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.  

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):

Spring Baking Championship Season 9

Photo - Food Network

Spring Baking Championship season 9 airs on Food Network on Monday nights and this season is hosted by Jesse Palmer who replaces Molly Yeh from season 8.  Jesse has hosted the show in the past and based on the comments from last year, it will be a welcome change from Molly Yeh.  The judges on the show are once again Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman, and Kardea Brown.  This season will be 10 episodes long and there are twelve bakers competing this year.

The twelve bakers competing for the $25,000 prize and a feature in Food Network Magazine are:

• April Franqueza — Sapphire, NC
• Christian Velez — Hollywood, FL
• Clement Le Deore — San Diego, CA
• Jai Xiong — Savage, MN
• Jessica Quiet — Stowe, VT
• Josh Cain — Orlando, FL
• Keem Jackson — Florence, SC
• Luke Deardurff — Bronx, NY
• Manja Blackwood — Tucson, AZ
• Michelle Henry — McAllen, TX
• Molly Robertson — Natchez, MS
• Victoria Casinelli — Shelton, CT

Feel free to discuss Spring Baking Championship season 9 in the comments and I will do another post for the final episode.

UPDATE - To see who won Spring Baking Championship season 9, visit this post. 

Sunnyside Cafe - Restaurant Impossible Update

Photo - Robert Irvine Facebook

On this week's episode of Restaurant: Impossible, Robert Irvine and his crew are in Williamston, Michigan to makeover Sunnyside Cafe. Sunnyside Cafe is owned by Jeanette and it is a breakfast restaurant that is having big problems.  Jeanette is micromanaging, alienating her staff, and refuses to make any changes. Robert will need to address all of these problems in hopes of turning the restaurant around.

As I normally do with Restaurant: Impossible episodes, I searched around the Internet to read stories, comments and reviews about Sunnyside Cafe 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):

Runway Cafe - Restaurant Impossible Update

Photo - Robert Irvine Facebook

On this week's episode of Restaurant: Impossible, Robert Irvine and his crew are in Greenville, South Carolina to makeover Runway Cafe. Runway Cafe is an airport cafe located in Greenville Downtown Airport. The owners Mike and Lem think a nearby playground with too many kids is driving away customers. Robert will need to figure out the real problems of the restaurant so it does not become a failure.

As I normally do with Restaurant: Impossible episodes, I searched around the Internet to read stories, comments and reviews about Runway Cafe 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):

Kids Baking Championship Winner - Season 11

Photo - Food Network

Monday night at 8pm ET on Food Network is supposed to be the season 11 finale of Kids Baking Championship where the winning baker will take home the prize of $25,000 and a feature in Food Network Magazine.  The original release said the final two episodes will be played back-to-back and the winner will be revealed after the 9pm episode.  But in looking at the Food Network website, it seems they are listing one episode this week and the final episode listed next week.  The channel is also running advertisements that the finale is this week, so there seems to be conflicting information.

The four remaining bakers going into the final episodes are: Naiel Chaudry (Los Altos, CA; age 12), Sohan Jhaveri (Denver, CO; age 13), Genevieve Kashat (Detroit, MI; age 11), and Naho Yanagi (Morgan Hill, CA; age 13).


The first episode description states, "This isn't your grandma's cookie! Valerie Bertinelli and Duff Goldman challenge the kid bakers to put their own stamp on one of today's biggest trends: the loaded cookie. They want the bakers to really go crazy while making batches of two different types of over-the-top cookies. The more toppings, filling and frosting the better for this semi-final challenge!"

The final episode description states, "There is one event that is the staple of any baking business, and it keeps Duff busy all year round -- birthdays! In order to find out which flavor they’ll be making, the kid bakers must record a commercial for their baking business and sell Valerie Bertinelli and Duff Goldman on why they'd make a great birthday cake. The top commercial maker will assign the flavors, and the best young baker wins $25,000 and the title of Kids Baking Champion!


I will update this post with the season 11 winner of Kids Baking Championship once the episode airs, whether that is this week or next week.  Feel free to discuss the final episodes and the season in the comments.

UPDATE 2/20 - There was no double episode this week and Genevieve was eliminated.  This makes a final three of Naiel, Sohan, and Naho who will compete for the prize next week.  I will update this same post with the winner next week.

Continue reading to see who won season 11 of Kids Baking Championship.....

Tournament of Champions Season 4 Bracket and Winners

Tournament of Champions season 4 airs Sunday nights at 8pm on Food Network and 32 chefs are again competing for a $100,000 prize.  

