point in the future or just left there until he can be tossed out quietly.

 

i would imagine its a tough position for FN.  I would think (and its all supposition really) that they would want to capitalize on the success of the winner of FNS by starting the pilot right away and airing it as soon as possible. But at this point, with all the bad press around Lenny, they would do better to give people a chance to forget about all the negative stuff, so maybe thats why they put him on the back burner.  The only thing that stinks about that, is that people are also going to forget about whatever made them like Lenny in the first place, and I think they will be much less invested in watching his show.

[Bella]

i would imagine its a tough position for FN.  I would think (and its all supposition really) that they would want to capitalize on the success of the winner of FNS by starting the pilot right away and airing it as soon as possible. But at this point, with all the bad press around Lenny, they would do better to give people a chance to forget about all the negative stuff, so maybe thats why they put him on the back burner.  The only thing that stinks about that, is that people are also going to forget about whatever made them like Lenny in the first place, and I think they will be much less invested in watching his show.

 

Not to absolve Lenny of his responsibility for this fiasco, but the FN has to address their own failings here. Their vetting process is evidently worse than useless, for example. And this was a pretty weak cast. They ought to shake up their judging trio while they're at it - kick out LBH or Alton and bring in a past winner, for example. Just not Guy Fieri, because I refuse to watch him.

[cooksdelight]

Jeff Mauro would be an excellent judge and mentor, I think. He's one of the more successful of past winners. NO to Melissa, she's saturated FN enough already. Would be great if they could snag Amanda Frietag for the female perspective. She's calm, a true working chef, and she can be fair but firm.

Instead of casting these shows with people who've already appeared on other shows or have blogs, YouTube cooking classes, they should go back to spending a little more time looking at submitted tapes or doing live auditions. They do some, but not enough, and I doubt many who stand in line all day for those actually ever get before someone in a decision-making position.

[RealityGal]

Not to absolve Lenny of his responsibility for this fiasco, but the FN has to address their own failings here. Their vetting process is evidently worse than useless, for example. And this was a pretty weak cast. They ought to shake up their judging trio while they're at it - kick out LBH or Alton and bring in a past winner, for example. Just not Guy Fieri, because I refuse to watch him.

 

 

Jeff Mauro would be an excellent judge and mentor, I think. He's one of the more successful of past winners. NO to Melissa, she's saturated FN enough already. Would be great if they could snag Amanda Frietag for the female perspective. She's calm, a true working chef, and she can be fair but firm.

Instead of casting these shows with people who've already appeared on other shows or have blogs, YouTube cooking classes, they should go back to spending a little more time looking at submitted tapes or doing live auditions. They do some, but not enough, and I doubt many who stand in line all day for those actually ever get before someone in a decision-making position.

I definitely think casting is an issue.  I think its tough because a) most of the honest to goodness, badass chef talent is probably heading over to Top Chef and b) because FNS won't really pick a side, they keep saying they want both an amazing chef (so they judge their cooking) and an amazing on air personality (so they judge their personality/camera ability or whatever).   That makes it really tough to find a crop of good contestants that can do both, and Food Network may not have the money to find those needles in the haystacks.

 

They don't seem to necessarily want to develop an amazing chef into an on air personality, they want them to sort of be ready to go.  So lets say you get an amazing chef, like one of the Ventagglio brothers, but they have the personality of wallpaper, like one of the Ventagglio brothers, by FNS standards, they aren't good for the show.  But lets say you have someone with a great personality, like Orion (was that her name this season?), but she can't cook, she also is not a good fit for the show.  I also think a lot of amazing, James Beard chefs might think that having to do things that require taping Baby Ruths to your bare chest may somewhat cheapen them and their craft.  Although someone who just wants to talk about food on TV, because they just want to be on TV might be fine taping Babe Ruths to themselves.

 

I just think FNS needs to choose which one they want and work accordingly.  If they mostly want a personality who kinda knows how to cook, then have the challenges reflect that.

[cooksdelight]

Marti Duncan, she's ready to go. Christopher Hill, another friend of mine, he does regular on-air stand-n-stir cooking segments on the morning news in Richmond. He's submitted many videos, never got a response. And he's handsome, to boot! Linkie Marias, she would be a good TV show host. I know plenty of people who have original recipes, can cook, and can entertain on camera. FN doesn't seem to be interested in them, for whatever reason.

[Totale]

They don't seem to necessarily want to develop an amazing chef into an on air personality, they want them to sort of be ready to go.  So lets say you get an amazing chef, like one of the Ventagglio brothers, but they have the personality of wallpaper, like one of the Ventagglio brothers, by FNS standards, they aren't good for the show.  But lets say you have someone with a great personality, like Orion (was that her name this season?), but she can't cook, she also is not a good fit for the show.

