S11.E11: We Have A Winner

[ivygirl]

I'm sure Giada is readying her production company for "Giada and Dom Do Little Italy."

I thought the opposite.  I'm glad you were right.  :-)

 

I did figure during their deliberations, when they talked about the "it" factor, and a person who could grow over a single show, Eddie MIGHT take the thing.  But before that, I was sure he wouldn't.

Here's my reality-show logic :) They showed a lot of Eddie's flubs, whereas Jay looked decent and Dom had the "Comeback Kid" edit. Ergo: Eddie's the winner!

Edited August 17, 2015 by ivygirl

[xaxat]

They really should have figured out another camera angle when they introduced the network president. That side shot was not flattering.

 

Yay Eddie!

Edited August 17, 2015 by xaxat

[susannot]

Looove Eddie. I will totally watch his show. Suspect the FN heard from many women swooning for Eddie.

[MiseryIndex]

Few thoughts

Dom was my fav but in knew too inconsist to win

Jay was who I thought would. A better version of lenny who won last year and got nothing.

Eddie with the pov out of nowhere is kind of weird. He was good the whole way through but they always harp on having a clear message and they seem to have handed him. Like American Idol writing a single for the finale contestants.

Either way I don't know how much it matters in the end as there are only a few people all in 11 seasons who do anything on the food network.

[Skyfall]

Dom had the best pilot but because Eddie is a former athlete who can get likely get known names as guests on the show and is a POC he won. Smart busniess move, but the other two should get shows on Cooking or at least Dom.

[catrice2]

Color me shocked!  Once they changed his POV to BARBEQUE I just knew it was over...that and the "look at how far Dom has come." 

[Aquarius]

They really should have figured out another camera angle when they introduced the network president. That side shot was not flattering.

 

That was terrifying, frankly.

[Bella]

I'm so happy, I really like Eddie a lot!

And I was so afraid that Giada - who I can't stand!- was going to somehow push everyone else into picking her crush, Dom.

[MerBearHou]

I hope very much that Jay gets some kind of show -- he has what it takes, IMO. I didn't want Eddie OR Jay to lose so I'd love to see both of them on the FN. Not Dom. He's a nice enough guy and the other fellas seem to really like him alot (as does Giada), but no, I wouldn't watch his show.

So happy for Eddie. A lovely guy and a charismatic presence. Now he just needs to work on his grammar. My pet peeve.

[susannot]

Eddie played for the Carolina Panthers (Cam Newton!) and the Patriots (Everyone knows who!) I think his show has great potential.

[Tyrone Biggums]

Also, if you have the show DVRed, go back and look through Dom's "journey".  They show a shot from behind the vagina table of doom, and they show LBH's right hand reaching out in what appears to be a motion to put her hand on Bobby's leg.  I can't be the only one who noticed that.

[Snarklepuss]

I'm happy for Eddie, at least I didn't dislike him, although I am not on board with yet more food porn shows about BARBECUE.  I will tune in, though, because even with the volume turned down, Eddie is great TV.  That said, Jay looked kind of shocked that he didn't win.  I was happy it wasn't Jay.  When Tuschie said that Eddie looked like someone who could eat that food and still be healthy I knew it was all over for Jay, especially since he said, "I'd better get to the gym".  Yikes.  I was sorry it wasn't Dom - I'm sure thanks to his new mentor Giada we haven't seen the last of him, though.  I have a feeling we haven't seen the last of Jay either.  I think this will be one of those seasons where the runner ups turn up on FN shows.  And actually, I think they all deserve to be on the network.  I was half daydreaming they'd do something unprecedented and say they couldn't pick a winner so all of them won!

Edited August 17, 2015 by Snarklepuss

[Lillybee]

According to Food Network Gossip, Eddie's show is called BBQ Blitz and is scheduled to air on Friday Oct. 9 at 10:30.

[saltycheese]

To me, it looked like she was grabbing his arm in a "brace yourself" moment because she was nervous. 

