Sunday, July 31, 2016

Food Network Star Winner Crowned Tonight

Photo - Food Network
Tonight at 9pm ET on Food Network is the season 12 finale of Food Network Star where the winner will be announced.  The final three contestants are Damiano Carrara, Tregaye Fraser, and Jernard Wells.  On the episode tonight, we will get to see each of their full pilots as well as the top moments of the season.  A poll on this website reveals that people are rooting for Damiano to win with approximately 54% of the vote followed by Jernard at 28% and Tregaye at 18%.  Judging by the comments, it seems that people don't feel too excited about any of the final three but if they had to choose, it would be Damiano.

The winner is determined by Food Network alone this year and while commercials/advertisements of Food Network Star do not guarantee the winner getting a show, tonight's episode description states, "One winner is selected and will go on to shoot their very own show on Food Network!"

I will update this post once the winner is announced and will also update this with any information about the winner's show.  Last year Eddie Jackson won, but his show was not like his pilot and he ended up hosting a BBQ competition show called BBQ Blitz.

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

YouTube Star Hannah Hart To Get Food Network Show

Photo - Food Network
Food Network has ordered a travel series with YouTube star Hannah Hart and the series will be a "culinary travelogue adventure".  It will be a six-episode series where Hannah will travel to six different cities and will dine out on a limited budget based on the city's average dining out price. Hannah Hart will also produce digital content for Food Network that will span across various social networks.

Hannah is most known for her YouTube series My Drunk Kitchen and her YouTube channel has over 2.5 million subscribers.  She also has a New York Times best selling book titled My Drunk Kitchen: A Guide To Eating, Drinking, and Going With Your Gut.  You may recall Hannah was a guest judge on an episode of Food Network Star this year.

This seems pretty similar concepts seen on Food Network before such as Rachael Ray's $40 a Day or Jeff Mauro's $24 in 24, but we will have to wait to see how it differs.  Food Network most likely recruited Hannah Hart to help build their online brand and digital content, which is pretty apparent by the press release.


The Press Release from Scripps is below:

Sunday, July 24, 2016

Food Network Star Season 12 Winner - Poll

Photo - Food Network 
Season 12 of Food Network Star is down to the final three contestants and each of them have produced their pilot.  The final three contestants all produced traveling show pilots and it wasn't clear if they chose their themes, but their themes were:

  • Damiano Carrara - Visiting Bakeries
  • Tregaye Fraser - Visited a cafeteria with a zoo and food. 
  • Jernard Wells - Authentric Creole food all over the United States.

The full pilots will not be shown until next week's episode, so it is hard to even determine who did the best or what their pilot is even about.

There is always a poll on this site to determine who people are rooting for to win.  So vote below to let everyone know who you want to win and feel free to discuss in the comments.

UPDATE - The winner was crowned and it was Tregaye Fraser.

Food Network Star Episode 10 Elimination - Down To The Final Three

Photo - Food Network
On tonight's episode of Food Network Star the three remaining contestants were surprised with the winner of Star Salvation rejoining the competition, and the winner of that turned out to be Yaku Moton-Spruill.  Jernard, Tregaye, Damiano, and Yaku each had help from the eliminated contestants in their first challenge and they had to work together to create a dish of their choosing.  They then had to make a video to present their dish and previous Food Network Star winner Aarti Sequeira was there to help determine the final three contestants who would get to produce pilots.

Damiano, Jernard, and Tregaye were the top three and each got to produce their pilots.  Another past Food Network Star winner, Guy Fieri was on hand to help the finalists do their pilot.  They had to do an intro, a food segment, and an outro. Damiano did his pilot at a bakery, Jernard at a Creole restaurant and Tregaye at a cafeteria with zoo animals and food.  We will have to wait until next week to see who Food Network determined was the winner and what the future will bring for them.

I will have a poll up shortly to see who people are rooting for out of the final three.  In the past, the polls were a pretty good predictor of the winner, but now that the winner is not determined by vote, it just gives us an idea who everybody wants to win.  UPDATE - The poll is now live.

Sunday, July 17, 2016

Food Network Star Episode 9 Elimination - Plus Star Salvation

Photo - Food Network
On tonight's episode of Food Network Star the four remaining contestants had to cook a dish related to a national food day and had to present their dish on a live stream with a family member present.  On the second challenge, they were assigned a different holiday party to host and they took turns hosting their own holiday special.

Jernard came out on top in the first challenge and earned an advantage in the second challenge. He was able to assign the holidays for the second challenge to each of the finalists.  Damiano had Cinco De Mayo, Ana had St. Patrick's Day , Tregaye had New Year's Eve, and Jernard had Mardi Gras.  The judges decided that Tregaye and Damiano were safe, then decided that Ana did the worst and was eliminated.

On Star Salvation, Yaku Moton-Spruill, Monterey Salka, and Ana Quincoces competed for a chance to rejoin the competition. This episode of Star Salvation can be watched here.  This is the last episode of StarnSalvation and the winner will rejoin the final three next week.  As is usually the case with the last episode of Star Salvation, it ended with a cliff hanger and you will not find out who won until next week.

Sunday, July 10, 2016

Food Network Star Episode 8 Elimination - Plus Star Salvation

Photo - Food Network
On tonight's episode of Food Network Star the remaining contestants had to first create a classic American dish with their own twist for Popeye's.  Then in the second challenge, they had to create a five course meal composed of guilty pleasure dishes. The finalists also had to give a presentation describing their dish and Alex Guarnaschelli and Trisha Yearwood were there to help Giada De Laurentiis and Bobby Flay judge the challenge.

Tregaye once again came out on top in the first challenge and earned an advantage in the second challenge.  She was able to pick her course to create, and she was also able to switch other competitors courses.  After the five course meal, the judges decided that Erin Campbell would be the contestant going home.

On Star Salvation, Yaku Moton-Spruill, Monterey Salka, and Erin Campbell competed for a chance to rejoin the competition. This episode of Star Salvation can be watched here, and Erin Campbell was eliminated from Star Salvation, so she will not be rejoining the competition and will not be the next Food Network Star.  Yaku and Monterey keep eliminating everyone that gets eliminated each week.

Sunday, July 3, 2016

Food Network Star Episode 7 Elimination - Plus Star Salvation

Photo - Food Network 
On tonight's episode of Food Network Star the remaining contestants had to use frozen food to create a dish of their choice. Lorraine Pascale was on hand to help Bobby Flay and Giada De Laurentiis judge the first challenge. Then in the second challenge the finalists were grouped into three teams of two to create a island-inspired menu for a tiki party. They also had to do a food demo in front of a group of party-goers and Anne Burrell was there to help judge.

Tregaye was determined the winner of the first challenge again and got the advantage of being able to pick her partner for the second challenge, and she chose Damiano.  Tregaye/Damiano, Ana/Joy, and Erin/Jernard were the three teams.  The judges decided that Erin and Jernard were the winning team and were safe from elimination.  Ana and Joy were the bottom team and one of them would be eliminated, and the judges decided that Joy Thompson would be the one to go home.

On Star Salvation, Yaku Moton-Spruill, Monterey Salka, and Joy Thompson competed for a chance to rejoin the competition. This episode of Star Salvation can be watched here, and Joy Thompson was also eliminated from Star Salvation, so she will not be rejoining the competition and will not be the next Food Network Star.