 

The problem is that they can't admit out loud that in the real world and especially for new "stars" the recipes are ultimately tested and prepared by the perhaps non-telegenic professional cooks in the FN Test Kitchens and the onscreen personalities are largely reading scripts prepared by perhaps non-telegenic professional scriptwriters.  I'm sure the talent has some input into the second and perhaps into the first, much more in the case of a Bobby Flay than a Jeff Mauro.  They can't run a show called "Food Network Weathergirl" but in the end that's really what they need. 

Edited September 17, 2014 by Totale

[xaxat]

The problem is that they can't admit out loud that in the real world and especially for new "stars" the recipes are ultimately tested and prepared by the perhaps non-telegenic professional cooks in the FN Test Kitchens . . . 

 

I would have definitely watched a show featuring the two chefs that worked with Bobby Flay on his old show Throwdown. They were a lot of fun.

[GaT]

Marti Duncan, she's ready to go. Christopher Hill, another friend of mine, he does regular on-air stand-n-stir cooking segments on the morning news in Richmond. He's submitted many videos, never got a response. And he's handsome, to boot! Linkie Marias, she would be a good TV show host. I know plenty of people who have original recipes, can cook, and can entertain on camera. FN doesn't seem to be interested in them, for whatever reason.

Probably because they don't have an easily recognizable POV. If you're not identifiable Latin, or only cook for busy mommies, or didn't lose 700 lbs & want to cook low cal, then FN doesn't have any idea what to do with you. If heaven forbid, you're only a good cook without a schtick, then what good are you?

[RealityGal]

Probably because they don't have an easily recognizable POV. If you're not identifiable Latin, or only cook for busy mommies, or didn't lose 700 lbs & want to cook low cal, then FN doesn't have any idea what to do with you. If heaven forbid, you're only a good cook without a schtick, then what good are you?

or a crazy kooky cowboy who wants to have sexy times with some creamed corn

[LazyToaster]

I would like it if they would go back to actually mentoring people and have challenges that make sense, you know, they were about food.

[Rick Kitchen]

Not to absolve Lenny of his responsibility for this fiasco, but the FN has to address their own failings here. Their vetting process is evidently worse than useless, for example. And this was a pretty weak cast. They ought to shake up their judging trio while they're at it - kick out LBH or Alton and bring in a past winner, for example. Just not Guy Fieri, because I refuse to watch him.

 

I wonder if they use the same casting people as were used to cast the "pioneers" on Utopia.

[chessiegal]

I don't think the problem is the vetting process. Good grief, if a little internet and Googling can dig up what's been linked here, I find it hard to believe FN didn't know about Lenny's less than stellar internet postings. I'm thinking tptb thought no one would know - which in this day and age is insane. If FN didn't know, they're a bunch of idiots. Oh, wait, they kind of have shown they are.

[cooksdelight]

I often think network executives really think the American viewing public is dumb. And they come up with shows accordingly. And who knows, they could have seen Lenny's videos, told him to remove them, and he either forgot or didn't care. I'd love to be a fly on the wall.....

This is a good read if you want to know how FN came to be.

http://www.amazon.com/Scratch-Inside-Food-Network-ebook/dp/B00C5R83GO/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1411006421&sr=1-3&keywords=food+network

[grisgris]

That is a great book. I read it this past Spring. I highly recommend it.

[fliptopbox]

Or maybe they could just stop doing this show. It definitely stopped being very good 2-3 seasons ago. At the very least, completely revamp it....get rid of Giada, Bobby, and Alton and bring in some fresh perspective. It still may not change the types of contestants that end up getting cast, but maybe with new mentors there will be a better chance of molding the next round of contestants into better onscreen chefs. Maybe?

[chessiegal]

As long as this show gets the good ratings it's been getting, they are not going to scrap it or change hosts. People will have to stop watching before they do anything.

[GaT]

Or maybe they could just stop doing this show. It definitely stopped being very good 2-3 seasons ago. At the very least, completely revamp it....get rid of Giada, Bobby, and Alton and bring in some fresh perspective. It still may not change the types of contestants that end up getting cast, but maybe with new mentors there will be a better chance of molding the next round of contestants into better onscreen chefs. Maybe?

They didn't have them as the mentors until season 8, the season Justin won, so using the three of them that way is still pretty recent.

[Totale]

They didn't have them as the mentors until season 8, the season Justin won, so using the three of them that way is still pretty recent.

 

Actually that to me was the only season which had mentoring (when they were broken up into teams), and that might be a workable format if the three hosts got over themselves and didn't insist that a series of bad performances by their team could not conceivably knock one mentor out before the end.  Even Nigella (who I believe was knocked out early on both seasons of The Taste) could handle such a shocking blow to the ego, but someone from BobGiaTon (and I've got my guess as to who) made sure it was round robin eliminations so you knew what team was going to lose someone every week, and it let all the air out of it.