Also, if you have the show DVRed, go back and look through Dom's "journey".  They show a shot from behind the vagina table of doom, and they show LBH's right hand reaching out in what appears to be a motion to put her hand on Bobby's leg.  I can't be the only one who noticed that.

[Snarklepuss]

Dom had the best pilot but because Eddie is a former athlete who can get likely get known names as guests on the show and is a POC he won. Smart busniess move, but the other two should get shows on Cooking or at least Dom.

 

I agree - In addition, Eddie was on MasterChef in 2013 and already had a fan base with foodies from his stint on that show.  I remember liking him and being unhappy when he was sent home.  I don't see how FN can NOT give the other 2 at least one show.  I do think they were the strongest final 3 I've seen in a long time on this show.

[Sew Sumi]

According to Food Network Gossip, Eddie's show is called BBQ Blitz and is scheduled to air on Friday Oct. 9 at 10:30.

Just one show and not 6 episodes? Given that it's airing in the dead air of a Friday night, I'm guessing the former. 

[Automne]

I'm glad Eddie won, though I'm not on board for another BBQ show (unless like I said in another post, the focus is more on smoking).

 

I would have been pissed if Dom won. He had been given far too many chances when he's the idiot to go on a show to win a food show with crippling stage fright and an inability to work the camera. Above all else, that's kind of the requirement in order to be on TV.

[imjagain]

I'm so happy it wasn't Dom! I really would have been happy with either Jay or Eddie.

There is no denying Eddie's charisma, he is fantastic. Now, I don't eat a lot of BBQ but I'll watch;)

[Snarklepuss]

I did figure during their deliberations, when they talked about the "it" factor, and a person who could grow beyond a single show, Eddie MIGHT take the thing.  But before that, I was sure he wouldn't.

 

When Bob said something about Eddie being an athlete and having the drive to succeed in whatever he did, I knew it was all over.

[cooksdelight]

Just one show and not 6 episodes? Given that it's airing in the dead air of a Friday night, I'm guessing the former.

It says his show premieres that night in a FN interview, so no, it's not just one show.

The article mentioned above is interesting, in that Jay spills the beans and tells the world that FN assigned them the pilot concepts, they were not allowed to do a show of their choosing.

http://www.foodnetworkgossip.com/2015/08/food-network-star-winner-crowned.html#.VdFKVUr3arU

[MerBearHou]

Bobby's quote at the beginning of the season "I think this is the best group we've ever had" or something to that effect.....well, I think it's due to the final guys. They were such a likable bunch and I rooted for all 5 of them at one point or another. Including Alex and Arnold.

But I would've been FURIOUS if Dom had been the winner. Good guy, but not the winner of the whole dang thing.

There was a great article in our local newspaper, the Houston Chronicle, about Eddie and Jay. Both have ties to Houston, particularly Eddie who has a food truck here and his private trainer business. Jay was born here.

Wish we'd see Eddie around town but I bet FN keeps him super busy!

[saltycheese]

Just one show and not 6 episodes? Given that it's airing in the dead air of a Friday night, I'm guessing the former. 

Is it really dead air? I feel like that's when you're going to get your "dude audience."

[bentley]

Why would they not have Eddie visit a Caribbean-style restaurant for his pilot and let him run with the viewpoint he's been touting for the whole season? I don't think anyone else on the Food Network is filling that niche, so that would seem like a no-brainer. Did we really need another show about barbecue? 

 

I'm really wondering if they decided early on that the winner was going to be Eddie, so they changed the format of the new pilot to highlight his strengths- charisma, people skills, ease on camera, and minimize his weaknesses--lack of food authority, up and down results of his recipes, etc. If Jay or Dom had won, maybe we'd have gotten an actual cooking show.

[Lillybee]

It is primetime, so a bit better imo, than the usual Sat. or Sunday slot.

[saltycheese]

I was surprised to see that #FoodNetworkStar is trending on Twitter; I honestly didn't know that the show was so popular!

[Surrealist]

So happy that Eddie won.

 

I recorded it, but Boyfriend Eddie won?!   :-D

 

I can't wait to watch the episode.

