Food Network Star Alums

[cooksdelight]

If this is true, @Lura, why did they cast Nancy at all? If they knew they wanted a younger audience, why set her up to be booted? That seems cruel.

[Snarklepuss]

2 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

If this is true, @Lura, why did they cast Nancy at all? If they knew they wanted a younger audience, why set her up to be booted? That seems cruel.

I agree, but they did the same thing to Martie Duncan.  I never thought she had a chance because of her age.  Then again Valerie Bertinelli and Patty Heaton are no spring chickens either, but they have star power and probably draw a broader audience.  But what I don't understand is the logic that young people only want to watch young people cook.  Personally I like watching anyone cook as long as their food is good.  When I was young I was watching Julia Child and a host of others that were older than me on PBS.  The more networks feed into this age segregation BS the more it will encourage future generations of snowflakes to think they're too "trendy" to watch older people on TV.  They need to stop thinking in terms of demographics or age groups and more in terms of who's just really good regardless of what category they can be plugged into.  OK, rant over!

[cooksdelight]

Martie is doing great in spite of FN. My 77-yr old father watches cooking shows, for crying out loud! :)

[HyeChaps]

The cancellation of Farmhouse Rules is very upsetting.  Nancy is so knowledgeable!  She is also a very good teacher. She explains what she is doing and the reason why. Her catering experience shows when she plans her menus. She knows what people like and the practicality of serving certain items.   

And now probably Food Network will put on some actress with no real food background.  Boo!

[MerBearHou]

I could be totally off-base here but I think young people enjoy watching older cooks (ie, the Julia Child effect) but older folks aren't as drawn to watch young cooks (in the Matthew age-range).  The outlier is the almighty advertising demographic which frankly I think can be really misleading with actual eyeballs on a channel.  

[xaxat]

Jeffrey Saad is the chef demonstrator for the Veggie Bullet infomercial.

[howmanywords]

Lenny is the only winner who never got a single thing from FN, nothing, nada. Even the demo at the NY Food and Wine fest that winners always get to do Lenny wasn't even invited. Lenny's treatment was a big topic of conversation here after his season. Since so many of us couldn't stand him it was no big loss. IIRC didn't it come out that he made some derogatory comments about Ree Drummond sometime before FNS?

[smiley13]

1 hour ago, howmanywords said:

Lenny is the only winner who never got a single thing from FN, nothing, nada. Even the demo at the NY Food and Wine fest that winners always get to do Lenny wasn't even invited. Lenny's treatment was a big topic of conversation here after his season. Since so many of us couldn't stand him it was no big loss. IIRC didn't it come out that he made some derogatory comments about Ree Drummond sometime before FNS?

It was during the airing of the show I thought, or shortly after his win?

[cooksdelight]

It was while the show was airing, long after taping had ended, that people started doing Google searches of Lenny to find out more about him. And boy, did they ever find out more about him.

[Snarklepuss]

13 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

It was while the show was airing, long after taping had ended, that people started doing Google searches of Lenny to find out more about him. And boy, did they ever find out more about him.

Actually it was me that stumbled upon his posts on that chat board after someone very cryptically posted a link to the famous "cutting of the brisket" YouTube video on the FN Facebook page.  Only a couple of people said, "Is that him?" and the post got buried.  I knew it was him.  Then I started Googling like crazy about him and came across the disgusting comments on that chat board which I sent screen shots and links of to that foodie blog, along with the video link, and they posted an article about it.  I also posted them to The FN Facebook page and sent them to the Food Network privately.  It took a bit of sleuthing because he didn't post under his real name on that chat board.  He went under the screen name "Chuckwagon", but after searching for all his posts on the board it was easy to tell it was him because he was there months before telling everyone to watch him on "Food Network Star" in one sentence and that he'd love to "Fuck Rhee Drummond up the ass" in the next.  He also was involved in some crazy stalker-ish phone calls with a DJ on a call-in radio show, which I also discovered podcast links and conversation about on a radio station chat board, and sent that along with the other stuff.  It was all very bizarre and truthfully not that hard to find if anyone was looking for stuff on him, and I couldn't believe FN knew nothing about it.

