Old World Italian From Restaurant Impossible To Close

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Old World Italian, which was featured on season six of Restaurant Impossible, will be closing for good after September 7th according to WMBF.  Despite a lot of good reviews, the restaurant located at Murrells Inlet, SC just couldn't get enough customers to come into their restaurant.

Business was 'booming' after the show filmed in February, and once again when the show aired in April, however the owners claim this was one of the slowest summers ever.

Damaris Phillips Show Update

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It looks like we have a premiere date and time for Food Network Star winner Damaris Phillip's new show.  According to the Food Network Ad Sales website, Damaris's show has a working title of The Damaris Project rather than the name of her pilot of Eat, Date, Love.

It is pretty standard that the Food Network does not use the pilot name that is filmed during Food Network Star.  Last year, Justin Warner's pilot was Rebel with a Culinary Cause, and he had a working title of Justin's Excellent Adventure.  Then when his 1 hour show finally aired, it was called Rebel Eats.  So don't be surprised if The Damaris Project doesn't end up being the show name.

Guy's Grocery Games Premiere Date and Judges

Photo - Twitter

It was revealed earlier this month that Guy Fieri would be hosting a new show on the Food Network called Guy's Grocery Games.  Now, there is a little bit more information about the show as they have been filming in the recent weeks. 

The show's premiere date is set to be Sunday, October 20th at 8pm.  Also, they are filming 13 episodes of the show, so there will be no test-run pilot episode or 6-episode season (the first season of shows on the Food Network usually only get 6 episodes). 

As far as the judges on the show, it looks like there aren't set judges, and they will rotate.  By looking at Twitter, here are some of the confirmed judges that will be on Guy's Grocery Games:

Anna Maria's From Restaurant Impossible To Close

Anna Maria's in Dunmore, Pennsylvania, which was featured on season three of Restaurant Impossible, will be closing their restaurant this week according to WNEP.  The article doesn't have much information, but it states the owner says the closure was due to the family dealing with health issues.

You may remember Anna Maria's from being one of the filthiest Restaurant Impossible makeovers, which had Robert Irvine gagging in the kitchen and stopping food service during the episode.  The episode originally aired in February of 2012, and since its airing has received a lot of 1-star reviews, although the reviews of late have been a bit better.  A recent review from early August stated that there were only two tables there on a Saturday night, which doesn't sound good for business. 

While there may be health issues, I am sure business being down also had an impact on deciding to close the restaurant.  If something is profitable, you find ways to make it work.

This is the 7th restaurant to close out of 12 from Season 3 of Restaurant Impossible, leaving just 4 of the 12 open with the original owners.  The Restaurant Impossible Update Page has been updated to reflect this closing.

Restaurant Impossible - Aponte's Pizzeria Update

Tonight on the season 6 finale of Restaurant Impossible, Robert Irvine and crew are going to Mason, Ohio to makeover Aponte's Pizzeria Restaurant.  The owner Tony bought the restaurant eight years ago despite already being in debt.  Tony is from New Jersey and supposedly has the attitude and edge to prove it, so we will have to see if that causes any conflicts with Robert.  As I normally do with Restaurant: Impossible episodes, I searched around the Internet to read stories, comments and reviews about Aponte's Pizzeria 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 Shed Closes Mobile Location Leaving People Angered

The Shed, which is the subject of the new Food Network show The Shed, abruptly closed their Mobile, Alabama location earlier this week.  Employees claim they came to work on Tuesday to a handwritten sign that said Closed, and directed customers to their Ocean Springs location.

The following day, a different sign was posted outside(pictured right), which was from the Revenue Division of Mobile County saying their was a tax lien on the property.  So, it looks like they didn't pay taxes and were forced to close.

That is not what has people angered though.  It is the news story (video of it is after the jump) that has an interview with Brad Orrison who doesn't seem to care about the employees he left without a job.  He was joking about them losing their job and happily stated "Ya gotta find another job!"

Food News - Robert Irvine Protein Bar and A Giada De Laurentiis Las Vegas Restaurant

Photo - PRNewswire

Robert Irvine teamed up with FortiFX to create a protein bar, which launched earlier this week.  The protein bar is baked and "delivers 30 grams of the highest quality protein blend, including whey – elements the body can use.  Low in sugar, these bars are also easy to digest."  Robert claims it is as good as anything he's ever made.  If you are interested in trying a free sample, head over to the website for the protein bar and sign up for one (Link). 

Let me know how you think it tastes if you get one.  Maybe it will be good, but only one way to find out.  I bet if Robert was fed his protein bar on Restaurant Impossible, he would spit it out in a napkin and freak out.

'Beat Bobby Flay' Pilot Airs Saturday Night On Food Network

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Beat Bobby Flay, which can be described as a new version of Throwdown, is scheduled to have its pilot episode air Saturday night at 9:00pm on the Food Network.  It will replay at midnight, and again on Tuesday August 27th at 11pm and 2am, but that may be it (Edit - another one Sat., Aug 31st, 4:30 ET).  So if you want to check it out, make sure to tune in at one of these times or set your DVR.  It is only a half hour long and is sandwiched between, you guessed it, countless reruns of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.

