Ciao House Winner - Season 1

Sunday night at 9pm ET/PT on Food Network is the season 1 finale of Ciao House where the winning chef will win a chance to train with master chefs across Italy. The remaining chefs competing are: Saba Duffy, Natalia Rosario, Corey Becker, and Preston Paine.  Saba and Natalia were the final two chefs until the show decided to allow everybody to compete to get back into the show. Corey and Preston are the contestants still alive to rejoin the show for the finale.

The episode description for the finale states:

"Judges Alex Guarnaschelli and Gabe Bertaccini preside over a cooking duel to see which previously eliminated chef will earn a spot in the finale. The winner will join the other two finalists to cook one last meal, knowing a life-changing prize is within their reach -- an immersive culinary education across Italy to train with renowned master chefs."

I will update this post with the winner of Ciao House Season 1 after the episode airs.  It seems like not a lot of people are crazy about the show, so we will see if it returns for another season.

Continue reading to see who won Ciao House season 1.....

Summer Baking Championship - Season 1

New series Summer Baking Championship airs on Monday nights at 9pm ET on Food Network and the season started May 15, 2022.  This is yet another baking championship themed series on Food Network and the host of the show is Jesse Palmer.  The judges on the show are Duff Goldman, Carla Hall, and Damaris Phillips.  There are 10 bakers that are competing for a $25,000 prize and the competitors are:

• Alyssa Alcantara (San Diego, CA)
• John Boyle (Philadelphia, PA)
• Kyle Davis (Springfield, MO)
• Kristina Krause (Leesburg, VA)
• Yohann Le Bescond (Ocala, FL)
• Ally Radziewicz (Syracuse, NY)
• Lisa Lu (Healdsburg, CA)
• Anrika Martin (Kingston, NY)
• Zoe Peckich (Pittsburgh, PA)
• Carlos Pena (Las Vegas, NV)

The Summer Baking Championship finale will air at the end of June with the last challenge being a 4th of July theme.  Feel free to discuss this season in the comments and I will also do a post for the final episode.

Spring Baking Championship Winner - Season 9

Tonight at 8pm ET on Food Network is the season 9 finale of Spring Baking Championship where the winner will take home a $25,000 prize.  The four remaining bakers competing for the prize are Christian Velez, Clement Le Deore, Luke Deardurff, and Molly Robertson. This will be a double episode with someone being eliminated during the first hour and the winner announced in the second hour.  Molly and Luke were on the bottom of the last challenge, so one of these two will be eliminated before the final challenge.

Tonight's episode description states:

"To culminate the season of love, host Jesse Palmer is throwing a Spring Baking wedding! Before the wedding can take place, the bottom two bakers each create a dozen doughnut wedding shower favors for a place in the final bake. Then, the final three create proposal desserts and dream wedding cakes for three real couples. The baker who wins the hearts of the happy pair along with judges Duff Goldman, Nancy Fuller and Kardea Brown will be crowned Spring Baking Champion and win $25,000!"

I will update this post with the season 9 winner of Spring Baking Championship after the episode airs.

Continue reading to see who won Spring Baking Championship season 9........

Food Network's Ciao House Season 1

Food Network's newest show Ciao House airs on Sunday nights at 9pm ET on Food Network and the prize for winning is "an immersive culinary education across Italy, training with renowned Italian master chefs."  Alex Guarnaschelli co-hosts the show with Gabriele Bertaccini and the series will be eight episodes long with the finale on Sunday, June 4th.  It seems like Giada De Laurentiis would have been on this show if she didn't leave Food Network for Amazon. The ten competitors living together and competing for the prize are:

• Omar Ashley (Avenel, New Jersey)
• Corey Becker (Brooklyn, New York)
• Saba Duffy (Framingham, Massachusetts)
• Trenica Johnson (Houston, Texas)
• Jess Mahoney (Los Angeles, California)
• Preston Paine (Dallas, Texas)
• Sarah Raffetto (New York, New York)
• Justin Robinson (Atlanta, Georgia)
• Natalia Rosario (Chicago, Illinois)
• Matt Wasson (Staten Island, New York)

They will compete against each other as individuals and in teams to prove their mastery of Italian cooking techniques and dishes.  Each week, new teams are picked and someone from the losing team will be eliminated by team voting.  The first episode is available on YouTube if you need to catch up and feel free to discuss the season in the comments.  

UPDATE - To see who won Ciao House, visit this post on the finale. 

Tournament of Champions Season 4 Winner

Sunday night at 8pm ET on Food Network is the two-hour season 4 finale of Tournament of Champions. There are four chefs remaining who are competing for bragging rights and a $100,000 prize. The final four chefs are Jet Tila, Britt Rescigno, Maneet Chauhan, and Mei Lin.  Maneet Chauhan won season 2 of Tournament of Champions and Jet Tila was in the final four of the last two seasons, but lost to Brooke Williamson in both of them.  Britt and Mei Lin are both first time competitors.