[cooksdelight]

Oh, so we have you to thank for the horror!! LOL, just kidding!

[spiderpig]

Wow, @Snarklepuss!  You could give Jessica Fletcher a run for her money.*

*Gratuitous reference to my mother-in-law's all-time most favoritest TV sleuth.

[Sew Sumi]

@Snarklepuss THANK YOU for saving us! I don't remember anyone EVER during his season thinking he was entertaining, or even a good cook. But, as we all know, this shit is rigged to the hilt, and he was the Anoited One that season. I'm so glad I am spared never having to look at him ever again. 

[Snarklepuss]

Oh you're welcome, thanks for that to all of you.  It was a matter of me being angry when he won because I knew there was something slimy and "off" about him, and I couldn't believe FN didn't see it.  That video made me determined to find more, and I knew it had to be the tip of the iceberg.  I could never have imagined how much I'd actually uncover!  I've always been good at online research and it came in handy that time!  The thing is, I watch other shows where sleuthing would come in handy if I cared that much to do it, which I usually don't.  Lenny just pressed all my buttons (plus I think my boss was on vacation that week and I had the time!).

[Snarklepuss]

You guys made me think about that Lenny fiasco and how I found all that garbage online about him.  In the famous YouTube video, he referred to someone he called "Hot Tub".  I ended up googling all sorts of stuff like "Food Network Star", "Hot Tub", etc. and found myself on the Ron and Fez show chat board looking at someone with the screen name "Chuckwagon" telling everyone on the board to watch him on FNS plus other creepy/disgusting posts about fucking Rhee Drummond, references to "jiz" etc.  I was sure it was him because I joined the board and could see all his prior posts going back years so it's not like some shill joined late in the game claiming to be him and posted all that stuff.  He was well known on that chat board.  Even more conclusive is that sometimes people actually addressed him as "Lenny" while he was using that screen name.  One of the other poster's screen names was "Hot Tub", which I soon found out, who he often addressed on the chat board, which tied into the reference in the video.  Googling some more, I found evidence that he had stalked Fez in person at one of Fez's public appearances, and there was actually a photo of him with Fez online.  That, plus his creepy call ins to the radio show were troubling to Fez.  Ron is on record on the show telling Lenny when he called in that he had traumatized Fez with his creepy phone calls and what he considered public stalking.  From what I gathered, Fez had a history of being a little off mentally himself, but I think creepy Lenny's behavior would be enough to traumatize anyone!

As recently as a year ago I saw a Reddit where people were conjecturing that Fez himself leaked all that stuff to the FN and that foodie blog.  Little did they know it was really me!  Some people still refused to believe those chat board posts and call-ins were really Lenny, but some shill that was determined to bring him down.  Seriously?  There was more than enough evidence to indicate that all of this was Lenny himself.  Who would go to all the effort of hacking his chat board account and making vile posts in a supposed effort to ruin his career when the guy had a history of vile posts going back several years on the board already before he even had a career to ruin?  And how would a hacker know when he was filming FNS and make reference to that months before the show ever aired?  People responded to those posts so it's not like they were edited later.  Plus the photo of him with Fez spoke volumes.  But it wasn't just that, it was everything put together - his creepy photos online, his creepy "brisket cutting" video where he calls that female poster (Hot Tub) from the chat board the "c" word, the fact that it certainly sounds like his voice calling into the radio show that IMO put it over the top.

Ugh, now I feel like I need a shower, LOL.

[cooksdelight]

I imagine they had a "Cowboy Lenny" show all lined up for him. "Let me rope in this great dish and show you how to make it" kind of thing.

I will admit that his steak rub is da bomb. I keep a steady supply in my pantry.