[Pallida]

Being on the West Coast, I'm so excited you all provided commentary. I actually want to watch this now.

[ivygirl]

Why would they not have Eddie visit a Caribbean-style restaurant for his pilot and let him run with the viewpoint he's been touting for the whole season? I don't think anyone else on the Food Network is filling that niche, so that would seem like a no-brainer. Did we really need another show about barbecue?

Who knows, maybe they'll let him! I mean, I won't hold my breath or anything, but I can see that they might be able to shoehorn it in. I'd love to see Eddie visit a Caribbean restaurant, watch the food being made, and give me some tips for making jerk or whatever. Yum!

[ny1221]

Apparently, FN was looking for a host, rather than a chef/host, since the job is presenting a travelling show. Eddie is more of a host than a cook, reflected on his outgoing personality more than his cooking chops, while Dom, with his on camera struggles, and Jay, which sometimes seemed a little bit rehearsed on camera, were more passionate about cooking, fit more as cooks than hosts. Plus, Eddie has the 'celebrity' factor, as he competed on a major network competition, plus he was an NFL player. He already has a rather solid base to market and launch a tv career. 

 

Just one show and not 6 episodes? Given that it's airing in the dead air of a Friday night, I'm guessing the former.

 

It will be a 6 episode series, as other Friday 10:30 PM shows, like 'American Diner Revival' and 'Burgers, Brew and 'Que.' This is one of the prime time slots on FN, right after the weekly new DDD, which average a little more than 1 million viewers. To succeed, it all depends on the show and host/s. 'Revival' started a little bit slow but ended averaging 955,000 so most likely will return. Michael Symon's 'BB and 'Que' matches and sometimes surpasses DDD in ratings, so far averaging 1.1 million viewers. The post-DDD Friday 10:30 slot didn't work for 'Eating America with Anthony Anderson,' which flopped and eventually moved to an earlier time slot, finally being cancelled. 

 

It is primetime, so a bit better imo, than the usual Sat. or Sunday slot.

 

Travelling/competition shows air on prime time, while cooking shows go on daytime. Also, FN is producing less cooking shows. Only 2 1/2 hours on Saturday and 1 hr on Sundays are originals and the few cooking shows they're producing are being given to celebrities (actors, singers, comedians). The only cooking shows remaining with actual cooks are 'Pioneer Woman' (the only show that's still being produced non-stop with new episodes almost all year), 'Farmhouse Rules' and 'Southern at Heart.' 'Barefoot Contessa' now is being produced as specials and there haven't been new episodes of 'Guy's Big Bite' in months, there wasn't a new season of 'Bobby Flay's BBQ Addiction' this year, it's not clear if 'Giada at Home' is coming back, and other shows like 'Heartland Rules' and 'Sandwich King' were cancelled, the latter still with high ratings. 

Edited August 17, 2015 by ny1221

[Sew Sumi]

Since FN gave Eddie his BBQ show, it's clear why they eliminated Arnold. They weren't going to give Dom or Jay the BBQ; the third spot was for the BBQ pilot, and it was between Eddie and Arnold. The Network contrived that elimination to get the person they wanted in that slot. Arnold would have been a disaster given the choices of pilots the Network had for the guys to do. 

 

And we also now know why it came down to three guys; how many women does the Network have doing traveling shows? Oh that's right. None! They had their format, and that format needed a guy to front it. So here we are. 

[dbell1]

So glad I'm not the only one who noticed the melting face of the network president. Yikes!

I was rooting for anyone but Dom, so hooray Eddie?

[Lillybee]

Doesn't Alex G. have a traveling type show?

[mlp]

Wahoo!  After the pilots, I thought they'd set up Dom as many have speculated.  His pilot was the best work he did all season but he didn't deserve to win based on his whole "body of work" so I'm glad he didn't.  Jay has it all together but he doesn't have Eddie's charisma - IMO anyway.  I'm thrilled that Eddie won.  