[xaxat]

Food Network Star is the top rated show on the network. (Interesting article on the history of competition show on the network.)

[JTMacc99]

Nice link. Thank you.

 

Ever since I found out that FNS was the network's biggest hit, I have been preaching to anybody who will listen that this show exists entirely for this show. Getting an actual Food Network personality is total gravy, and to be fair, has the most value in helping this show.

 

Scripps makes an unusually large percentage of its total revenue from ad sales for a cable company.  Most of the other ones get about 50/50 ad sales versus subscription revenues.  Scripps is about 65/35, so Food Network relies even more on ratings to pay the bills than do other cable networks.  Whatever they need to do to keep people interested in Food Network Star and the other competition shows, they have to do.

 

And I'm not 100% sure about this, but I'm pretty sure that the reason Scripps doesn't get to jack up its subscription fees to be even with its advertising is because it doesn't have that indispensable show that people HAVE to see. It doesn't have a Duck Dynasty, a Walking Dead, or anything on any network that gets really big ratings.  If they get one like that, they would suddenly have power over cable and satellite companies to jack up the rates or pull the networks off the air.  And it wouldn't really matter which Scripps Network had the hit, because they would tie HGTV together with Food and say you have to pay more for both or you get neither.

[cooksdelight]

I lost Cooking Channel on my Dish lineup, no explanation why it went away. I have FYI instead, which appeared about the same time that CC went away.

[Totale]

Food Network Star is the top rated show on the network. (Interesting article on the history of competition show on the network.)

 

Seems a little reductive to say that competition shows are the highest rated shows on the network once you've said they are the most frequently broadcast and that they're what you're most likely to see any time you flick the channel on. 

[xaxat]

I think they are using average viewers per prime time airing.

 

What's also interesting is how that strategy changed TV in general. I think every broadcast network (and a lot of cable networks) have tried competitive cooking shows recently.

 

All because of Chairman Kaga.

Edited October 3, 2014 by xaxat

[Shibori]

According to that book about the history of the Food Network, they originally tried to pitch the network with no (and then very minimal) subscriber fees, even experimenting with some coupon printing machine in the 90s as a source of revenue and some other schemes. They've been playing catch up ever since.

[Snarklepuss]

I've been thinking that this show exists entirely for this show for a few years now.  I don't think they're really serious about finding any new stars anymore.  They have enough already.  The stage is getting pretty crowded.  I don't even think they were ever really serious about Justin or Lenny.  Damaris got lucky because of Paula Deen and they had an opening for a Southern chef.

[cooksdelight]

This is my friend who would be great at this show.... but with the turns the show took this season, I hope he'll apply to something else.

https://medium.com/@bachelorkitchen/dear-chefs-this-is-for-you-68ca9061760a

[HyeChaps]

I started a topic for Food Network under Network Talk for discussions about Food Network that stray from this particular program.

[ariel]

Let's bring back the Hearty Boys.  They were charming & talented.

[Totale]

The NY Wine and Food Festival was/is this weekend, with Lenny apparently nowhere in sight.

 

Looks like FN still hasn't learned their lesson, though.  Hope they've hired someone with minimal Google-fu by now:

 

http://blogs.westword.com/cafesociety/2014/10/food_network_to_host_casting_call_for_food_network_star_in_denver.php

[howmanywords]

They'll never stop with the show itself because it pulls in huge ratings for the network.  At this point I dont think they even care if they get an actual star out of it.

 

Lenny's brother gave some excuse a few months ago about why Lenny wouldnt be at the Food and Wine fest and it reeked of crap.  Then Lenny posted (the first thing hes posted since he won) to say he would be away for several weeks hunting.  If you look at his fan club FB page he did a radio interview in Arizona on 10/14 answering questions.  The whole thing continues to be very strange.  Supposedly he starts filming the show in "the winter", thats all his brother has said.  By the time it airs will anyone actually care? I predict he'll eventually be treated even worse than Justin.

[RealityGal]

They'll never stop with the show itself because it pulls in huge ratings for the network.  At this point I dont think they even care if they get an actual star out of it.

 

I think you're right, I think a star is secondary.  This is such a strange little show.  I almost feel like it should either go a more MasterChef route, or a more American Idol route.  Maybe the winner gets a series of webisodes on YouTube or something instead of trying to make them a TV star.  

[cooksdelight]

Well, Lenny's got plenty of experience with YouTube, so there's that....

[Janimo]

Well, looks like Lenny is keeping busy, even though it's very difficult to find anything about what he's doing lately.....not that I give a flying you-know-what.

Just found this link-he can go to Savannah, Georgia, but not make the New York food and wine festival??

http://savannahnow.com/accent/2014-10-19/food-network-star-winner-saddling-savannah-food-and-wine-festival