Equal parts sugar, ground coffee and Lawry's seasoning. It's to die for on a steak or burger.

[Blonde Gator]

On 6/24/2017 at 0:42 PM, HyeChaps said:

The cancellation of Farmhouse Rules is very upsetting.  Nancy is so knowledgeable!  She is also a very good teacher. She explains what she is doing and the reason why. Her catering experience shows when she plans her menus. She knows what people like and the practicality of serving certain items.   

And now probably Food Network will put on some actress with no real food background.  Boo!

I agree, she could cook, but IMO, her presentation was a total turn-off.  I've probably only watched her show 2x in total.  "Gee-Gee Juice". 

I rest my case on that one.

The only two bona-fide "stars" I'll watch are Trisha Yearwood (she's a hoot, and I love her sister, too), and Valerie Bertinelli.  Because Barbara Cooper.  We grew up together, as it were.  And she does make great looking dishes with a bit of a twist.

[cooksdelight]

I watched Damaris' show. I can take Guy in small doses. I really like Eddie.

Alton Brown is the one who I've learned the most from.

[Totale]

12 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

I watched Damaris' show. I can take Guy in small doses. I really like Eddie.

Alton Brown is the one who I've learned the most from.

I love Indian food and was looking forward to Aarti's show, and they just wasted the opportunity having her make, I dunno, curry hot dogs or somesuch.

[cooksdelight]

I'd forgotten about Aarti. I also would have liked to learned Indian cooking. Now she's a GGG judge. A waste, indeed.

[Totale]

4 minutes ago, cooksdelight said:

I'd forgotten about Aarti. I also would have liked to learned Indian cooking. Now she's a GGG judge. A waste, indeed.

I don't know if they ever still show it (maybe on CC), but the first  Bal Arneson show "Spice Goddess" was really good and taught me a thing or two.  Then being FN they had to go turn in unto a lifestyle show called "Spice of Life" or something that is worthless.

[grisgris]

That new show by Bal was terrible. While Bal is attractive and personable, the premise of the show detracted too much from actual cooking. I wasn't interested in seeing her demolish her old car, drive a Bobcat or bungee jump. I really liked her on "Spice Goddess," though.

Another one I missis Laura Calder.  I guess those days are long past.

I very highly disappointed by the way Aarti's show played out. I knew it was doomed when they had her making curry dogs and "Indian" mac & cheese right off the bat. It seemed like an insult to her heritage but typical of FN's style of pigeonholing people (especially ethnic groups) into whatever the network deems will attract the widest berth of viewers.

I don't watch Tricia Yearwood's show just because her food seems so pedestrian. I've never watched Valerie's show for the same reason. However, I do enjoy Valerie as a judge on the competition shows.  She's especially good on the kids' shows (shhh ... don't encourage FN to start airing more!)

[smiley13]

On 6/28/2017 at 11:12 AM, Blonde Gator said:

The only two bona-fide "stars" I'll watch are Trisha Yearwood (she's a hoot, and I love her sister, too), and Valerie Bertinelli.  Because Barbara Cooper.  We grew up together, as it were.  And she does make great looking dishes with a bit of a twist.

Trisha Yearwood's show is great!  She cooks recipes that look delicious and are are things that real people eat.  I have also enjoyed Valerie's the times I have seen it.

[Blonde Gator]

14 hours ago, smiley13 said:

Trisha Yearwood's show is great!  She cooks recipes that look delicious and are are things that real people eat.  I have also enjoyed Valerie's the times I have seen it.

Trisha Yearwood cooks "Southern" the way I've always had it (I'm a Floridian, so not Deep South Southern, but I learned lots of stuff from my friend's mom, who was from Tuscaloosa, Lower Alabama!).  She cooks very approachable, easily prepared menus, which are also great for budding cooks (my step-daughter, for instance).  On the plus side, she's really got a great sense of humor, and fun, too....I enjoy her family and friends, they always have a great time.  I'm no fan of country music, but hearing her sing is also a treat.  She's one of the few people I watch on FN these days.  They really should rename the network, it's Food-Game Show Network these days, which bores me to death (except BB Flay....I can learn things from his challengers). 