[HappyDancex2]

Watching Jay's pilot I thought "wow. That's what editing can do." It was clean but not memorable. He's like a lot of the current FN chef hosts that they try to make happen that are rather bland. But they can slide him in anywhere. He's affable and professional.

I thought Dom had his moments but caught several times where his eyes betrayed him or his facial expression didn't hold long enough for them to edit around the flashes of awkwardness. Overall he has a certain likeability but it's hard to even compare him to someone like Jay who has so much more camera/mic experience. But there isn't really anyone like him on FN right now.

Glad Eddie won. Hate the BBQ angle. His natural personality carried him through his lack of on camera experience. I don't fault his less than stellar pilot because the POV isn't truly what he loves nor is an authority. If you are talking about someone who grills, that's Flay hands down. And Symon is already doing the traveling BBQ show that is really good BTW and that's his zone too. Eddie seems painfully redundant.

[Rick Kitchen]

Is it really dead air? I feel like that's when you're going to get your "dude audience."

 

Dudes aren't home at 10:30 on Friday.

[BW Manilowe]

Who knew? Eddie's dad is MC Hammer.

If you're serious, I'm not sure where that came from. I'm watching the Midnight Eastern/9PM Pacific airing; they just went to the commercial before announcing the winner & I've heard no reference to that (unless it comes up when he's talking after he wins). Also I checked Wikipedia--Eddie has a page which says his name is "Eddie Paul Jackson, Jr."; MC Hammer's page gives his real name as "Stanley Burrell". So, I can't see how they're related if that was meant seriously.

[GaT]

Wow, I actually thought that both Jay & Dom had better pilots, so I'm really surprised Eddie won. Eddie also wasn't so great the past few weeks, I'm really surprised.

[snowydaze]

I am glad Eddie won. Jay reminds me of Guy Fieri, although he at least doesn't have the style of a 40 year old trying to be a frat boy! His ants on a log should have gotten him eliminated . I think he also looks like he needs a long shower.

Dom has some cute factor going on, and he grew to be good on camera, but, there as something I didn't like about his personality. I can't get over his behavior toward Michelle in the kitchen, it seemed like he felt he could boss her around because she was a woman. He also made some obnoxious sexist comments , but he gets away with it because he's the cute guy with no confidence. He messed up so many times on camera that he shouldn't have been on the finale at all. Also, Giada acting like a cheerleader in high school with a crush was sickening.

Eddie seems like a truly nice guy, he was overall consistent, and he seems natural . He didn't have the need to be a macho guy thing when he worked with woman like Dom, and he was wasn't another Guy redo like Jay.

[Rick Kitchen]

If you're serious, I'm not sure where that came from. I'm watching the Midnight Eastern/9PM Pacific airing; they just went to the commercial before announcing the winner & I've heard no reference to that (unless it comes up when he's talking after he wins). Also I checked Wikipedia--Eddie has a page which says his name is "Eddie Paul Jackson, Jr."; MC Hammer's page gives his real name as "Stanley Burrell". So, I can't see how they're related if that was meant seriously.

 

The picture of young Eddie with his father.

[HappyDancex2]

I thought Eddie's Father and Son picture had more of a Kid N Play kinda vibe.

[WickedTuna]

I think they're joking about the picture they showed of Eddie and his dad.

So they jump through hoops like it's all about cooking, when in fact, they're just going to be going to restaurants and feeding their faces...?

Give me strength.

I know right? I don't think I would have watched any of them but now I know I won't watch Eddie for sure since it's a traveling show. I guess he couldn't keep his spicy POV because there wasn't any football terminology they could think of to go with it?

I guess I should just be happy it wasn't Dom. I don't think he should have been in the top 3 let alone win. His on camera presence was horrible. And I'm bad with accents so he sounds to me like the waaa waaa sound from the Charlie Brown cartoons.

[bluepiano]

Funny that all three pilots were shot at restaurants in more or less the same New York City neighborhood. Way to keep the budget down! As an ex-New Yorker, it was enjoyable nostalgia for me.