The 16 chefs competing in the East bracket include: Eric Adjepong, Karen Akunowicz, Kelsey Barnard Clark, Maneet Chauhan (season 2 winner), Leah Cohen, Madison Cowan, Tobias Dorzon, Graham Elliot, Tiffani Faison (season 3 winner), Darnell Ferguson, Jose Garces, Ilan Hall, Stephanie Izard, Christian Petroni, Britt Rescigno, and Jonathon Sawyer.

The 16 chefs competing in the West bracket include: Carlos Anthony, Nate Appleman, Shirley Chung, Tiffany Derry, Elizabeth Falkner, Mei Lin, Antonia Lofaso, Crista Luedtke, Brian Malarkey, Shota Nakajima, Viet Pham, Joe Sasto, Tracey Shepos Chanami, Adam Sobel, Jet Tila, and Lee Anne Wong.

There are 14 new chefs that are appearing on Tournament of Champions for the first time.  Season 1 winner and season 2 and 3 runner up Brooke Williamson is not competing this year.  Below is the bracket which has the matchups for round 1.

Simon Majumdar and Justin Warner will once again be providing the play-by-play analysis of the competition, and Hunter Fieri will again be following the action backstage.  The judges include Michelle Bernstein, Scott Conant, Cat Cora, Rocco DiSpirito, Lorena Garcia, Alex Guarnaschelli, Nancy Silverton, Daniela Soto-Innes, Ming Tsai, Jonathan Waxman, and Andrew Zimmern.

This post will be used to track the winners for each episode, so come back after each episode to see who won the matchups that aired on Sunday.  The finale will air on Sunday, April 9th.

Continue reading to see who won in each episode...

GiGi's Place - Restaurant Impossible Update

On this week's episode of Restaurant: Impossible, Robert Irvine and his crew are in Covington, Georgia to makeover GiGi's Place. GiGi's Place is a soul food restaurant and the owner GiGi is having health problems.  Despite that, she is unable to step away from the restaurant because her daughter and her head chef are constantly fighting. Robert will need to help repair relationships in hopes of turning the restaurant around.

As I normally do with Restaurant: Impossible episodes, I searched around the Internet to read stories, comments and reviews about GiGi's Place 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):

Walter's Gas & Grill - Restaurant Impossible Update

Photo - Robert Irvine Facebook

On this week's episode of Restaurant: Impossible, Robert Irvine and his crew are in Opelika, Alabama to makeover Waler's Gas & Grill.  Walter's Gas & Grill is a restaurant that is located at a gas station.  The owner Penny has a failing restaurant and it is also impacting her health.  She will need to make changes to more than just the restaurant to make the restaurant a success.

As I normally do with Restaurant: Impossible episodes, I searched around the Internet to read stories, comments and reviews about Walter's Gas & Grill 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):

Big Dawg's - Restaurant Impossible Update

Photo - Robert Irvine Facebook

On this week's episode of Restaurant: Impossible, Robert Irvine and his crew are in Memphis, Tennessee to makeover Big Dawg's. Big Dawg's is a restaurant that specializes in hot dogs.  The owner Tyrone started the restaurant as a passion project and now the struggles of the restaurant are tearing his family apart.  Robert will need to teach Tyrone how to successfully run a restaurant to hopefully save his restaurant and family.

As I normally do with Restaurant: Impossible episodes, I searched around the Internet to read stories, comments and reviews about Big Dawg's 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):

Boil & Roux - Restaurant Impossible Update

On this week's episode of Restaurant: Impossible, Robert Irvine and his crew are in Baton Rouge, Louisiana to makeover Boil & Roux. Boil & Roux is owned by Maurice who claims to be proud of his restaurant, but his lack of leadership and inability to inspire his staff is causing the restaurant to fail. Robert Irvine will need to teach Maurice how to lead effectively in hopes of turning the restaurant around.