[Terrafamilia]

Heh, I've made the much maligned curry hot dog dish a couple of times. It's perfectly fine for what it is which is exactly as Aarti presented it - a kid-friendly immigrant dish.

[Sew Sumi]

 Saw Rory of the gummy smile and huge foobs on an episode of Movable Feast yesterday. They were on an Angus steer ranch in Texas. I didn't stick around to see what she made, but she's stuck it out in food despite her failure at becoming a Food Network Star.

[chessiegal]

I saw Moveable Feast yesterday too and couldn't believe they had Rory on. First, she lives in Texas, so what does she have to do with Montana? Did she have her own restaurant when she was on FNS? Because she does now. Kind of ruined one of my favorite shows with yummy host Pete Evans.

[mlp]

I don't remember anyone named Rory.  What season was she on?

[chessiegal]

The one with the guy who won but lied about being in the military, so they took him out of the picture. Season 3 - Amy Finley won but I remember Rory's family was making a big push big time to get her voted fan favorite.

Edited July 14, 2017 by chessiegal

[Sew Sumi]

I wonder whatever happened to JAG and Amy? I actually liked her book, but I haven't heard from her since. 

[chessiegal]

I read that Amy didn't like filming the show. I thought she was fine.

[Westiepeach]

48 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

I read that Amy didn't like filming the show. I thought she was fine.

I could be wrong but I think I remember it was Amy's HUSBAND who didn't like her filming the show ... hence her quitting. At least that is what is stored in my memory bank.

[chessiegal]

1 hour ago, Westiepeach said:

I could be wrong but I think I remember it was Amy's HUSBAND who didn't like her filming the show ... hence her quitting. At least that is what is stored in my memory bank.

Oh, I think you're right. I vaguely remember something about being away from family.

[Snarklepuss]

7 hours ago, Westiepeach said:

I could be wrong but I think I remember it was Amy's HUSBAND who didn't like her filming the show ... hence her quitting. At least that is what is stored in my memory bank.

Yep, that's what's stored in my memory bank too.  Amy made it sound like it was her husband that didn't want her to do it and because of her family obligations.  Not sure if I ever really bought that excuse, though.  I think she just decided it wasn't for her.  Too bad they didn't do then what they do now with all the stars appearing as judges and in short term projects.  She may have been OK with that.

[mlp]

Quote

The one with the guy who won but lied about being in the military, so they took him out of the picture. Season 3 - Amy Finley won but I remember Rory's family was making a big push big time to get her voted fan favorite.

Thanks!  I didn't see the first three seasons.  No wonder her name rang no bells.

[Skyfall]

Damaris looks to have a traveling tasting show with Rutledge Wood (NASCAR, Top Gear USA, etc).

[Surrealist]

On 6/28/2017 at 8:33 AM, cooksdelight said:

I will admit that his steak rub is da bomb. I keep a steady supply in my pantry.

Equal parts sugar, ground coffee and Lawry's seasoning. It's to die for on a steak or burger.

I'll join you in the corner. I've used Lenny's steak rub because it's fantastic. Otherwise, I think he's a creep.

[chessiegal]

In addition to Damaris' traveling food show, she announced on FB today that she and Bobby Flay are getting a new show on FN.

Quote

What you can't read on those hats is "The Bobby and Damaris Show"! That's right folks Chef Bobbyflay and I are sharing the kitchen in a new cooking show with a talk show aspect! Airing this fall on Foodnetwork I can not wait for you to see it!!!!

[smiley13]

57 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

In addition to Damaris' traveling food show, she announced on FB today that she and Bobby Flay are getting a new show on FN.

Damaris may make Bobby Flay tolerable.

[MerBearHou]

18 minutes ago, smiley13 said:

Damaris may make Bobby Flay tolerable.