 

Dom was surprisingly good in his pilot. But if they really want someone who can do other shows, that eliminates him, as he's so completely  identified with Italian cooking. Hard to imagine him in any other environment.

 

Jay's Billy Mays barker thing was a little toned down in his pilot, but I still found him insincere and full of himself. I think he was initially the chosen one, but what swung it to Eddie was the chance to have a former professional athlete on the network. That was too good for them to pass up. When Medusa said, he loves to eat but still looks that good, I thought "bingo," there's the hook. Especially since FN gets criticized about the unhealthiness of the food they present.

 

"BBQ Blitz?" No wonder they'd didn't harp on POV so much this year. It's like they've finally admitted that they pick the personality they like, then assign a concept.

 

I think that Jay was genuinely shocked he didn't win. From his comments over the last few weeks he clearly thought he had it in the bag. In the end, I'm glad they didn't do the obvious thing and go for "Guy Fieri Light."

 

As for tonight's show, I didn't need to so see much of Michelle the quitter. Or Sita, one of the most incompetent contestants in the history of FNS. And they showed nothing of Alex or Rue, who lasted much longer. Weird choices.

 

I thought Eddie's Father and Son picture had more of a Kid N Play kinda vibe.

 

I thought his dad looked like Wesley Snipes.

Edited August 17, 2015 by bluepiano

[howmanywords]

Yay Eddie! This sure makes up for the Lenny mess!

 

Both Dom and Jay posted sweet words on their FB pages congratulating Eddie but I really love what Jay said..his words sound very kind and sincere

https://www.facebook.com/HugJayD?fref=nf

[Snarklepuss]

I didn't post about this, but yesterday afternoon I was scrolling through one of Dom's Facebook pages when I came upon a photo of him and Eddie in front of Dom's Mac and Cheese truck at Saratoga Race Track that was posted several weeks ago.  Dom's caption read, "Guess who showed up at the food truck today?"  I thought to myself that this was the biggest clue yet who the winner was, because why would Eddie just show up in Saratoga, NY to see Dom's food truck if he wasn't the winner?  I know the guys had become pals and all but that's a long way from where Eddie comes from for him to "just drop by".  I'm figuring he was doing something work related and he happened to be in the area.  I didn't post about it because it was already so late and I had already done enough speculating anyway.

[Snarklepuss]

Dom has some cute factor going on, and he grew to be good on camera, but, there as something I didn't like about his personality. I can't get over his behavior toward Michelle in the kitchen, it seemed like he felt he could boss her around because she was a woman. He also made some obnoxious sexist comments , but he gets away with it because he's the cute guy with no confidence. He messed up so many times on camera that he shouldn't have been on the finale at all. Also, Giada acting like a cheerleader in high school with a crush was sickening.

 

In retrospect, I have a feeling that Michelle was supposed to be in the number 3 spot in the finale but when she quit Giada saw an opportunity to make them put Dom in that spot because she liked him so much plus he could have that "comeback kid" angle.  Given that we know that the BBQ angle was what they were really going for, we know that neither Dom nor Michelle ever had any chance of winning, and I'm sure Giada was aware of that all along.  One reason I suspect that is because they usually always try to have both sexes represented in the finale.  In fact, I think this might have been the very first time there were only men.

[Snarklepuss]

Glad Eddie won. Hate the BBQ angle. His natural personality carried him through his lack of on camera experience. I don't fault his less than stellar pilot because the POV isn't truly what he loves nor is an authority. If you are talking about someone who grills, that's Flay hands down. And Symon is already doing the traveling BBQ show that is really good BTW and that's his zone too. Eddie seems painfully redundant.

 

I know, as much as I like Eddie and want to watch him I am going to explode if I am forced to watch ONE MORE SHOW about BBQ.  And don't get me wrong, I LOVE BBQ, I'm just saturated to the point of overload with it.  I can't believe it's making me not enthusiastic about watching Eddie's show.  Just how many shows about BBQ does Food Network need?  I'm hoping they were serious about envisioning Eddie in different types of shows because I hope they decide to branch him out into other types soon.  Somehow I think they had it stuck in their craw about having a show featuring charred meat in general with Lenny and when he turned out to be a dud they just looked for another person to do a similar angle on the same thing.