As I normally do with Restaurant: Impossible episodes, I searched around the Internet to read stories, comments and reviews about Boil & Roux 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):

Kids Baking Championship - Season 11

Photo - Food Nework

Food Network's Kids Baking Championship season 11 airs on Monday nights at 8pm ET/PT. Valerie Bertinelli and Duff Goldman are once again the mentors and the winning baker will receive a $25,000 prize and a feature in Food Network Magazine.  This season has twelve kid bakers, who are also entrepreneurs, competing with challenges that involve both baking and business savvy.  The ages of the competitors range from 11 to 13 this season and they are listed below:

• Logan Brod (New York, NY; age 12)
• Jason Chan (Boston, MA; age 12)
• Naiel Chaudry (Los Altos, CA; age 12)
• Toby Hyun (Dallas, TX; age 11)
• Sohan Jhaveri (Denver, CO; age 13)
• Genevieve Kashat (Detroit, MI; age 11)
• Ozan Kopelman (New York, NY; age 13)
• Nash Roe (Clive, IA; age 13)
• Foster Smith (Norfolk, VA; age 11)
• Alissa Telusca (Naples, FL; age 12)
• Peyton Waldrep (Baton Rouge, LA; age 10)
• Naho Yanagi (Morgan Hill, CA; age 13)

Season 11 of Kids Baking Championship will be ten episodes long with the winner being revealed on a double episode on Monday, February 20th.  This season is also known as Kids Baking Championship: Biz Kids. I will do another post about the show before the season finale. Feel free to discuss this season in the comments section as several people have requested somewhere to comment on this season.

Pimanyoli's Smokehouse - Restaurant Impossible Update

On this week's episode of Restaurant: Impossible, Robert Irvine and his crew are in Baton Rouge, Louisiana to makeover Pimanyoli's Smokehouse.  Pimanyoli's is owned by Yolanda (Yoli) who is struggling to keep the restaurant going after her husband passed away.  She is supposedly over $250,000 in debt and the restaurant is falling apart.  Robert needs her to let go of the past and motivate her to help save her failing restaurant. 

As I normally do with Restaurant: Impossible episodes, I searched around the Internet to read stories, comments and reviews about Pimanyoli's Smokehouse 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):

Island Kine Grinds (Aloha Island Grille) - Restaurant Impossible Update

On this week's episode of Restaurant: Impossible, Robert Irvine and his crew are in Nampa, Idaho to makeover Island Kine Grinds. Island Kine Grinds is a Hawaiian restaurant owned by married couple Renus and Ludi .  The restaurant has them on the brink of bankruptcy and it is also impacting Renus' health.  With Renus unable to help Ludi much around the restaurant, it has her feeling overwhelmed and unable to manage the restaurant.  Robert will need to help Renus turn things around to help his health, marriage and restaurant.

As I normally do with Restaurant: Impossible episodes, I searched around the Internet to read stories, comments and reviews about Island Kine Grinds 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):

Worst Cooks in America Season 25

Photo - Food Network Facebook

Food Network's Worst Cooks in America season 25 airs on Sunday nights at 8pm ET/PT and started on  January 1st, 2023.  This season brings a new mentor competing against Anne Burrell which is Darnell Ferguson.  Darnell Ferguson has been on multiple Food Network shows but is probably most known for competing on Tournament of Champions.  This season of Worst Cooks in America has a "Viral Sensations" theme and the competitors are "social media stars."  This year, there are once again twelve  contestants competing for the $25,000 prize. The twelve contestants that will compete on the show are:

• Comedian Rich Aronovitch
• "QuarantTeaTime" actor Michael Judson Berry 
• Tessica Brown, known for her Gorilla Glue hair mishap
• Flight attendant-by-day David Chen 
• Singing sensation Naje Elmore 
• K-drama and K-pop enthusiast Tina Kim 
• Puppeteer Adam Kreutinger 
• "Top 5 Hottest" trendsetter Paris Nicholson 
• Paleontologist TikToker Eliza Petersen 
• "Mr. Spooky" Mitchell Ralston 
• YouTuber Sabrina Rios 
• Nick Trawick, known for his TikTok character "Kleptora," 

The winner of Worst Cooks in America season 25 will receive $25,000 and I will do another post about the show before the season finale. This season is 8-episodes long with the finale being on Sunday, February 5th, so it seems like there will be some back-to-back episodes as this is only six weeks of episodes. Feel free to discuss this season in the comments section as people like to discuss the season and the contestants as the show progresses. 

Amigo Cafe - Restaurant Impossible Update

Photo - Robert Irvine Facebook

On this week's episode of Restaurant: Impossible, Robert Irvine and his crew are in Kayenta, Arizona to makeover Amigo Cafe. Amigo Cafe is on Arizona's Navaho Reservation and the owner Julene is struggling to earn a profit.  The stress of the struggling restaurant has taken a toll on Julene's health and she wants her daughter Heather to take over.  Robert will need to get Heather the skills and confidence to take over the restaurant to make it a success.

As I normally do with Restaurant: Impossible episodes, I searched around the Internet to read stories, comments and reviews about Amigo Cafe 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):