I don't know... I really like her but she gets awfully silly when she's around Bobby.  If she can reign that in, I'd enjoy the show. 

[Totale]

1 hour ago, chessiegal said:

In addition to Damaris' traveling food show, she announced on FB today that she and Bobby Flay are getting a new show on FN.

Good for her.  She actually can cook and deserves a show where she does so.  I'll watch.

[cooksdelight]

I love Damaris. I hope she can take Bobby down a peg or two. Maybe get him to stop combing his hair forward and dying his eyebrows.

[spiderpig]

39 minutes ago, cooksdelight said:

I love Damaris. I hope she can take Bobby down a peg or two. Maybe get him to stop combing his hair forward and dying his eyebrows.

Me too.  She's one of the few sunny personalities that doesn't make me want to puke over her perkiness.

[Gbb]

On June 28, 2017 at 8:33 AM, cooksdelight said:

I imagine they had a "Cowboy Lenny" show all lined up for him. "Let me rope in this great dish and show you how to make it" kind of thing.

I will admit that his steak rub is da bomb. I keep a steady supply in my pantry.

Equal parts sugar, ground coffee and Lawry's seasoning. It's to die for on a steak or burger.

Oh. My. God. I made this rub and put it on a burger tonight. I thought I would die it was so good. It just became a permanent part of my pantry. I'm just going to tell myself that he stole it from somewhere else. 

6 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

I love Damaris. I hope she can take Bobby down a peg or two. Maybe get him to stop combing his hair forward and dying his eyebrows.

The episode of Beat Bobby Flay where she forced him to make tuna noodle casserole is one of my all-time favs. He was sooo above it all that he could barely bring himself to cook. Hilarious. 

Edited August 8, 2017 by Gbb

[Silver Raven]

12 Seasons of 'Food Network Star' Winners: Where Are They Now?

[Skyfall]

On 8/8/2017 at 1:58 PM, Silver Raven said:

12 Seasons of 'Food Network Star' Winners: Where Are They Now?

Wish there was one for notable contestants like Kelsey and Nikki (Junk Food Flip has to be cancelled at this point :( )

[cooksdelight]

Justin didn't play by the rules, and I think if Matthew had won he wouldn't have either.

[Skyfall]

6 minutes ago, cooksdelight said:

Justin didn't play by the rules, and I think if Matthew had won he wouldn't have either.

Except when he does kinda play by the rules it's a great show and he's a great host. http://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/foodie-call I would watch a 30 minute edition of this (would need to have the guest help cook though in that length) over a lot of the current crap FN/CC puts on.

[Simon47]

The latest alum was Tregaye "Fleek" Fraser, and she seemed annoying to most viewers, so why not put her in the "Wonderful Women FN Doesn't Use" pile of people.

Ummm, why don't FNS winners actually have a show???!!! I haven't seen Justin or Eddie or Lenny make their own show. Jeff Mauro makes me very appalled sometimes,  but he's okay, even when he hosts The Kitchen, surprisingly.

[Skyfall]

3 minutes ago, Simon47 said:

The latest alum was Tregaye "Fleek" Fraser, and she seemed annoying to most viewers, so why not put her in the "Wonderful Women FN Doesn't Use" pile of people.

Ummm, why don't FNS winners actually have a show???!!! I haven't seen Justin or Eddie or Lenny make their own show. Jeff Mauro makes me very appalled sometimes,  but he's okay, even when he hosts The Kitchen, surprisingly.

Justin - He wanted things his way and Alton eventually left. They let him have a one hour special of his way and it crashed. He then become a rotating judge while doing the web series I linked to above. Web Series was last updated in April 2016 though.

Lenny - TWOP found his skeletons near the end of the show and he was pretty much DOA after that.

Eddie - He had that BBQ comp show on Fridays nights for a season. Then did Clash Of Grandmas. He's now hosting Kids BBQ comp while also a rotating judge.