 

'Barefoot Contessa' now is being produced as specials and there haven't been new episodes of 'Guy's Big Bite' in months, there wasn't a new season of 'Bobby Flay's BBQ Addiction' this year, it's not clear if 'Giada at Home' is coming back, and other shows like 'Heartland Rules' and 'Sandwich King' were cancelled, the latter still with high ratings. 

 

I think Jeff's show might have been taken off because he's now fully occupied on "The Kitchen".  But I think he could have done both.  It feels like they don't want him to have two shows.  And Giada's still doing her show, just from Italy now.   They have added the occasional cooking show, like Valerie Bertinelli's which just started on FN.

Edited August 17, 2015 by Snarklepuss

[imjagain]

I thought Eddie's Father and Son picture had more of a Kid N Play kinda vibe.

Hee, the first thought that popped in my head was Cuba Gooding Jr's character in the Boyz n the hood movie.

[tobysmom]

It will be a 6 episode series, as other Friday 10:30 PM shows, like 'American Diner Revival' and 'Burgers, Brew and 'Que.' This is one of the prime time slots on FN, right after the weekly new DDD, which average a little more than 1 million viewers.

 

. 

well if DDD is still doing new shows then this could be one of the reasons Jay didn't win.  When I watched his pilot - I went OMG this is just like Guy Fieri's DDD.  So I thought maybe he was going to win because as other's have posted before maybe Guy is giving up DDD and they are looking for someone new. 

 

Glad that Eddie won.  I probably won't watch his show but good for Eddie. 

 

I thought Dom's pilot was good.   Wasn't sure if he was going to win.  But I laughed and liked his "look back" segment.

 

Thought the reaction to Suzy's last remark to Michelle was a little strange.  Suzy asking her about quitting; and then she says something about "knowing you made the right decision"  (I think that's what she said - truly can't remember how she worded it)..and Michelle just opens her mouth and then closes it and doesn't say anything.

Edited August 17, 2015 by tobysmom

[xaxat]

I didn't post about this, but yesterday afternoon I was scrolling through one of Dom's Facebook pages when I came upon a photo of him and Eddie in front of Dom's Mac and Cheese truck at Saratoga Race Track that was posted several weeks ago.  Dom's caption read, "Guess who showed up at the food truck today?"  I thought to myself that this was the biggest clue yet who the winner was, because why would Eddie just show up in Saratoga, NY to see Dom's food truck if he wasn't the winner? 

 

Because Saratoga Racetrack is awesome! Seriously, it should be on every sports fan's bucket list.

[Lura]

I didn't post about this, but yesterday afternoon I was scrolling through one of Dom's Facebook pages when I came upon a photo of him and Eddie in front of Dom's Mac and Cheese truck at Saratoga Race Track that was posted several weeks ago.  Dom's caption read, "Guess who showed up at the food truck today?"  I thought to myself that this was the biggest clue yet who the winner was, because why would Eddie just show up in Saratoga, NY to see Dom's food truck if he wasn't the winner?  I know the guys had become pals and all but that's a long way from where Eddie comes from for him to "just drop by".  I'm figuring he was doing something work related and he happened to be in the area.  I didn't post about it because it was already so late and I had already done enough speculating anyway.

 

Snarklepuss, there is some connection between Bobby Flay and Saratoga.  Someone else could probably tell you more about it than I can.  I've heard Bobby mention several times that he loves going up there for the races.  Then, there was some talk about Bobby having a horse that he races there.  Finally, during the divorce proceedings, it was brought out that Bobby had bought his wife, Stephanie, a horse as a gift when they were married.  All of this leads me to think that maybe  Dom and Eddie were up there because they knew Bobby would be.  They could have even discussed it ahead of time with Bobby.  Whatever, I tend to see this as a "get closer to Bobby" move than anything else -- and I don't mean that in a sinister way or a way of getting ahead in the competition.