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If you had to pick new judges who would they be?

Skyfall

By Skyfall
in Food Network Star

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mlp

mlp

I'm happy with Bobby usually but this past season he seemed disinterested.  I have no way to know if it was because the cast was less than wonderful overall or if he's just exhausted because he's getting older and has many, many irons in the fire.  Alton has become too acerbic and crotchety for me.  I'd be happy with Tyler Florence or Jet Tila.

I wish they'd replace Giada with someone with credentials who tells it like it is - maybe Alex or Anne Burrell.  I like Valerie but she's not actually a chef and she's probably too nice.  

I would not like to see Eddie and/or Damaris.  I like both of them but neither has the background and depth of knowledge this show requires - or should require if it wants to be taken seriously again.  Also, I find Damaris's goofy, flirty behaviors annoying.

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spiderpig

spiderpig

1 minute ago, mlp said:

I thought of another female I'd be very happy with - Amanda Freitag.  She's an experienced chef, attractive, nice, good sense of humor.  She's had a lot of judging experience and she's very good at criticizing without being unpleasant about it.

I love (Iron Fist in a velvet glove) Amanda.  She's always the bridesmaid to Alex's bride.

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Totale

Totale

(edited)
17 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

Amanda, yes! I almost forgot all about her since she's never had her own show.

She did though for a bit, didn't she?  It didn't fly, but I thought she had some Bar Rescue type show where she and someone else went in and fixed menus for restaurants.

ETA: American Diner Revival.  I never watched it.

Edited by Totale
Mabinogia

Mabinogia

The "mentor" should be a returning vet. I adore Demaris so she'd be my choice, but someone (other than Matthew) who has been through this before and can kind of guide them a little. I miss when they were actually taught what to do. I love Amanda Freitag and always found her a good judge so she'd work for me for the female. For the male, IDK just for the pretty factor I'd say Cutis  Stone (I'm a sucker for the accent. lol)

I do miss when the judges were the actual execs. You know, back when this was a search for a new star and not just a gameshow.

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Lura

Lura

I have a "thing" about Amanda Freitag.  I apologize and don't want to offend her fans, but I've never been able to like her.  I feel that there is a lot of "fake charm" there, covering up a snake.

I would like to see a trained (culinary school) female judge who knows what she's talking about, yet who can also be sweet, funny, and tactful, and that leaves me, happily, with Alex Guarnicelli.  She knows her stuff!  Anne Burrell would be outstanding, but I would be concerned about her legendary temper.

For the male judge, I would choose Michael Symon for his training, personality, and good humor.  Since he's Bobby Flay's best friend, though, he might not accept the job.  I wouldn't want a former contestant such as Demaris or Jeff Mauro, but rather someone unattached to the experience, someone older whom the contestants would really respect.  I feel that middle-aged, successful chefs with warm personalities are the way to go. 

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rab01

rab01

I'd like a three-person judging panel of a network suit, a producer, and on on-air personality known primarily for his/her cooking. The producer could be someone like Alton Brown who produced shows for himself and others.  And then have a former winner in a host/mentor role.  

Mainly, I agree with Totale that we need a return to primary judge being the person/people responsible for hiring decisions because they have a different responsibility than do Bobby or Giada - it doesn't damage Giada's reputation if she picks a dud in the way that it would for someone whose primary job is to make hiring choices.

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Lura

Lura

(edited)

I agree with a lot of what you say, rab01, with a couple of reservations.  The first one is the network person.  I'm not at all happy with the direction the network is going in these days, including the hiring and firing.  In many cases, IMHO, they're bringing in the cheapest people they can find (I won't name names).  It also bothers me that someone from the network's administration would be involved in further fixing of the show's winner.  My other problem, and it's only MHO, is that I can't think of a former winner that I'd like to see choosing another winner.  Jeff Mauro?  Melissa D'Arabian?  Justin Warner?  Guy Fieri?  Demaris?  I don't think so.  I actually think that Jason Smith would make a good and honest judge, but he hasn't even been on the air yet.

BTW, I read in an interview today that Alton is writing a play about a cooking show that he hopes to get onto Broadway.  In college, his major was theater arts.  I'm not sure, but I got the impression that he would star in the play.

Edited by Lura
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Skyfall

Skyfall

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On 8/20/2017 at 4:51 PM, HyeChaps said:

Call me crazy, but I think that Guy would be great in the mentor spot that Alton used to have. ( I don't ever expect Alton to return.)

Way too busy. He can't even regularly film his S&S show.

On 8/20/2017 at 5:07 PM, cooksdelight said:

Tyler.....is so.....hesitant.....when he speaks......would drive......me crazy......

Plus he'll want to call them in a conference phone call.

On 8/21/2017 at 2:27 PM, Simon47 said:

I don't remember the name of the show Curtis Stone hosted. It's the eclipse right now, but Amanda Frietag is definitely a choice, too. Glad you guys thought of her.

I watched Hart and it is so boring, she's just giving tips and tips.

I actually like the tips, helps separate it from the other traveling shows.

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Lamb18

Lamb18

Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood (just kidding!).

Of the three A's (Alex G., Amanda F. and Anne B.) I'd like Anne the best. She's not my favorite but I think she'd be the best judge/mentor of the 3. She doesn't sugar-coat and take any crap. I wouldn't mind Alton - I like him and he can be ruthless with the jerks, too. At least any of the 3 would eat the food.  If you need a teddy bear judge, then Michael Symon. (He's very good, too, and will be honest in a kind way.) I think Ted Allen would be a good mentor from the presentation aspect, kind of like a Tim Gunn role.