The description of Beat Bobby Flay when the new series for 2013 were announced stated:

In order to beat Bobby Flay, you have to get to him first. This new series is the ultimate throwdown-showdown…. Three culinary masters, each with their own signature dish, a dish that they’d stake their reputations on, travel to New York for the chance to challenge Bobby Flay to a head-to-head cook-off of their specialty. But first, these contenders must battle it out to see who has the culinary prowess to ultimately go one-on-one against Bobby on his own turf. Produced by Rock Shrimp for Food Network

The description of the show on the Food Network site has been changed a bit, and it reveals a bit more about the show.

Sports Stars To Compete on 'Chopped'

According to TVGuide, there will be an upcoming new episode of Chopped that will feature 'Sports Stars.'  This episode is scheduled to air on Tuesday September 3rd at 10pm, and the athletes are competing for charity.  The 'Sports Stars' competing are: Danica Patrick (Auto Racing), Tiki Barber (former NFL running back for the New York Giants), Natalie Coughlin (Olympic Champion Swimmer), and Chuck Zito (I guess being an amateur boxer and martial artist makes him a "Sports Star"?)

The Food Network description states:

Four athletes who feel right at home in the kitchen battle it out for charity. The judges are presented with four salmon dishes to taste for the first course. In the second round chocolate-covered marshmallows seem to be the most stress-inducing ingredient. And figuring out how to transform olive oil cake is the challenge for dessert.

This will be a one episode special, and not a tournament like Chopped All-Stars or anything.


UPDATE - For those wondering who won, Tiki Barber was eliminated after the appetizer, Chuck Zito after the entree, and Natalie Coughlin after the dessert round making Danica Patrick the Chopped winner and winning $10,000 for her charity.

Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill New York Location To Close

At the end of May, Zagat spotted Bobby Flay's restaurant Mesa Grill on a real estate website that said the space was available.  This led people to believe that Mesa Grill's New York location would either be closing or moving.

When that story came out, Bobby Flay responded to Grubstreet, and said they were renegotiating the lease and this was just the landlord testing the market.  He also said a move to midtown was possible, but they didn't have a space yet, and that Mesa Grill would live on in New York one way or another.

Thieves Inc. - Another Food Network Hidden Camera Show

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There is a new Food Network series that will start on Wednesday, September 11th at 10pm called Thieves Inc.  The show, which was not listed in the upcoming series for this year, is supposed to look at theft in the food industry and help clients prevent future losses due to theft.  The premise of this show has professional security experts, Scott McDonald and Connie Ribble, dress up in disguises to steal from their clients in the first part of the show.  They then use hidden cameras to catch shoplifters in the act on the second part of the show.

The show description states that it is a 'comedic' look at what food and beverage retailers have to deal with when it comes to theft.  Sounds like another show with manufactured 'reality' such as Mystery Diners and Restaurant Stakeout.  I wonder how believable these incidents of shoplifters caught in the act will be...  There are only six episodes planned of Thieves Inc., as is usually the case with first season's of shows, so who knows if it will be around for another season.  With some of the shows currently being created and renewed by the Food Network, anything is possible.


Press release about the show with more information is below:

The Great Food Truck Race Season 4 - Spoilers and Preview

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The fourth season of The Great Food Truck Race is set to start on Sunday, August 18th at 9pm on the Food Network.  It is taking the Sunday night primetime spot of Food Network Star and Tyler Florence is once again hosting.  This season is being touted as the longest route in series history and spans 4,181 miles.  They are again using contestants that currently do not have a food truck and the contestants are competing to win a food truck and $50,000.

There are eight teams competing this season, and they are:
Aloha Plate (Los Angeles, Maui and Oahu, Hawaii), Boardwalk Breakfast Empire (Sea Bright, N.J.), Bowled and Beautiful (Los Angeles), Frankfootas (New York), Murphy’s Spud Truck (Los Angeles), Philly’s Finest Sambonis (Philadelphia), The Slide Show (Los Angeles) and Tikka Tikka Taco (St. Louis).

While the contestants are forbidden to talk about anything about the show, that doesn't stop other people from writing about it, so continue reading if you would like to know some spoilers and eliminations for each of the seven episodes.

Cutthroat Kitchen Premieres Tonight

Photo - Multivu

Just a reminder that Cutthroat Kitchen premieres tonight after the Food Network Star finale.  I am sure you have seen the ads on the Food Network or from previous posts on this site.

Alton Brown hosts, and the show description states:

"In each episode, four chefs are greeted by Alton with a briefcase filled with $100,000 in cold hard cash and each contestant receives $25,000 to spend wisely over the course of the game on auction items to help themselves or sabotage their competitors.  After each cooking challenge is given, chefs have sixty seconds to gather ingredients in the pantry and then regroup for an auction to bid on culinary curveballs such as the exclusive use of salt or not allowing their opponents to taste their dishes.  A chef will be eliminated after each of the three rounds, and the last competitor to survive wins the money they have left in their bank."

