Food Network Star Alums

[Janimo]

I had to laugh, 'cause I was just on facebook and decided to take a gander at "The Official Chef Lenny Fan Club  and there were actually some recent comments (June, 2015) from some of his "fans" complaining about Chef Lenny not getting his own show. :D

[SpottedCoachDog]

Lil write up on Food Network Gossip about Damaris getting married this past weekend to Darrick Wood. Nikki Dinki was there.

[zxy556575]

I dip in and out of this show -- what's the story about last year's winner? He's apparently roundly despised here, but didn't he win by audience vote?

[cooksdelight]

I dip in and out of this show -- what's the story about last year's winner? He's apparently roundly despised here, but didn't he win by audience vote?

He won, but he didn't get a show. There's plenty of Lenny-talk in the Media and Alum threads. In a nutshell, he had some naughty videos on YouTube that the powers that be never thought to look for before putting him on the show.

[cooksdelight]

Check out Alton's Duran-Duran hairdo!

https://www.facebook.com/altonbrown/photos/a.271831096179839.79224.271823759513906/1098160373546903/?type=1&theater

[Maverick]

 After getting burned by Robert Irvine and Jag from season 3 of this very show, I find it hard to believe they didn't know about Lenny's antics.

 

He won, but he didn't get a show. There's plenty of Lenny-talk in the Media and Alum threads. In a nutshell, he had some naughty videos on YouTube that the powers that be never thought to look for before putting him on the show.

[NikSac]

I dip in and out of this show -- what's the story about last year's winner? He's apparently roundly despised here, but didn't he win by audience vote?

 

Never got a show, I think due mostly to some very embarrassing videos out there. I had to stop following his story after the thing about him wanting to make love to creamed corn, or something along those lines. I don't eat all that much pre-made food but creamed corn used to be on my list... not anymore. He also came across as very misogynistic. It seemed like he disappeared from FN really, really fast once the stories started coming out.

[JTMacc99]

I dip in and out of this show -- what's the story about last year's winner? He's apparently roundly despised here, but didn't he win by audience vote

Heh. Audience vote.

 

From Men in Black: "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it. Fifteen hundred years ago everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was flat, and fifteen minutes ago, you knew that humans were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow."

 

And last season, Food Network thought the audience would do the right thing.

[chessiegal]

I'm repeating myself, but not buying they had to pick Lenny because of the audience vote. If you read the about 30 page contract these people all sign to be on the show, it says that FN/Scripps has the final say on who wins, audience vote or not. Someone at FN screwed up big time last year.

[JTMacc99]

If I had to guess, the big problem for them was the timing of the Lenny backlash. The things we knew here didn't really gain widespread knowledge until the last week. They probably had to make the call right around the time everything was being cued up for the final show, and instead of what happened this season in episode 2 with Giada saying "Can I change my mind?" at the last minute, nobody said, "Can we change our mind?"

 

The screw up was either not discovering his social media antics on their own, or not realizing that once they were discovered that people weren't going to let it go. 

[cooksdelight]

I'd be very surprised if any of this year's contestants have any skeletons in their closet. Lesson learned, I hope.

[OtterMommy]

The cynical/experienced part of me thinks they might keep around the non-cooks hoping they'll still build fan bases in the audience. They might not win but if the Food Network lineup needs some new shows/hosts they can always step in for travel shows or those shows about people's favorite things to eat or competitions, etc. You don't need to cook well or win to eventually get a show.

 

This is true..there have been some contestants who were lacking in the kitchen, but made it far in the show and ended up with shows of their own (there was one the same season as Kelsey NIxon who was one of the finalists and was given his own show for a few seasons--I can't remember his name, though).  I'm torn on this--I like those contestants, but I do wish that they could cook!

[rab01]

Are you thinking of Adam Gertler? If so, he had professional cooking experience even if he didn't always have the tastiest food in the competition.

 

But, really personality is more important than cooking chops for the role these people are filling. We never get to taste their food and a lot of the recipes are generated in the FN test kitchens so on-camera ability matters more than ability behind the stove.  They just have to have enough cooking ability to not damage the FN brand;  We can all see that in who's been chosen as winners over the years.

[OtterMommy]

Are you thinking of Adam Gertler? If so, he had professional cooking experience even if he didn't always have the tastiest food in the competition.

 

Yes, that's it!  I do remember that he had experience (didn't he have a restaurant that had recently gone under?), but--more often than not--ended up serving undercooked food to the judges.  He did serve good food--now and then--but it was really his personality that kept him on the show between the few times he delivered passable food.

[Christina]

This is the first year (2015) that I watched this show, and only because a friend in real life complained that she didn't have anyone to discuss last year with, and apparently it was a doozy. I had Guy's Grocery Games playing in the background while I was reading, and it introduced the three judges as previous Food Network Star winners. I think the names were Richard Blais, Aarti Sequara (sp?), and Melissa Aquara(?). I wasn't impressed by them, but can't put my finger on why.

 

GGG is not a show I typically watch so I don't know if these three are usually the judges, but their comments were ... I'm having trouble ending this sentence, the words are not coming to me. Nonsensical maybe? The competing chefs' comments during cooking and during the talking heads (which I realize happen after everything, including judging) make more sense then what the judges spout.

 

For instance, Melissa tells a chef that he should have cubed the avocado that he mixed with sour cream because she only tasted sour cream. This was said after the chef was shown cubing the avocado, and while the visual of the tacos with the cubes of avocado were showing. She also has this excited way of talking that I find annoying, but was most likely how she was told to speak to be a Food Network Star. Judge Aarti did tend to offer constructive criticism, although it seemed a bit producer driven. For example, a chef forgot the mushrooms he grilled and she said she was missing something "earthy" or something (I don't remember the exact word), to which he replied that he forgot the mushrooms. The only thing memorable about Richard was his ugly red glasses. I don't remember anything he added to the discussion.

 

TL:DR Former Food Network Stars were judges on Guy's Grocery Games and I wasn't impressed with their skills. I'm wondering if anyone watched their shows and if they were any good. I'm not sure if they were the winners or not.

[JTMacc99]

Blais was a Top Chef guy, not a Food Network Star person. You probably didn't like him for different reasons than the other two. He's a pretty darn good chef, and he's been trying really hard to become a good TV chef.  He's still working on the TV part and hasn't quite figured out how to be knowledgeable without being annoying.

 

Melissa d'Arabian was a FNS winner. She had more people who disliked her than is normal for a winner of this show. (And there is always a certain percentage of people who do not like the winner.) It is unsurprising that your first impression was not positive. I didn't mind her as a winner, but that was mostly because I really didn't like the guy she beat. You don't have to look very far at all to find somebody who feels the exact opposite way about this topic.

 

Aarti Sequeira was another winner of FNS. She was generally thought to be a deserving winner, but I personally never thought I'd watch her show. She was nice enough, and some of her food ideas interested me, but she didn't really seem to have the charisma needed for me to intentionally find her on the dial and tune in.  (IMHO, I was totally right about that.)  Again, your first impression does not surprise me. She's a pretty good cook, she has pretty good ideas, but I am not shocked that her delivery of her opinions struck you as producer driven. 

 

I think it is pretty interesting to see that your first impressions of these people is so close to being in line with what seems to be the general feeling about them from those of us who have been exposed to them for years.

[GaT]

Melissa d'Arabian was a FNS winner. She had more people who disliked her than is normal for a winner of this show. 

 

 

Probably because she used her mother's suicide to get the win. She definitely crossed a line there to me.

[HyeChaps]

Damaris is married---

http://www.foodnetworkgossip.com/2015/06/damaris-phillips-got-married-over.html#.VYicmJdZ3QY

[smiley13]

Blais was a Top Chef guy, not a Food Network Star person. You probably didn't like him for different reasons than the other two. He's a pretty darn good chef, and he's been trying really hard to become a good TV chef.  He's still working on the TV part and hasn't quite figured out how to be knowledgeable without being annoying.

 

Melissa d'Arabian was a FNS winner. She had more people who disliked her than is normal for a winner of this show. (And there is always a certain percentage of people who do not like the winner.) It is unsurprising that your first impression was not positive. I didn't mind her as a winner, but that was mostly because I really didn't like the guy she beat. You don't have to look very far at all to find somebody who feels the exact opposite way about this topic.

 

Aarti Sequeira was another winner of FNS. She was generally thought to be a deserving winner, but I personally never thought I'd watch her show. She was nice enough, and some of her food ideas interested me, but she didn't really seem to have the charisma needed for me to intentionally find her on the dial and tune in.  (IMHO, I was totally right about that.)  Again, your first impression does not surprise me. She's a pretty good cook, she has pretty good ideas, but I am not shocked that her delivery of her opinions struck you as producer driven. 

 

I think it is pretty interesting to see that your first impressions of these people is so close to being in line with what seems to be the general feeling about them from those of us who have been exposed to them for years.

I love Melissa and could not stand Aarti with her giggle and flower in her hair.  And I really could not stand some of her little words that she used like "husby."

 

Melissa is charming and has an adorable family.  Melissa was saddled with a crappy concept that gave her detractors lots to nitpick about weekly when they would get out their calculators and claim that there was no way to do that dinner for $10.00, or that there was no way that portion was enough food, etc.

[cooksdelight]

Melissa's $10 dinners were a fallacy because you had to have staples that were not included in the meals/recipes. One of the biggest complaints my Dad has is that the Food Network show people have recipes that require things you don't always have in the cupboard. He's retired, has a big garden, and likes to watch the shows and learn new recipes. But he gets frustrated with a lot of them.

[Aquarius]

I don't find Melissa charming at all. I didn't watch her season, but every time I've seen her, both on her own show and as a guest on others, I've found her snotty and condescending.

Edited June 23, 2015 by Aquarius

[NikSac]

Melissa's $10 dinners were a fallacy because you had to have staples that were not included in the meals/recipes. One of the biggest complaints my Dad has is that the Food Network show people have recipes that require things you don't always have in the cupboard. He's retired, has a big garden, and likes to watch the shows and learn new recipes. But he gets frustrated with a lot of them.

 

This is a huge complaint of mine, too. I don't think it's too over the top to assume people have oil, salt, pepper, maybe some basic dried seasonings, etc. but when they're pulling out Saffron from the pantry I just start shaking my head. (not sure if Melissa ever did this specifically, but I see examples of it on these budget shows all the time). It reminds me of the shows where the cook time is only 20 minutes, but of course everything is already shopped for, prepped, washed, chopped, and conveniently on the middle shelf in the fridge.

[OtterMommy]

So, I was talking to my husband about this show and he asked something I really couldn't answer.  How many of the winners still have active shows?  By my count:

Guy (various shows, none of which was his prize show)

Jeff (again, not his prize show)

Damaris

 

I'm not sure...I thought Aarti was no longer with a show, but what about Melissa?  Just and Lenny never got a show and I know that there was one winner who ony id her show for a season and wanted out.  Am I missing any or wrong about any of these?

[KBS1607]

This is a huge complaint of mine, too. I don't think it's too over the top to assume people have oil, salt, pepper, maybe some basic dried seasonings, etc. but when they're pulling out Saffron from the pantry I just start shaking my head. (not sure if Melissa ever did this specifically, but I see examples of it on these budget shows all the time). It reminds me of the shows where the cook time is only 20 minutes, but of course everything is already shopped for, prepped, washed, chopped, and conveniently on the middle shelf in the fridge.

This prep thing really irritates me. I like Michael Symon so I got his cookbook 20 minute meals. Ha! It took me an hour to make the recipe I tried.

Edited June 23, 2015 by KBS1607

[howmanywords]

Guy's Big Bite was the show Guy got coming off his win and its still on. The new season hasnt begun yet but its still active.

 

Count me in not liking Melissa at all. IMO if she actually came up with a GOOD concept on her own the network would have gone with it, like they have done with some other winners with good concepts and she wouldnt have got stuck with $10 Dinners

[Wings]

Damaris is married---

http://www.foodnetworkgossip.com/2015/06/damaris-phillips-got-married-over.html#.VYicmJdZ3QY

 

 

She is adorable.  I love that she wore flat shoes and a dress with sleeves!  

 

The way Melissa pronounces the word food annoys me.  It is more like "feud,"  that is the closest it can be typed! 

Edited June 23, 2015 by wings707

[Skyfall]

So, I was talking to my husband about this show and he asked something I really couldn't answer.  How many of the winners still have active shows?  By my count:

Guy (various shows, none of which was his prize show)

Jeff (again, not his prize show)

Damaris

 

I'm not sure...I thought Aarti was no longer with a show, but what about Melissa?  Just and Lenny never got a show and I know that there was one winner who ony id her show for a season and wanted out.  Am I missing any or wrong about any of these?

Guy (Season 2 Winner: Guy's Big Bite, Triple D, and Triple G)

Kelsey Nixon (Season 4 4th Place: Kelsey's Essentials on Cooking Channel)

Melissa D'Arabian (Season 5 Winner: Rotating judge on Triple G)

Aarti Sequeira (Season 6 Winner: Rotating judge on Triple G)

Jeff Mauro (Season 7 Winner: The Kitchen)

Damaris Phillips (Season 9 Winner: Southern At Heart)

Nikki Dinki (Season 9 5th Place: Junk Food Flip on Cooking Channel)

[6 MeowMeowBeenz]

I had to laugh, 'cause I was just on facebook and decided to take a gander at "The Official Chef Lenny Fan Club  and there were actually some recent comments (June, 2015) from some of his "fans" complaining about Chef Lenny not getting his own show. :D

 

Apparently there are people who are in a twist because the Duggars aren't back on TV, what with them being wholesome Christians and all...

 

I guess it takes all kinds. 

 

What I find fascinating about Lenny, beyond the fact that a $10 an hour intern could have found his skeletons in about 5 minutes, is that he is a very Orwelllian nonperson to FN. It is as if he never existed. Have they ever rerun those shows?

[Aquarius]

What I find fascinating about Lenny, beyond the fact that a $10 an hour intern could have found his skeletons in about 5 minutes, is that he is a very Orwelllian nonperson to FN. It is as if he never existed. Have they ever rerun those shows?

 

I know, I find that fascinating too.  I saw Comcast had Season 10 on demand, which shocked me, because to my knowledge, FN has never broadcast that season again.  Didn't the marathon leading up to the current season only go to Season 9?

 

I would love to know what truly happened.  It HAS to be because of his online shenanigans, right?  If so, pathetic that no one thought to look around for them.  Sheesh.  In this day and age?

 

Every time I have Pioneer Woman on, if my husband notices, he always asks when she's going to have Lenny on her show.  Hee.

[Nutjob]

I caught Damaris's show for the first time a few weeks ago and surprisingly liked it a lot. I wouldn't set my clock to watch it, but I'd leave it on if I was home and FN was on. She's still pretty charming.

[Totale]

Nikki Dinki (Season 9 5th Place: Junk Food Flip on Cooking Channel)

 

I've watched a couple of those, they're OK.  It started out with Bobby Deen as co-host but they came up with somebody else, a guy with an English accent whose name I already forget.  Fine with me as I never was much of a Bobby fan - I watched a few "Mama's Meals" but that was mostly because (especially for a gay dude) he had some of the cutest girlfriend cooks ever seen guest on that show.  Nikki did have better ideas about lightening things up though - she replaced the mac in a lobster mac & cheese dish with spaghetti squash which I have to say would probably work.

[OtterMommy]

 

I've watched a couple of those, they're OK.  It started out with Bobby Deen as co-host but they came up with somebody else, a guy with an English accent whose name I already forget.  Fine with me as I never was much of a Bobby fan - I watched a few "Mama's Meals" but that was mostly because (especially for a gay dude) he had some of the cutest girlfriend cooks ever seen guest on that show.  Nikki did have better ideas about lightening things up though - she replaced the mac in a lobster mac & cheese dish with spaghetti squash which I have to say would probably work.

 

I watched a couple episodes, too.  It is a fine show, but a bit too formulaic for me to see it last very long.   Nikki, however, is quite good in it (better than Bobby, in my opinion) and I hope that this is a good stepping stone for her.

[Skyfall]

 

I've watched a couple of those, they're OK.  It started out with Bobby Deen as co-host but they came up with somebody else, a guy with an English accent whose name I already forget.  Fine with me as I never was much of a Bobby fan - I watched a few "Mama's Meals" but that was mostly because (especially for a gay dude) he had some of the cutest girlfriend cooks ever seen guest on that show.  Nikki did have better ideas about lightening things up though - she replaced the mac in a lobster mac & cheese dish with spaghetti squash which I have to say would probably work.

The English accent guy was actually only in the pilot from last year. I'm glad they replaced him with Bobby though as Bobby is a lot more bearable than he was.

[cooksdelight]

To answer a question about how thoroughly FN explores the background of each contestant.... there really was no excuse for Lenny after Josh JAG Garcia in season 3.

http://www.realitytvworld.com/news/report-next-food-network-star-finalist-lied-about-military-schooling-5467.php

[Totale]

The English accent guy was actually only in the pilot from last year. I'm glad they replaced him with Bobby though as Bobby is a lot more bearable than he was.

 

I didn't see the pilot and maybe they reran it, but the English guy was on one this week Tivo marked as "New".

[Skyfall]

I didn't see the pilot and maybe they reran it, but the English guy was on one this week Tivo marked as "New".

It was a rerun not sure why yours marked it as new, Dish had it as a rerun.

[rab01]

Fine with me as I never was much of a Bobby fan - I watched a few "Mama's Meals" but that was mostly because (especially for a gay dude) he had some of the cutest girlfriend cooks ever seen guest on that show.  Nikki did have better ideas about lightening things up though - she replaced the mac in a lobster mac & cheese dish with spaghetti squash which I have to say would probably work.

Yeah, Nikki uses different ingredients to satisfy in the same way as the unhealthy alternative without necessarily tasting the same while Bobby uses ingredients that remind you of the original.  It's like how he cooked on his other show and I always thought while I watched his show that I'm sure it tastes fine but wouldn't ever be chosen over the original dish unless health was a factor.

[Skyfall]

I like how they after they choose a winner, they still tweak it based on what the tasters liked from both. What annoys me is the final vote always has an even number! What if there is a tie?

Also why don't we have a Junk Food Flip forum?

[Bella]

Also why don't we have a Junk Food Flip forum?

 

Is that a real show? 

 

If you want a forum, ask for it in the New Show Forum Requests forum.

[Skyfall]

That's the name of Nikki Dinki's show heh,

Edited June 25, 2015 by Skyfall

[Totale]

I suspect it's a limited run and they've already burnt off at least half of what they filmed, I don't have enough to say about it to start a forum although somebody else might.

[cooksdelight]

We have a forum that is a catch-all for various types of shows. There's one for cooking shows that are small and don't have a forum:

http://forums.previously.tv/topic/6301-whats-cooking-cooking-shows-thats-what/page-2#entry875377

[Christina]

With the link @jtmacc99 posted above, I was able to watch Aarti's YouTube cooking show. The episodes were from 6 years ago, and her husband filmed and I think, edited, them. She spoke constantly and looked at the camera while cooking, a problem a lot of cooking show personalities have trouble with, but really didn't talk about the food or why she was doing whatever she was doing at the time. She was wearing a flower in her hair in all three episodes, a fashion statement I will never understand in grown women. Who am I kidding, I don't understand any fashion. She didn't cook anything I would want to eat, but had several positive comments, which was surprising to see on YouTube. I think it has the worst commenters in the world.

 

At 2:30 a.m. I had it on Beat Bobby Flay (?) and there was a person there who helps pick who he was going to compete against. I thought he was an arrogant ass and was waiting for the competitor to point out that he had been cooking longer than the jerk had been alive. When they introduced him, he was a Food Network Star winner, and his name was Justin Warner. I really will never watch anything he does. I leave my TV on cooking shows while I do other things, but will turn to music if his show comes on. What a jerk. I don't even care if he CAN cook; I will NOT be watching.

 

Not having watched FNS last year, I clicked on a link regarding Lenny on their website that showed up while I was reviewing either Aarti or Melissa. It had videos with screen captures, one showed him laying down with candy all over him, and another said it was a review of his year. Both of them brought up black videos with nothing loading. I didn't try the others. With the exception of the thumbnails, they have wiped him from their website, or at least made it hard to find.

Edited June 26, 2015 by Christina

[cooksdelight]

They really messed up by not giving Danushka a show, somewhere. She's quirky, deadpan humor, really good food. She could be just the boost that FN needs to get different viewers and keep the ones they have. I mean... look at her... she screams "Here I am, eat my food and drink my wine....or not....I really don't care...."

https://www.facebook.com/danushkacooks?fref=photo

[smiley13]

They really messed up by not giving Danushka a show, somewhere. She's quirky, deadpan humor, really good food. She could be just the boost that FN needs to get different viewers and keep the ones they have. I mean... look at her... she screams "Here I am, eat my food and drink my wine....or not....I really don't care...."

https://www.facebook.com/danushkacooks?fref=photo

I could not stand her!  I found her to be rude, there was no humor there at all.

[CMH1981]

Wow, I saw that promo of Justin's show in one of those ad blurbs in the bottom of the screen, he looked horrible.  The big hair, glasses, and red lips.  I would be pissed  if I was him b/c he looked like a drag queen.

[cooksdelight]

Speaking of Justin, he got married today, to his second wife. The one he started dating right after he left the first one.

[cooksdelight]

Lenny has popped up

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1058801057480679&set=o.355538464570580&type=1&theater

[Snarklepuss]

That Facebook page just popped up out of nowhere a few days ago.  And under the "about" page it lists a phone number for a woman based in Yonkers, NY.

[cooksdelight]

Lenny's harem of one?