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Lura

Lura

I just thought about somebody that I like a lot, and he seems like a pretty regular guy.  That's Scott Conant.  If you don't know who he is, he's one of the judges on "Chopped."  Recently, he was a judge on Beat Bobby Flay, and he brought his 6-year-old daughter Ayla with him.  Ayla, a dark-haired beauty, stole the show.  She understood the game perfectly, and she shouted out things on her own that cracked up the audience.

Scott is a handsome guy, but I've always thought he left his ego at the door when he entered the FN.  He has a great sense of humor, but when he's judging, he's 100% serious.  Alex and Scott would be good together because they've judged Chopped together for years.  Face it.  Alex would be good with anyone.  And she wouldn't insist they speak Italian words like they lived there.  Just another idea.

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Snarklepuss

Snarklepuss

On 8/22/2017 at 4:30 PM, rab01 said:

I'd like a three-person judging panel of a network suit, a producer, and on on-air personality known primarily for his/her cooking. The producer could be someone like Alton Brown who produced shows for himself and others.  And then have a former winner in a host/mentor role.  

Mainly, I agree with Totale that we need a return to primary judge being the person/people responsible for hiring decisions because they have a different responsibility than do Bobby or Giada - it doesn't damage Giada's reputation if she picks a dud in the way that it would for someone whose primary job is to make hiring choices.

ITA with this.  I think the lack of transparency from the network on what it's really looking for is taking the show down several pegs.  It benefits from being open with the contestants (and therefore the audience) about what type of person/food authority/culinary POV they're looking for.  I don't think Bobby and Giada are providing this.  They're so quiet about it that it leaves me guessing and therefore not trusting what they're really doing there.  Are they deceiving us in some way?  What are the reasons for their decisions?  Often they don't make any sense to me.  Are they really making the decisions or are there producers behind the scenes doing it and telling them what to say?  I love your idea that the person should be an on-air personality that has produced shows, but I would be happy with whoever is in Kermit/Medusa's roles these days too.

Not to be too critical of some of the chef names already mentioned, because I think chefs should be represented too as far as assessing the food quality, but the ones chosen should have some background in hosting shows.  That unfortunately means that people who've only judged on shows like Chopped or competed as chefs being judged solely for their food and not their on-air personalities don't cut it for me, like Amanda F., who as much as I like her wouldn't qualify.  Damaris and Eddie would because they've both hosted shows.  Alex G. has done so many things that I think she also qualifies.  She has hosted and judged shows before and seems to understand what the network would be looking for.  Of course Alton would be perfect but I don't think anyone can persuade him to come back to this show.  I got the feeling he left of his own accord after the Justin season.  I always got the feeling there was a lot more to that situation than the audience ever knew and it soured Alton on doing the show.

schnauzergirl

schnauzergirl

Amanda did have a limited-run show on FN a couple of years ago, but she didn't cook.   Alex, of course, along with Anne Burrell and -- can I be writing this? -- Guy.  Michael Symon is a possibility, but he's living a 48-hour day already.  Bobby and Giada have settled into a boring routine and too often are phoning it in.  At the core, though, is the fact viewers now understand that it's unlikely the FNS winner will have anything more than a 6 episode run (if that) and then will be shuffled from competition to competition so what does it matter who wins?  It's all part of the strategy of moving from cooking to travel and competitions, which apparently hit the demographic FN is looking for.

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ivygirl

ivygirl

UO here but I think The Kitchen folks would actually be pretty suited for this. You have Mauro, a former winner; Zakarian, an actual chef; Sunny, who's not bad with on-air stuff; and Katie, who's... um... a former Top Chef host? Martha Stewart with a chummier disposition? I dunno. I'd leave Marcella out of it because she doesn't seem to care about anyone but herself and Fausto. They could rotate in people like Carla and Mario Batali. Heck, make it a Chew/Kitchen mashup.

I'm beyond the point of thinking that this show will ever be about actual cooking expertise, so The Kitchen people would be just about the right mix for me.

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ivygirl

ivygirl

On 8/25/2017 at 3:46 PM, Lura said:

I just thought about somebody that I like a lot, and he seems like a pretty regular guy.  That's Scott Conant.  If you don't know who he is, he's one of the judges on "Chopped."  Recently, he was a judge on Beat Bobby Flay, and he brought his 6-year-old daughter Ayla with him.  Ayla, a dark-haired beauty, stole the show.  She understood the game perfectly, and she shouted out things on her own that cracked up the audience.

Scott is a handsome guy, but I've always thought he left his ego at the door when he entered the FN.  He has a great sense of humor, but when he's judging, he's 100% serious.  Alex and Scott would be good together because they've judged Chopped together for years.  Face it.  Alex would be good with anyone.  And she wouldn't insist they speak Italian words like they lived there.  Just another idea.

Scott is really good looking and kind of charming. I even find his onion issue endearing (I know, I know...).

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spiderpig

spiderpig

3 minutes ago, cooksdelight said:

You and me both!

Scott used to get so pissy about contestants until he started competing on special judge episodes. (Remember the greatest offense to all of mankind - red onions?).  But he was fun in competition and so adorable with his little daughter.  I'm so crazy about him now that I want to send him a gift basket of red onions.

Curtis Stone is charming and astute.  I used to love Take-Home Chef and was always jealous he never sandbagged me at the local grocery.

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prunieprune

prunieprune

On 7/8/2018 at 8:59 PM, LillyB said:

Since the Chew has been cancelled, I vote for Michael Symon. I just love his personality and could make even Gaida likable.

Agreed, although it would be even better to replace Giada with Alex or Anne.  I also like Tyler Florence and Curtis Stone as judges-but either of those only if they take out Giada- I'm not interested in watching her fawn over the other judge (it's enough with the contestants).  Bobby has managed to to maintain a friendly but not overly friendly vibe with her on the show.  

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