For the semi-finals of season 4, Jet Tila will face Mei Lin and the winner will represent the West in the final matchup.  Maneet Chauhan and Britt Rescigno will face off with the winner representing the East in the final matchup.  The two winners of those match-ups will face off in the finale to determine the winner of Tournament of Champions season four.

Here is a previous post about all of the matchups and outcomes for season 4 of Tournament of Champions, but below is how the final four got to this point:

• Jet Tila beat Carlos Anthony 84-77, Lee Anne Wong 83-78, and Adam Sobel 88-86.
• Maneet Chauhan beat Jonathon Sawyer 92-85, Stephanie Izard 86-84, and Karen Akunowicz 88-81.
• Britt Rescigno beat season 3 champion Tiffani Faison 89-88, Darnell Ferguson 83-81, and Jose Garces 85-81.
• Mei Lin beat Crista Luedtke 84-82, Tiffany Derry 92-85, and Shota Nakajima 91-84.

I will update this post with the winner of the final three match-ups after the episode airs and you can discuss this season in the comments.

UPDATE - Continue reading if you want to know who won the final matchups and season 4 of Tournament of Champions.  The episode was released on Discovery+ so if you have that premium service, you can watch it there ahead of the normal air time.  Obviously spoilers ahead so stop reading if you do not want to know......

Dutch Treat - Restaurant Impossible Update

On this week's episode of Restaurant: Impossible, which is the season finale, Robert Irvine and his crew are in Franconia, New Hampshire to makeover Dutch Treat. Dutch Treat is owned by John who is overworked and has lost his desire for the restaurant.  There is junk everywhere in the restaurant and John doesn't seem to want help from others.  Robert needs to determine if John is able to regain his desire for the restaurant in hopes of turning the business around.

As I normally do with Restaurant: Impossible episodes, I searched around the Internet to read stories, comments and reviews about Dutch Treat to get an idea of how the restaurant is doing since Robert Irvine visited, and here is what I found (note - all reviews are post Restaurant: Impossible):

White Mountain Tavern - Restaurant Impossible Update

Photo - Robert Irvine Facebook

On this week's episode of Restaurant: Impossible, Robert Irvine and his crew are in Lincoln, New Hampshire to makeover White Mountain Tavern. White Mountain Tavern is located at a mountain resort and is owned by David and Melissa.  They have a volatile relationship and a toxic standing in the community.  Robert will need to fix these two large problems in hopes of turning this restaurant around.

As I normally do with Restaurant: Impossible episodes, I searched around the Internet to read stories, comments and reviews about White Mountain Tavern to get an idea of how the restaurant is doing since Robert Irvine visited, and here is what I found (note - all reviews are post Restaurant: Impossible):

The Balanced Chef - Restaurant Impossible Update

On this week's episode of Restaurant: Impossible, Robert Irvine and his crew are in Rome, New York to makeover The Balanced Chef. The Balanced Chef's owner Brian is facing multiple issues.  The concept of his restaurant is confusing and he is also facing health issues. Robert will need figure out a plan to help Brian reduce his stress to turn his health and his restaurant around.

As I normally do with Restaurant: Impossible episodes, I searched around the Internet to read stories, comments and reviews about The Balanced Chef to get an idea of how the restaurant is doing since Robert Irvine visited, and here is what I found (note - all reviews are post Restaurant: Impossible):

Franco Di Roma - Restaurant Impossible Update

Photo - Robert Irvine Facebook

On this week's episode of Restaurant: Impossible, Robert Irvine and his crew are in Middletown, New York to makeover Franco Di Roma. Franco Di Roma is owned by married couple Franco and Karen and a mistake in the past has driven a wedge between them. Franco refuses to change, Karen is not showing up and their son refuses to work for them.  Robert will need to bridge the divide and help them forgive each other in hopes of saving the restaurant and the family. 

As I normally do with Restaurant: Impossible episodes, I searched around the Internet to read stories, comments and reviews about Franco Di Roma to get an idea of how the restaurant is doing since Robert Irvine visited, and here is what I found (note - all reviews are post Restaurant: Impossible):

Leah's Korner Kafe - Restaurant Impossible Update

On this week's episode of Restaurant: Impossible, Robert Irvine and his crew are in Coleman, Michigan to makeover Leah's Korner Kafe. Leah's Korner Kafe is a diner owned by Leah and Chris and the failing restaurant is destroying their marriage.  Leah will not listen to Chris and this has caused him to step away from the restaurant.  Robert will need to get Chris back involved in the restaurant in hopes of saving both the restaurant and their marriage. 

As I normally do with Restaurant: Impossible episodes, I searched around the Internet to read stories, comments and reviews about Leah's Korner Kafe to get an idea of how the restaurant is doing since Robert Irvine visited, and here is what I found (note - all reviews are post Restaurant: Impossible):