A few more details and news about the show:

Food Network Star Winner Revealed Tonight

Tonight at 9pm is the finale of Food Network Star, where the winner of season nine will be revealed.  The final three competitors are Damaris Phillips, Russell Jackson, and Rodney Henry.  Judging by the poll on this site, as well as the comments, it seems like Damaris Phillips is the clear frontrunner to win this season.  However, with the rules the way they are, anyone could be named the winner, and some people think Rodney Henry is 'the chosen one.'

So, tune in at 9pm to see the winner of Season 9 of Food Network Star and let me know what you think after the winner is chosen.  I will update this post after the winner is revealed, but will keep it after the jump so it doesn't spoil it for the West Coast fans.

See the winner after the jump:

Guy Fieri To Host 'Guy's Grocery Games'

Guy Fieri is set to be the host of the new Food Network show Guy's Grocery Games, which is scheduled to premiere in October.

The description from the upcoming series of 2013 on Food Network describes Grocery Games as:

"Four talented chefs compete in supermarket-themed cooking challenges as they must navigate their way through the aisles, adhering to “real-world” challenges of shopping on a budget, substituting out-of-stock ingredients, and cooking (and checking out) with five items or less. In the end, the food does the talking, as one-by-one the losing chefs are “bagged,” and the last chef standing goes on the shopping spree of a lifetime to make big bucks."

Damaris Phillips - Predicted Winner of Food Network Star

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Voting for the Season 9's Food Network Star ended today at 9am ET (convenient for the West Coast fans, huh?).  I guess they have to film the final episode and have enough time to edit it and everything before Sunday, which may be the reason why voting ends so early.

With voting ending, and the current poll of who people have voted for on a previous post, I think it is safe to say that Damaris Phillips is going to be the next Food Network Star.  With over 1,000 votes cast, Damaris has a little over 72% of the people voting for her as of writing this.  I will keep the poll open until Sunday, but it is pretty revealing how big of a lead she has over the others.  None of the contestants or fan groups told people to come to this site to vote (which I wanted), so this should be a good enough sample size to know who everyone is voting for.  I also didn't allow for multiple votes per person.

So, do your votes really count, and will the Food Network listen?

Food Network Star Voting - Poll

Below is a poll to try to find out who everyone is voting for(or rooting for) to win this season of Food Network Star.  The Food Network poll does not have the current percentages after you vote, so I will try to figure them out with this poll.  A reminder that the fan vote throughout the season on the Food Network site does not count towards the final vote, so if you were voting all season, you were doing it for nothing.

In last year's poll on this site, Justin Warner had over 66% of the vote, and ended up winning, so lets see if we can determine again who everyone is voting for:

Food Network Star Elimination and Recap - Finalists Revealed

Tonight on Food Network Star, the four finalists have to pitch their pilots to Bob Tuschman and Susie Fogelson, who will pick only three finalists that get to produce their pilot.  Before they pitch their pilots, they get to practice with Alton Brown, Bobby Flay, and Giada De Laurentiis.  Once the three pilots are green lighted by Bob and Susie, Guy Fieri directs all of the finalists pilots.

Continue reading to see who was eliminated from this episode as well as a quick recap of how the remaining contestants did this episode.

Justin Warner and Alton Brown Together Again

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If you have been following Alton Brown's podcast, The Browncast, he has been having new podcasts every Friday.  This Friday, last Food Network Star winner Justin Warner was on the Browncast.  As I am sure you are aware, Alton Brown was supposed to produce Justin Warner's show as part of the prize of winning Food Network Star, but did not end up producing Rebel Eats.  Justin also only got a 1 episode pilot that aired primetime rather than the usual 6 episode season airing during the daytime.

So, did Justin reveal anything about Food Network Star or any upcoming plans with the Food Network?

Rachael Vs. Guy: Kids Cook-Off to Premiere September 8th

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From the Food Network upcoming series announcement, we knew that there was going to be a Rachael Vs. Guy: Kids Cook-Off competition, and a press release that came out today states that it will start Sunday, September 8th at 8pm on Food Network.

There are eight children competing, with four on Team Guy and four on Team Rachael, and the season will only be four episodes long.  In each episode, "the teams participate in a pop quiz crafted to highlight their talents in the kitchen, followed by a classroom mentoring session with Rachael and Guy, and culminating in the creation of a menu plan for the Cook-Off."  The kids will be scored each episode and the chef with the highest overall score at the end of the series will win their own web series on Foodnetwork.com.  Guest judges include Duff Goldman, Eric Greenspan, Melissa D'Arabian and Richard Blais.

Chef Wanted Updates - Season Three Premieres Tonight

Tonight at 10pm is the Season Three premiere of Chef Wanted with Anne Burrell, so I figured now was the time to get the Chef Wanted Update page created.  The link to the Chef Wanted Update Page is here (it is also at the header of the website),and it will track whether winning chefs took the job at their episode's restaurant or not, and if they are still currently at the restaurant.

After two seasons, the current numbers are: 8 of 19 chefs accepted the job, 11 of 19 chefs rejected the job, and 5 of the 19 winning chefs are still at their episode's restaurant.  So, the show doesn't seem to be having much success with finding chefs to fill these positions (below 50%).

Here are some possible reasons why: